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Creative Research Led by
Assoc. Prof. Matthew Suss:
Developing an Innovative
Approach to Purifying Water

Going Green Advanced research in the faculty has enabled Robotics Excellence
significant streamlining of an innovative method of purifying Program Attracts the
water of pollutants. The researchers have been exploring the CDI Best Minds to Address
(capacitive deionization) method, an electrochemical approach Challenges of the Future
to water purification that does not use membranes and is based
instead on the absorption of ions into micropore electrodes.
The team provided a theoretical framework to understand
this process. Among other things, they demonstrated that the
method can be made dramatically more efficient by changing
the customary position of the electrodes, such that the anode is
positioned at the top of the stream and the cathode at its base.
Water purification for agricultural purposes presents a complex
technological challenge and is crucially important – especially
in Israel, where most wastewater is recycled for agricultural use
(most crops in the Negev are watered this way). Watering fields
and orchards with salty water can cause a variety of problems,
from damaging leaves and creating bald patches in the field to
ruining the soil.
The study, published in prestigious scientific journal PNAS,
was led by (left to right): Assoc. Prof. Matthew Suss (faculty
member in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and member
of the Grand Technion Energy Program) and PhD students Amit
Shukrun and Eric Guyes, in collaboration with Asst. Prof. Jouke
Dykstra from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

Robotics Excellence Program Bright Ideas The Robotics Excellence Program,
launched at the beginning of the summer by
Thadeo Arlo Eitan Baron David Calderon Autonomous Robots Lab supervisor Prof. Elon
Rimon, is kicking into high gear. The program
Mechanical Engineering Computer Science Electrical Engineering assembles 14 of the brightest MSc and PhD
students, half Israeli and half international,
Alex Furman Snir Green Michael Grinberg from a variety of complementary disciplines,
including the Faculty of Electrical and Computer
Mechanical Engineering Computer Science Mechanical Engineering Engineering and the Faculty of Computer
Science. The goal is to create a diverse
RoboticsNEitxzacneMllieshnacl e Program Raphi Nathan Tal Nesher
leadership group to address challenges and
Mechanical Engineering Mechanical Engineering Mechanical Engineering design technologically advanced robotic
solutions. The students will work in small
Hannah Samuels Shuang Shen Sara Siegel Shira Waltuch Li Zhiyuan teams for around a year, visit companies in
the industry and gain fascinating practical
Mechanical Engineering Computer Science Mechanical Engineering experience that will help them in completing
their graduate projects, finding jobs in industry
Mechanical Engineering Mechanical Engineering or continuing to advanced degrees. At the end
of the program, they will receive a certificate of
expertise in robotics.

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering | MEgazine | 9