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3 Has your research always been in this field? 6 If you hadn’t become
"No. I actually did my master’s thesis on water an engineer, what
desalination, but the technology in that field has would you have chosen to
2 Is your focus purely advanced greatly and the areas I was researching then are study?
industrial?
no longer relevant. For example, they used to desalinize Grossman laughs: “This
“It is in the research we are water with multi-effect distillation (MED): sea water truly is the profession for
doing at the moment, but the is boiled and its steam is condensed and turned into me. I’ve never wanted to be
laboratory has conducted – drinking water. Today this method is barely in use because anything else. If I weren’t in
and continues to conduct – a it lacks economic profitability, unlike reverse osmosis, academia, I assume I would
range of research related to which is currently the prevailing method.” be working in the industry
air conditioning. The world is – I did do that for several
getting hotter, and in various years.
areas, including Europe, the “I will say that I’m currently
demand for air conditioning is very interested in studying
growing. Apparatus biology, which one of my
for solar air
conditioning daughters is doing. When
experiments
at the I started high school, the
Technion
world didn’t know about
DNA yet. Biology has
advanced tremendously
since then, and I’m very
interested in the field. I even
took a biology course for
4 What gave you the idea to establish the Energy engineers at the Technion.
Forum?
I participated as a student
“The late Samuel Neaman wanted to donate to the and did all the homework.”
Heat transformer at the Technion Technion in 1978. But the Technion wanted to set up
“One of our research projects laboratories, and he in turn wanted to establish a body
is about balancing the two
roles that air conditioning that would engage in policy and influence decision-
plays: cooling the air on one
hand and reducing humidity makers. Thus, the Neaman Institute was founded: an
on the other. In conventional
air conditioning, we cool the institution to help decision-makers make policies based
air below the dew point, thus
condensing the humidity. We on information and data rather than emotional or political
have developed a method
that addresses these two considerations. Sixteen years ago, the director of the
issues separately: we absorb
humidity with a hygroscopic Neaman Institute – who was doing research in the field
material, regenerate the
absorbent material in order of transportation and water among other things – asked
to reuse it, and then cool
the dry air to a comfortable me to take over the field of energy, which was faltering a
temperature of 25 degrees C.
In this method we cool the air, bit at the time. We try to identity energy issues of national
save energy, and give people
improved thermal comfort, importance and provide the relevant decision-makers
with separate controls for
temperature and humidity." with the knowledge and data they need to shape good
policies." Heat transformer in Turkey
5 How does it work in practice? What are you looking
“We talk with the various government ministries
7 forward to most these
about which energy-related issues they want to address days?
but lack the time and resources to fully examine; from “I have two daughters, and I
these, we choose one to focus on. These are very specific can’t wait for grandchildren.
issues: for example, two months ago we were trying to I’m also set to receive a
figure out how to use agricultural land to grow crops medal of appreciation and
and generate electricity at the same time. Once we have an honorary fellowship from
identified the issue, we assemble around 25 experts from the Society of Electrical,
academia, industry, and government, formulate a list of Electronics and Energy
burning questions and meet to discuss them. At the end Engineers in Israel (SEEEI),
of the meeting, we produce an objective, agenda-free so I’m very happy and
report, which is then distributed to the ministry director excited about that.”
generals and other government officials.”
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering | MEgazine | 29
