Last Tuesday marked the 40th anniversary of Excel, one of the most powerful and influential tools ever created by the global software industry. When Microsoft’s now-legendary spreadsheet program was born — originally for Apple’s rival Macintosh computer — it wasn’t the first of its kind. Its predecessor, Lotus 1-2-3, still dominated the market.
What began as a simple, focused tool for accountants and bookkeepers evolved into a global powerhouse that helped drive the personal computing revolution. From students to CEOs, from startups to governments — Excel is now used by some 800 million people worldwide.
What is less known is that a decisive share of this phenomenal success — which has earned Microsoft billions over the years — belongs to hundreds of engineers in Excel’s Israeli development center in Herzliya, and to the two people who lead it: Tamar Tzruya Bar-Zakai, 54, and Yair Helman, 56. The pair, among Microsoft’s longest-serving and most senior executives (Helman has been with the company for 28 years, Tzruya for “only” 16), both live in Even Yehuda and have played a key role in transforming Excel — especially over the past decade — from a technical, even dull spreadsheet into a dynamic online platform now undergoing a revolution through artificial intelligence.
Yair Helman, who studied computer engineering at the Technion, now leads Excel’s Core Engineering team at Microsoft’s Israeli development centre.
Imagine: After a business lunch in Tel Aviv, you’re back in New York City in time for dinner. Your teen aces her afternoon math exam in Boston before kicking her way to victory at a twilight soccer match in Los Angeles. Academic researchers are discovering new minerals on their weekly expeditions to the moon. You’re looking forward to a well-deserved summer vacation beneath the soaring mountains of Mars.
Possibilities like these may be science fiction today, but tomorrow they could become reality thanks to high-speed (or hypersonic) flight, enabled by technologies that Technion minds are working diligently to develop — not only to expand humanity’s access to distant locales, but also to preserve Israeli lives.
Indeed, the same technologies that will enable rapid transport across the globe and into space will also prepare Israel to defend itself against a new generation of airborne threats: missiles that can travel faster than a bullet and evade even the most cutting-edge defense systems.
Fielding an aircraft at hypersonic speeds — greater than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound — is an extraordinary feat.
“When vehicles travel at hypersonic speeds, conventional aerodynamics, physics, and engineering go out the window,” said Brigadier General (ret.) Amnon Harari, director of the Center for High-Speed Flight at the Technion. “The time-tested mathematical equations that dictate forces like lift and thrust no longer apply.”
The conditions of hypersonic flight are extreme, to say the least. Shock waves form around the vehicle, the surrounding air becomes turbulent and chaotic, and the vehicle’s ability to position itself and maneuver is affected. The friction between the vehicle and the air generates pressure that could crush conventional aircraft and heat that rivals the surface of the sun. The chemical composition of the air changes, transforming the molecules into their atomic components, and then energizing them into ions — substances that attack surfaces and confound engines. Indeed, both the composition of the air and the speed at which it travels present significant challenges related to engine design.
“At hypersonic speeds, igniting an engine is like lighting a match in a hurricane,” said Joe Lefkowitz, associate professor in the Stephen B. Klein Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and co-founder of the Center for High-Speed Flight. In short, hypersonics necessitate a revolution in every aspect of aircraft design: a completely different propulsion system, aerodynamic design, materials, structure, controls, and fuels.
PROF. JOE LEFKOWITZ.
The Vital Importance of Hypersonics Research
Global interest in high-speed flight dates back to the 1930s, when the question of fielding a vehicle at very high speeds was merely a thought experiment.
Theory gave way to practice in the 1960s, as the United States and Soviet Union raced to space — or, more precisely, made the journey back to Earth. The hypersonic regime does not take effect in space, given the absence of air, but rather kicks in once the vehicle approaches Earth, accelerates due to gravity, and makes contact with air.
Today, the world’s interest in hypersonics is driven by military imperatives, as the U.S., China, Russia, Iran, and other nations race to develop these technologies to outgun their adversaries.
“Every world superpower has hypersonic technology in development,” explained Harari. “Most pertinent to Israel, our regional foes, including Iran and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, are developing hypersonic missiles.”
