Dr.

Brain Power

Coleman Mopper Memorial Lecture
•

All Glitter and

Princely Treasures from Vienna and Dresden, 1450-1750

Technion students focusing
on medical research.

Boaz Albaranes, Shirly Miniowitz-Shemtov and Professor Elber

Bill Carroll
Special to the Jewish News

T

wo students and a professor at
the Technion-Israel Institute
of Technology came to West
Bloomfield as part of a three-week tour
of U.S. cities to drum up support for the
85-year-old school that bears the slogan,
"Technion's engine runs Israel's progress
The three kept that engine running
in front of a group of about 40 Technion
supporters in describing the Haifa-based
school's basic mission of education and
research in science and technology.
"These two students are great
examples of how Israel must maximize
the brain power and talent of young
people declared Scott Leemaster
of Franklin, president of the Detroit
chapter of the American Technion
Society, which raises about $85 million
a year for the school and helps make
Technion's accomplishments possible.
Technion, with 13,000 students from
35 countries and more than 600 faculty
members, is comprised of 85 buildings
over 300 acres in Haifa.
"The 70,000 graduates make up
one of Israel's most precious natural
resources',' said Leemaster.
Unlike American students who usual-
ly enter college at the age of 18, the two
Technion students, Shirly Miniowitz-
Shemtov and Boaz Albaranes, are in
their late 20s and have been through
some of the wars, literally, before even
graduating. Both have held jobs, have
volunteered and have served three years
in the Israel Defense Forces.
Miniowitz-Shemtov was a teaching
assistant, a volunteer with children and
an airport security adviser before her

military service as a tank driver and
tank training instructor, reaching the
rank of sergeant. She's now a doctoral
student in the biochemistry part of the
medicine program, one of 65 graduate
programs at Technion. She has a B.A.
degree in biology and a master's degree
in medical science.
"In the Israel Defense Forces, I filled
many roles that men do, driving the big
tanks and firing guns — and got a lot
of razzing for it," she said, "but now I'm
focusing entirely on research. I'm con-
centrating on early detection of colorec-
tal cancer. I want to learn why a body
cell can be perfectly normal one day and
then be cancerous the next day:'
Albaranes saw combat as a command-
er in an elite unit, worked on a newspa-
per, worked as a stock day trader and
worked extensively with the Israel Scouts
in volunteer capacities. He's studying for
an undergraduate degree in electrical
engineering, specializing in electronics
and computers.
"Seeing some of my fellow soldiers
save lives in combat action gave me
impetus to continue my college stud-
ies and do my best to help mankind,"
he noted. "I want to link my computer
work to medical research in the fight
against cancer."
Professor Gershon Elber is a computer
science teacher in Technion's Center for
Graphics and Geometric Computing, with
a doctorate in computer science from
Utah University. He has been on the fac-
ulty since 1992 and is a computer consul-
tant with many worldwide companies.
"I'm also focusing much of my com-
puter work on medical research, and
there's no better place to do it than at
Technion," he said. ❑

Archduke Dr. Ge.za von Habsburg explores the richness and
marvels of two of the most spectacular princely collections of
Renaissance and baroque Europe: the Dresden Royal Secret
Vault and the Imperial Treasury in Vienna.

Saturday, April 18 - 2 p.m.

Free with museum admission

DETROIT
INSTITUTE

OF ARTS

r

Jewel Casket, 1700-1710, attributed to Johann Andreas Thelot (German, 1655-1734) & Johann Valentin Gevers (German,

1662-1737). Silver, silver gilt, tortoiseshell, and green-tinted ivory on wood carcass, DIA no. 2005.22

Sponsored by the Dr. Coleman Mopper Memorial Endowment Fund in conjunction with the European Paintings Council and
the Visiting Committee for European Sculpture and Decorative Ans.

Additional support has been provided by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the City of Detroit.

lilt

11!

a

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April 9 • 2009

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