The 2016 Harvey Prize was awarded to two research groups that revolutionized two scientific fields - astrophysics and brain research. The ceremony took place as part of the events of the Cortorion, the Technion's board of trustees. "Each of these two groups contributed significantly to our understanding of the universe," said Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavi. "One achieved a breakthrough in understanding the outer universe and the other at the innermost level - the living cell."
The Harvey Prize is the most prestigious scientific award given by the Technion, and it has been given since 1972 in recognition of new and outstanding contributions in science, technology and medicine and an extraordinary contribution to peace in the Middle East. The award fund, established by the late Leo M. Harvey (1887-1973), an industrialist and inventor from Los Angeles, annually awards prestigious awards. Over the years, the Harvey Prize has become a "Nobel predictor", since about 20% of its winners later win the Nobel Prize. He noted that legacy The Harvey family lives on through the award.
First group: the discovery of gravitational waves
In the field of science and technology, the prize was awarded to Prof. Emeritus Ronald Driver and Prof. Emeritus Kip Stefan Thorn from the California Institute of Technology and Prof. Emeritus Rainer Weiss from MIT. The three, who led the LIGO experiment, received the prize for The first discovery of gravitational waves (2015), verified a central prediction of Einstein's theory of general relativity and opened a new window into the universe.
Gravitational waves are a kind of "ripples" of curvature moving in the four-dimensional space (space-time). Monitoring these waves is a huge scientific-engineering challenge because unlike light, which is easy to monitor due to its strong interaction with matter, gravitational waves do not have strong interactions. Since they are so weak, their monitoring requires a very sensitive device that is not affected by tiny earthquakes and nearby car traffic. Furthermore, it is about monitoring a movement that is much smaller than a single atom. Indeed, LIGO is a huge and extremely sensitive gravitational wave detector (interferometer), where laser beams move in a long empty sleeve that increases the sensitivity of the system.
The gravitational waves captured by LIGO scientists were created by the collision (and merger) of two supermassive black holes. The collision, which occurred 1.3 billion years ago, lasted a fraction of a second but created enormous energy that generated the gravitational waves monitored by the system as they reached Earth.
Gravitational waves were predicted by Einstein in the theory of general relativity, and their existence was indirectly verified in the 1993s - a verification that won the scientists Taylor and Halls the Nobel Prize in Physics (20). However, the direct observation of these waves took place as mentioned only about two years ago, at the LIGO facility. It is worth noting that Einstein, who as mentioned predicted the existence of gravitational waves, retracted it XNUMX years later and denied their existence. Now Weiss, Driver, Thorne and their associates proved that Einstein was right in his prediction and wrong in his denial. Therefore, senior scientists in the world estimate that this success will lead to the formulation of a "unified theory" that will explain most of the phenomena in the universe based on four physical forces (the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, the electromagnetic force and the gravitational force).
Professors Weiss and Thorne, scientists of the LIGO experiment, which led to the discovery of gravitational waves in 2015, stated at the Harvey ceremony at the Technion that they are part of a large group of about a thousand scientists and engineers from sixty research institutions around the world. They thanked them and the administrators of the experiment over the years, the American Congress whose support was not affected by the change of government in the USA over the years and the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the USA, which supported the project for 40 years even though according to Prof. Weiss "it was a very big bet on a technology that was not Obviously if you succeed in the task, and the funds came from the US taxpayers."
The third scientist to receive the Harvey Prize for the LIGO experiment is Prof. Emeritus Ronald Driver, who died in March of this year after he was informed of his prize winning. His brother Ian, who received the award in his place, said at the ceremony that his brother was a born scientist who invented many things and conducted experiments even as a teenager. Towards the end of his life, Driver suffered from dementia, but according to his brother, he was privileged to receive updates on the successes of the LIGO experiment, and these news improved his memory for a certain period of time.
Second group: the development of optogenetics
In the field of human health, the award was given to Prof. Carl Diceros from Stanford University and Prof. Peter Higman from Humboldt University, Berlin. They received it for the discovery of the opsin molecules involved in light sensing in microorganism cells and their utilization in the development of optogenetics. This innovative and original approach, which revolutionized the field of brain research, makes it possible to study the function of nerve cells in a whole animal and the relationship between neural networks and the animal's behavior.
Optogenetics, one of the hottest fields in brain research today, is a very precise method for stimulating the brain and is therefore currently considered the best method for activating specific cells to test their effect on the organism's functions. The method makes it possible to influence brain cells accurately using light, without the need for electrodes. Using this approach scientists were able to establish memories, erase memories and change memories (at this point only in mice).
Also at the Technion, optogenetics is widely used in various fields. On the cutting edge: Prof. Lior Gepstein from the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine developed a method for treating heart rhythm disorders using optogenetics; Prof. Shai Shoham from the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering developed the first combination of optogenetics and holography as a means of restoring vision among the blind with retinal damage; Associate Prof. Asia Rolls from the Faculty of Medicine deciphers, by means optogenetics, the way in which the reward system in the brain increases the activity of the immune system; and Prof. Itamar Kahn from the Faculty of Medicine combines optogenetic methods with fMRI of the brain to study the mechanism of neurons and neuronal networks.
The winner of the award Prof. Diceros, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, said that "it is very difficult to research psychiatric problems, which cause people a lot of suffering, because in psychiatry there are many things that are difficult to measure and because the brain is very complex and difficult to understand. The development of optogenetics is indeed a huge achievement, but it must be understood that it is not An achievement of only two researchers, but an achievement of generations of scientists - senior researchers and their students - who led to the accumulation of knowledge That's why receiving the Harvey Award is a great honor for me, as it is an award that honors basic science. Many times, basic science leads to dramatic developments in medicine without the scientist knowing where his research will lead The great development of optogenetics: the importance of public support for basic science over time."
The recipient of the award Prof. Higman excitedly said that for him, as a German, the Harvey Award from the Technion is more important than other awards he has won over the years. "One hundred and twenty years ago, Berlin was a world center of science, where Einstein worked; then the greatest disaster of all time occurred, which dealt a severe blow to the Jewish people.
"The recovery in Germany-Israel relations, in the generation of the sons and grandsons of the Germans and their victims, is a wonderful phenomenon to me. I visited here in 1977 for the first time and was amazed to discover how developed the scientific ties between Israel and Germany are. I think that the depth of the discussion, the culture of the discussion and the openness of Israel allow us Germans to maintain Useful and fruitful relations with the Israeli scientists. In my opinion, the Israeli scientists are the most innovative and productive scientists in Europe today and I regret not staying here for longer periods in collaborations - but it can still happen."