– BRIGADIER GENERAL (RET.) AMNON HARARI, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR HIGH-SPEED FLIGHT AT THE TECHNION.
Such missiles are particularly deadly because they have the ability to maneuver, to curve and swerve, thereby evading traditional defense systems. They also have a greater ability than traditional missiles to strike without warning, because they can travel lower in the atmosphere, flying under the radar.
A Growing Threat to Israel
When Houthis attacked Ben-Gurion International Airport on May 4, 2025, they used a ballistic missile that some believe had hypersonic capabilities. The Houthis have claimed the missile has stealth technology, a range of 1,335 miles, high maneuverability, and the ability to travel up to speeds of Mach 16. While these claims have not been validated, we do know the missile defied Israel’s efforts to intercept it using its long-range Arrow Antimissile System and the U.S.-made Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) antimissile system. The strike damaged airport infrastructure, injured Israeli citizens, and temporarily grounded flights to and from the airport.
Iran, like the Houthis, has boasted of having hypersonic capabilities. Though the missiles Iran deployed against Israel in June 2025 lacked the maneuverability of true hypersonic missiles, the nation’s bluster indicates its hypersonic ambitions.
Israel had anticipated such a threat long before 2025. While David’s Sling, Iron Dome, and the Arrow Antimissile System have saved millions of Israeli lives, new defensive technology is needed to counter the hypersonic threats of today and tomorrow.
The Technion began exploring the possibility of a comprehensive program in hypersonic research as early as 2018, when Prof. Lefkowitz and Prof. Dan Michaels in the aerospace engineering faculty began drumming up interest among their colleagues. Their vision was to create a new center that would serve as a national hub for hypersonic research.
PROF. DAN MICHAELS, HEAD OF THE SYLVIA AND DAVID I.A. FINE ROCKET PROPULSION CENTER.
Technion leadership — and the University’s founding partner, Israel’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development — appreciated the relevance of hypersonic capabilities to Israel’s security. If Israel were to successfully defend itself against hypersonic missiles, it would need to understand how they operated.
Today, with the only faculty of aerospace engineering in Israel, the Technion is the national nexus for fundamental research on hypersonics in Israel. Launched in 2023, the Center for High-Speed Flight is breaking new ground in the field.
PROF. LEFKOWITZ’S COMBUSTION AND DIAGNOSTICS LABORATORY. CREDIT: SIVAN SHACHOR
A Technion Research Priority
The Center’s research aims to answer perplexing questions related to hypersonic flight: What kinds of materials can withstand the heat, pressure, and chemical reactions related to high-speed flight? How do you build an engine that can ignite and sustain a flame in air traveling so fast, air that is no longer composed of oxygen? How do you create fuels that not only provide energy, but also double as a coolant? What is the precise balance of lift and thrust needed to field a vehicle when the traditional laws of aerodynamics no longer apply?
Answering these questions will require extensive research infrastructure. Aircraft are designed using very large wind tunnels that simulate the conditions of flight. While the Technion already boasts one impressive tunnel that is designed to test materials and can heat air to temperatures of more than 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit, additional infrastructure is needed to test engines and fuels.
RENDERED IMAGE OF A SUPERHEATED JET ENGINE.
“Hypersonic conditions are so extreme that a single wind tunnel will not suffice,” explained Harari. “You need multiple tunnels to conduct this research, and that’s exactly what we’re building in the Center.”
Hypersonics research also requires expertise from multiple academic disciplines, including materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, and physics. By bringing together researchers from these diverse fields — both Technion faculty and visiting professors — the Center will facilitate this kind of collaboration.
“Our hope is that the Center for High-Speed Flight will serve as a hub for world-class, interdisciplinary collaboration on hypersonics,” said Prof. Michaels.
To advance this research, the Technion has assembled a diverse coalition of external collaborators, with funding for the Center coming from the Ministry of Defense, Israeli industry, and donors from the American Technion Society and around the world.
“What we’ve done in the Center is amazing,” said Harari. “Israeli defense companies that compete with one another on a daily basis for market share are sitting together around the same table.” They are also collaborating with branches of the U.S. military — particularly the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Naval Research Laboratory.
