Hebrew University puts landmark inventions on show
New exhibit features photos of univesrity's most outstanding scientists alongside their globally celebrated inventions
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is to open a new exhibition documenting its top scientists and their groundbreaking inventions.
The show, which is set to open Wednesday at the university's Mount Scopus campus, features images of 27 inventors alongside their useful creations – many of which are already marketed around the world and are contributing to the global welfare.
According to Hebrew University President Menahem Ben-Sasson, the institution's scientists have come up with 2,000 inventions and innovations so far.
Professor Nathan Citri, 92, was photographed for the exhibition with the kit he devised for the detection of antibiotics-resistant infections. For years, Citri served as a senior researcher at the Hebrew University's Faculty of Medicine, but he managed to develop the kit after he retired – at the makeshift laboratory he set up at his nursing home. His discovery was not taken seriously in Israel, forcing him to seek recognition abroad. The kit is now being manufactured and sold in Europe.
Invention extends bread's shelf life
Like Citri's kit, several of the innovations featured in the show come from the world of medicine. Such is Yechezkel Barenholz and Alberto Gabizon's Doxil drug, which treats four types of cancer and is being manufactured by Janssen, one of Johnson and Johnson's daughter companies.
Food-related inventions are well represented in the exhibit as well, including Nissim Garti's baking additive, which extends the shelf life of bread tenfold and can preserve the taste of gum for longer.
Other edible developments include the unique pepper varieties brought forth by Dr. Yonatan Elkind of the Faculty of Food, Agriculture and Environment. The new strains can be grown in a variety of environments and produce better quality crops that last longer than the others. The peppers are already being sold locally and internationally.
The exhibit's March 14 opening date coincides with Albert Einstein's birthday, an event celebrated in the world of science. The renowned Jewish scientist had special ties to the Hebrew University; In the 1920s he was a member of the school's board of trustees.
Upon his death, Einstein bequeathed the establishment with his manuscripts. The university now holds the copyrights to his name and likeness.
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