"Biological dressing" based on programmed bacteria and a chip to prevent the kidnapping of soldiers among the winning projects at the Security Innovations Conference

A "biological dressing" based on programmed bacteria, a chip to prevent the kidnapping of soldiers and to treat them in the field and a system to prevent falling asleep during operational activity - these are the winning proposals in the student competition for security innovations at the Technion. The developments were presented at the annual conference of the Defense Science and Technology Center held last week at the Technion

The 16th conference of the Center for Defense Science and Technology (CSST) was held last week at the Technion. The Center for Defense Science and Technology, headed by Brigadier General (Ret.) Prof. Yaakov Nagel, within which the institutes PMRI and MADRI and the Institute for Future Defense Research named after the Madbadi families, Dr. Yechiel Schwartzman, Raya and Dr. Petar Gensler are run, were inaugurated at the Technion in 2002 and since then it supports research in many diverse fields including space and aeronautics, advanced image processing, energy and defense systems. The conference was attended by Brigadier General Dr. Danny Gold, head of the Ministry of Defense, Brigadier General (Retd.) Ariel Caro, VP of Marketing and Business Development at Rafael, Prof. Uri Sion, President of the Technion, Gideon Frank, Chairman of the Technion's Executive Committee , Prof. Alon Wolf, Technion Vice President for Public Relations and Resource Development, Prof. Boaz Golani, CEO and Vice President of the Technion, faculty members from the Technion, industry executives and students.

As part of the conference, prizes were awarded to the projects and articles of outstanding students:

The first prize in the bid competition for defense developments was won by the student Eleanor Ginzburg from the Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering. Ginzburg offered an innovative technology for the initial treatment of internal bleeding in the wounded at the scene of the incident. This is an injection containing programmed bacteria, which upon entering the bloodstream locate the source of the internal bleeding and initiate an accelerated clotting process. This is how a "biological dressing" is created to control the bleeding, which protects the patient until he arrives at the hospital. Furthermore, the programmed bacteria will also serve as "memory components" that will eliminate some of the initial tests in the hospital.

Moshe Kimchi from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Ado Galil from the Faculty of Computer Science won second place in the competition for a proposal to develop a chip that reports the location of soldiers in operational activity and their medical condition, mainly for the purpose of preventing kidnappings. Third place was won by a team that proposed AWAKA - a system for non-invasive monitoring of the state of alertness of soldiers. The device is supposed to detect a dangerous transition of the soldier into a sleep state by monitoring the brain waves in the EEG and release a tiny electrical signal that creates physiological arousal. The members of the group are Noya Zart from the integrated track of medicine and biomedical engineering; Moore Hayat, who completed her bachelor's degree in the Faculty of Biology; Ron Yanovici is a graduate of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Maayan Shovel is a graduate of the Faculty of Computer Science.

Ina Zamir, a doctoral student from the Faculty of Aeronautics and Space Engineering, won the prestigious Joel Gmunder Prize for advanced research in the field of space. Her research, directed by Prof. Emeritus Alon Gani, deals with controlling the combustion rate of solid propellant fuel with the help of electrical voltage, and the findings may serve as a basis for operational applications in tactical engines and space engines. Zamir, who will receive a personal award of 5,000 dollars and an additional award of 20,000 dollars for a scholarship for qualified studies, immigrated at the age of 15 as part of the Naelah program (youth come before parents). After high school in the Meir Shafia youth village and military service, she studied for a bachelor's degree in the Faculty of Aeronautics and Space Engineering at the Technion and continued on a direct path to a doctorate in the faculty.

The conference was opened by the head of the center Brigadier General (res.) Prof. Yaakov Nagel, who referred to the death of Major General (res.) Amos Lapidot, former commander of the Air Force, president of the Technion and the first chairman of the PMRI Foundation which was the basis for the establishment of the Center for Defense Science and Technology at the Technion. Prof. Nagel explained that one of the main functions of the center is "establishing contact between Technion researchers and the security system in Israel and connecting the needs of the system with the amazing ideas developed at the Technion. It is an interdisciplinary center that supports ground-breaking research that has potential applications in both defense systems and the civilian market and is also connected to leading research entities in the world, both in academia and in government. To this end, we support research that can serve the defense system and industry, and at the same time direct resources to fostering students through conferences, seminars, competitions and awards."

Technion President Prof. Uri Sion said that the existence of the conference for 16 consecutive years has great symbolic and practical significance. "In the symbolic aspect, the conference is a clear expression of the spirit of the Technion that combines academic and research excellence with a vision and a sense of mission. The Technion has always placed itself 'under the stretcher' as an institution bearing great responsibility to the State of Israel, and the center's conference series expresses this mission in the security context. On the practical level, the importance of the conference and the center lies in the vital link between academia and the security system. As part of this relationship, the academy contributes enormous knowledge to the defense system, and the defense system expects the academy to face the real challenges it faces."

Brigadier General Dr. Danny Gold, head of the Ministry of Defense, delivered the opening lecture on "Transformation and Innovation in the Techno-Digital Era". He said that Mapaat (the Administration for Research and Development of Amalgamation and Technological Infrastructure) has been changing its face in recent years in the face of the digital revolution, and is working to promote technological innovation and reduce regulation and bureaucracy that slow down processes of technological development. "In recent years, we have been making a significant change in all processes in the organization in order to quickly fulfill our mission - technological and operational superiority. To this end, we are strengthening the relationship with the academy, encouraging innovation and technology adoption, shortening engagement processes with external parties and promoting inter-ministerial collaborations." Dr. Gold said that today the organization works with about 250 startup companies, and this with the understanding that small companies can promote innovative developments very quickly. Another means of promoting innovation is an effort to recruit exceptional experts, including academic researchers, for a short period that allows them to return to their work afterwards. Dr. Gold encouraged the Technion researchers to propose groundbreaking ideas for the security system through the center.

Brigadier General (ret.) Ariel Karo, formerly Chief Intelligence Officer and now the VP of Marketing and Business Development at Rafael, said that "Rafael has made it a point to continuously stand at the forefront of technology, and it is making the most of the benefits inherent in the fourth revolution, from the transformation of information, to the connection of a variety of capabilities, for a leap forward and the effectiveness of its systems. This is both in ICT systems based on a cognitive network and in advanced information processing capabilities, which connect a wide variety of unique sensors and information processing capabilities." Brigadier General Caro emphasized the good relationship between Rafael and the Technion in all fields (students, paying for advanced degrees and joint research) and encouraged both parties to continue and expand this relationship."

At the conference, some of the research conducted at the Technion with the support of the center was presented. Prof. David Yankalevsky from the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering presented issues of bullet penetration into concrete. Prof. Oksana Stalnov from the Faculty of Aeronautics and Space Engineering presented the problem of predicting the noise of drones and ways to create quieter drones. Prof. Doron Sheila from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering is developing a system to protect hardware against damage, counterfeiting and implanting tracking components. Prof. Adit Kidar from the Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering presented an innovative approach to identifying attacks based on analytics of large data streams in real time. Prof. Tal Karmon from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, winner of the American Air Force Award for Young Researchers, presented technology and ideas for the future development of a miniaturized optical gyroscope - a tiny system that allows for accurately determining the position of an aircraft in space. It is a closed system that is very cheap compared to the alternatives, and is immune to electronic attacks.

Prof. Nagel thanked Dr. Tami Milgrom Mester and Col. (ret.) Jacob Kroc, his partners in organizing the conference, and his predecessor in the position Prof. Emeritus Avi Marmor, who founded the center and the conference.