Harari continued, “Ultimately, our hope is that fundamental research born in Technion labs will provide our Israeli industry and military partners with the insights needed to create a protective shield around Israel — while also benefiting our greatest ally, the United States.”
The Future of High-Speed Flight
Though the defense applications of hypersonic technology are the most immediately relevant to Israel, the science might eventually lead to civilian applications, too. Perhaps most exciting is the potential for expanded access to space.
“Within the realm of hypersonic research, the civilian dream is space access,” said Prof. Lefkowitz.
As numerous disasters have reminded us, flying to space using a conventional rocket is risky. Rockets carry massive oxidizer tanks that can result in deadly explosions. Hypersonic engines — which are known as scramjet engines and can accelerate a vehicle up to 10,000 feet per second — rely on air flowing into the vehicle, which significantly reduces the oxygen required on board. This can make hypersonic travel to space both safer and cheaper and creates the possibility of making space travel a routine occurrence.
“Today, space travel is reserved for a handful of highly trained astronauts each year,” said Prof. Lefkowitz. “Imagine, though, if traveling to space were as easy as purchasing a ticket and packing your bags.”
Prof. Michaels points to the potential for interplanetary travel as an exciting extension of expanded space access. Just as rockets must withstand hypersonic conditions upon reentering Earth’s atmosphere, the same is true for entry to other planets’ atmospheres. Though fielding manned hypersonic vehicles presents a unique set of challenges — given the need to protect passengers from the intense heat and sound and to compensate for additional size and weight — such vehicles could expand the frontiers of scientific research.
“The potential of hypersonic technology to advance planetary research is quite promising,” said Prof. Michaels.
“From its roots in defense, hypersonic research has the potential to grow exponentially in decades to come, leading to new technologies that will benefit human travel in our solar system.”
– PROF. DAN MICHAELS
On the slopes of Mount Carmel, the Technion’s brightest minds are working hard to crack the code on hypersonics. For Israel, this research is not a luxury, but a vital security need.
Yet the same research that will help create a protective shield around Israel may one day afford humanity the luxuries we can only dream of — whether it’s traversing the Earth in hours or catching a flight to a nearby planet, making the globe smaller while also expanding our world. Though such capabilities may still seem distant, Technion research is drawing us closer to these extraordinary possibilities.
The Carasso and Hecht Centre’s will drive innovation, research, and industry collaboration in food production and biotechnology
These new centre’s established at the Technion, will promote education, research, and innovation in the food sector and strengthen the connection between the Technion and the entire food industry, from traditional to cutting-edge.
Eliminating hunger and improving food security are among the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, as defined by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The Technion houses the only faculty in Israel dedicated to food engineering, leading the Israeli food-tech industry.
Dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Prof. Esty Segal, added, “As dean, I see the establishment of these two centre’s as a clear manifestation of our vision—to position the Technion and the State of Israel at the global forefront of innovation in food. This field is not only an industrial growth engine—it is a profound scientific, environmental, and social challenge, integrating biotechnology, engineering, health, life sciences, and sustainability. Both centre’s were born out of a multidisciplinary pursuit of excellence, enabling us to develop breakthrough technologies, bridge basic and applied research, and lead food solutions for a world facing climate change, nutritional inequality, and resource depletion. It is also a commitment to Israel’s future, ensuring food security, advancing sustainability, and training the next generation of visionary, bold, and responsible scientists and engineers. This is a powerful link between science and purpose, between knowledge and impact—for Israel and the entire world.”
The new centre will support the Technion and the faculty in their mission—to bridge science, engineering, and technology in shaping the future of food production, preservation, and consumption, while advancing key goals such as waste reduction and environmental protection. We face major research challenges that intertwine health, sustainability, and innovation, alongside the educational task of training the next generation of scientists and engineers. This center will allow Technion researchers to translate ideas into real-world impact. We thank the Carasso family across generations, including the younger generation, for enabling the establishment of this important center. Let us celebrate this milestone—and now, to work.”
The Carasso family’s contribution, which will strengthen Israel’s footprint in global food research, is intended to support and realize their values and those of their company, emphasizing Zionism, excellence in science education, reducing disparities, and investing in infrastructure. The upgraded, expanded facility will be unique in Israel and among the most advanced in the world. It will include a research and development center for industrial-scale production, equipment for scaling lab processes to pilot scale, laboratories for food and biomaterials analysis, a fermentation lab, an industrial kitchen, and a tasting room—all designed to support teaching, research, and collaboration with industry and startups.
The Esther and Herbert Hecht Sustainable Protein Research Center is a multidisciplinary center that brings together approximately 50 researchers from various Technion faculties to develop food solutions for a better future. The center will serve as a model for sustainable protein research, promote collaborations within and beyond the Technion, and foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and the training of professionals in this field.
The centre is the world’s first academic centre in this field. Its vision is to serve as a multidisciplinary hub for researching and developing sustainable sources of protein. Its activities are grounded in Technion excellence and the rapid global development of this field. The center promotes research, attracts outstanding new researchers, trains graduate and postdoctoral students, and provides cutting-edge research infrastructure. It offers competitive research grants to launch initial interdisciplinary projects and holds conferences to strengthen connections between relevant researchers at the Technion and beyond.
Israel’s PillCam revolutionized GI imaging, and now others are following that success with other non invasive solutions that journey through the body.
Every list of the greatest Israeli inventions includes PillCam.
PillCam is a video camera swallowed like a vitamin pill. It travels through the gastrointestinal tract, sending clear images to the physician on its way out of the body.
Invented by an Israeli electro-optical engineer and his neighbor, a gastroenterologist, the camera-in-a-pill endoscopy device signaled a worldwide diagnostic revolution. Capsule endoscopy has been FDA-approved and in use since 2001.
Given Imaging, the Israeli company that commercialized the PillCam, was acquired in 2013 by Irish company Covidien. Following Covidien’s acquisition by US-based Medtronic, the PillCam platform has been further developed through the Covidien Minimally Invasive Therapies Division of Medtronic.
The PillCam capsule endoscopy platform now enables physicians to detect GI abnormalities, monitor disease (such as Crohn’s) and assess treatment efficacy for conditions in the esophagus, stomach, small bowel and colon (large intestine).
Pitch Night isn’t just a student competition — it’s a launchpad for the next generation of Technion innovators. By turning bold ideas into real-world solutions, these students are gaining hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, engineering, and impact. It’s a powerful glimpse into how the Technion is shaping Israel’s future, and the future of technology itself. Keep scrolling to see what innovation in action really looks like.
I think there’s something entrepreneurial in Israeli DNA. I feel beyond privileged to have listened to all the wonderful pitches tonight and hopefully follow up with them.” – ERIC BRANDON, STARTUP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
On June 18, 2025, Pitch Night brought together food, networking, and fierce innovation as Technion t:hub students took the stage to present the next generation of Israeli startups. From AI to sustainable solutions, each team unveiled their business plans, elevator pitches, and bold visions for the future.
An esteemed panel of investors and entrepreneurs challenged the students on everything from scalability to go-to-market strategy, culminating in the selection of a standout winner: Omer Sabary, whose pitch left the judges and audience inspired.
Whether you’re passionate about Israel, technology, or the future of global innovation, Pitch Night offered a front-row seat to what’s next from Startup Nation.
The crew of the cargo ship Eternity C could hardly believe their eyes – within minutes, their vessel was sunk in broad daylight in the Red Sea by an unmanned boat and RPG missiles, and they were taken captive by Houthi rebels. The next day, another container ship was attacked in the Red Sea – and it too was sunk. Just a few years ago, such a scenario would have sounded completely far-fetched. Yet these two alarming incidents occurred just this past month – and they are not the only ones. Worse still – they are only part of a growing wave of threats to the global supply chain, driving up the costs of production, transport, and logistics.
In recent years, the global supply chain has been severely shaken by a series of crises and events: the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the Houthi attacks on the maritime route through which approximately 50% of global goods once passed, and the latest disruptive development – the U.S. administration’s new tariff policies.
Pickommerce CTO Amir Shapiro and Cybord Founder and CTO Eyal Weiss and CEO Oshri Cohen are both Technion alumni.
Michael Belkin is a serial entrepreneur of a particularly rare breed. Like other serial entrepreneurs, he never stopped developing, researching, and inventing throughout his life, but he did so not out of a pursuit of money, but primarily out of the joy of creation, curiosity, and a desire to bring medicine to the world. It so happened that he made his first exit when he was already 68 years old. At an age when most of his peers were retiring, Belkin sold a company he founded for $180 million. Even then, he had no intention of retiring, but continued to research and invent. Last year, when he was 82, the second exit came: one of his greatest inventions, an automated device for treating glaucoma, was sold for $466 million to the eye care giant Alcon.
And there’s still no talk of rest. Every morning, as he has for 30 years, Belkin shows up at the same office at the Eye Research Institute at Sheba Medical Center, turns on the fluorescent light above him, and begins his workday in a space that looks like a small museum. The room is packed with compact binders, framed certificates, photos, posters of organs of vision, and medical models collected over decades. It perfectly suits his image as a professor of ophthalmology at Tel Aviv University who has authored more than 500 scientific articles and holds over 40 patents.
In a year marked by war, political upheaval, and global economic volatility, Israel’s tech sector continues to defy the odds — and the Technion is once again at the heart of its resilience. Three of the standout companies on Calcalist’s 2025 list of the 50 most promising Israeli startups — Decart, ForSight Robotics, and OX Security — all trace their roots to the Technion, where bold ideas and deep scientific training are shaping real-world solutions. These startups aren’t just succeeding; they’re changing the game across AI, healthcare, and cybersecurity.
Decart: Accelerating the Generative AI Revolution
Just 18 months after its founding, Decart has raised $53 million, earned a half-billion-dollar valuation, and captured the attention of top-tier venture firms like Sequoia Capital and Benchmark. At its core is a powerful systems-level AI infrastructure that enables a tenfold improvement in training and inference speed for large generative models, unlocking real-time AI applications previously limited to tech giants.
The company’s momentum is fueled by deep academic and technical foundations. Technion alumnus Dean Leitersdorf, Decart’s CEO and co-founder, launched the company with fellow co-founder Moshe Sason during a period of reserve duty — building their team and vision under extraordinary pressure. Their platform dramatically reduces the resource load of generative AI, allowing them to train and deploy their own foundational models. It’s a leap forward in making powerful AI not only faster and cheaper, but more accessible to companies and creators around the world.
ForSight Robotics: Precision Eye Surgery for a World in Need
More than 2 billion people worldwide suffer from vision impairment, but there aren’t nearly enough trained eye surgeons to meet the growing demand. ForSight Robotics aims to bridge that gap with a robotic microsurgery platform that delivers 10x the accuracy of a human hand. Their technology integrates robotics, machine learning, and computer imaging to perform delicate eye procedures with unprecedented precision, starting with cataract surgery.
The company was co-founded by Technion alumnus and company President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Nathan. A practicing ophthalmologist and engineer, Dr. Nathan helped launch ForSight alongside Technion Professor Moshe Shoham, a pioneer in medical robotics and founder of Mazor Robotics. Together with CEO Dr. Daniel Glozman, they’ve built a platform with the potential to democratize surgical care, especially in regions with limited access to specialists. With the world’s aging population and rising chronic disease rates, ForSight’s mission is not just to enhance surgical performance, but to make sight-saving procedures globally scalable.
OX Security: Cutting Through the Noise in Cyber Defence
In today’s cybersecurity landscape, overwhelmed teams are bombarded with alerts — many of them low-risk. OX Security takes a radically different approach, focusing only on the small percentage of vulnerabilities that could truly cripple a business. That philosophy, born in the wake of the SolarWinds hack, has resonated strongly with customers and investors alike. Since emerging from stealth in 2022 with a $34 million Seed round — one of the largest in Israeli cybersecurity history — OX Security has quickly amassed hundreds of paying clients.
The company was founded by Technion alumnus Neatsun Ziv, former VP of Threat Prevention at Check Point, alongside CPO Lior Arzi. Both are Unit 8200 veterans and cybersecurity experts with decades of combined experience. Their mission is to cut through the noise, reduce alert fatigue, and help organizations defend themselves more effectively against the threats that truly matter. With most of its early competitors already acquired, OX Security is now a standout in a space that demands clarity, speed, and precision.
Together, Decart, ForSight Robotics, and OX Security reflect the Technion’s role as a launchpad for ideas that matter — and for startups built not just to survive disruption, but to lead through it.
Outstanding Achievements for the Israeli Chemistry Team Trained at the Technion
The Israeli National Chemistry Team has won four Olympic medals — two gold and two silver — at the International Chemistry Olympiad held in the United Arab Emirates, with participation from 90 countries.
At the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), held this year in the UAE, 354 competitors from 90 countries around the world took part. The Israeli Chemistry Team proudly representing Israel:
Itamar Ben Shmuel – from Ramat Gan, 11th-grade student at the Kfar HaYarok School – Gold Medalist
Jonathan Gontmakher– from Rishon LeZion, 12th-grade student at the Krieger Real Gymnasium – Gold Medalist
Omer Zachary Ben-Ami – from Tel Aviv, 12th-grade student at Ironi Dalet High School – Silver Medalist
Yehonadav Marienberg – from Mazkeret Batya, 10th-grade student at the Har Etzion Yeshiva High School for Youth, Alon Shvut – Silver Medalist
The Ministry of Education and the Maimonides Fund’s Future Scientists Center lead the preparation of Israel’s national science teams for participation in international olympiads. The Israeli Chemistry Team was trained at the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry at the Technion, led by Academic Director Prof. Zeev Gross and Head Coach Dr. Reut Shapira. Accompanying the delegation were Prof. Gross, Dr. Eyal Barnea, and Dr. Zack Patrick Sarcel.
Minister of Education, Yoav Kisch: “Behind every medal stands an Israeli student with a spark in their eyes, curiosity in their heart, and a willingness to work hard – children like Itamar, Jonathan, Omer, and Yehonadav, who dared to dream big and saw it through to the end. Each one of them represents a story of persistence, talent, and educational support that believes in the student every step of the way. The achievement at the Chemistry Olympiad is not just a peak – it’s the result of daily quiet effort, a deep partnership between the Ministry of Education, the Maimonides Fund’s Future Scientists Center, and the Technion, and teams who never stop seeing the child, even when immersed in science. This is how we build an education system that moves forward: not waiting for success, but growing it. With consistency, humility, and deep faith in our children’s abilities.”
Technion President, Prof. Uri Sivan, thanked the Technion team that trained the delegation and said: “At the Technion, we are proud to train the next generation of Israeli scientists. The students competing in the International Chemistry Olympiads undergo screening and preparation in a special program that has been running for years at the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry at the Technion, under the direction of Prof. Zeev Gross. Winning the international competition is a major achievement. Jonathan, Itamar, Omer, and Yehonadav – I congratulate you. You reached the competition after much effort and have proven your excellence. I hope to see you in the future as students at the Technion – fulfilling your potential and bringing us academic pride.”
This milestone follows significant developments including the 2023 FDA clearance of ReWalk 6.0 for stairs and curbs usage, and the 2024 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) national reimbursement policy approval for qualified beneficiaries. The company, which made history in 2014 with the first FDA-cleared exoskeleton medical device for SCI patients, will commence ReWalk 7 sales in the United States once the product becomes available.
The decision reinforces the medical necessity of ReWalk’s technology and is expected to influence coverage decisions by commercial insurers. The ReWalk 7, the company’s latest innovation and the only personal exoskeleton capable of navigating stairs and curbs, received FDA clearance in March 2025 and is now commercially available in the United States.
Insights
Medicare ruling establishes ReWalk exoskeleton as medically necessary, opening significant reimbursement pathways that should accelerate adoption and revenue growth.
The Administrative Law Judge ruling represents a landmark reimbursement victory for Lifeward’s ReWalk technology. This decision—coming at the highest level of Medicare appeals—establishes legal precedent that the exoskeleton meets Medicare’s critical “reasonable and necessary” standard for medical devices.
