SCE - Sami Shamoon College of Engineering

The 26th International Conference on Mechanical Engineering (ICME 2026) took place today at the Technion, with the participation of researchers, industrialists, lecturers and students from all the academic research institutions in Israel. Within the framework of this conference, new research studies were presented in a variety of areas within the field of Mechanical Engineering.

Scientific sessions and professional lectures were held, as well as a poster competition involving B.Sc. and advanced degree students.
We are proud to congratulate our M.Sc. students, May Ḥazan, from the SCE Department of Mechanical Engineering on the Be’er-Sheva campus, who won the poster competition at the conference. May did her research under the guidance of Dr. Elad Priel. This win pays tribute to her excellence in research, to the quality of her scientific work, and to her contribution to the promotion of knowledge in that area. This impressive achievement reflects the high level of the research conducted in SCE’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and its commitmen to the advancement of novel, high-quality research.

An SCE student delegation successfully concluded its participation in the International Summer School at TH Lübeck University of Applied Sciences. Within the framework of their program, they participated in intensive, advanced academic studies on various aspects of innovation involving AI and regarding sustainability.

Besides the academic aspect, they were also given an especially empowering international experience. Our students benefited by meeting colleagues, making friends from around the world, and sharing rich cultural and historical tours of the cities Lübeck and Hamburg. Their 11-day program was packed full of activity, even including an in-depth acquaintance with the business sector and professional trips to local industries.

The members of this delegation returned to SCE full of inspiration and proud to have been able to represent SCE in an international arena.

Last week in Munich, Germany, the World Congress on Computational Mechanics (WCCM) took place; it is the most prestigious, leading conference in the world on Computational Mechanics. Also among those participating were representatives of SCE’s Center for Thermo-Mechanics and Failure of Materials (CTMFM) on the Be’er-Sheva campus. Dr. Elad Priel and Masters’ degree students, May Ḥazan and David Ben-Shabbat, presented their research before a community of international researchers, and received a great deal of interest by researchers from leading institutes across the globe.

This biannual congress brings together thousands of researchers, academicians and top-tier engineers. Many present their most recent breakthroughs in fields such as: fracture mechanics; failure of materials; biomechanics; heat transfer; fluid mechanics; mechanics of materials; and advanced computational methods.

Participation in this congress is the further expression of the extensive research activity conducted at SCE’s Center and of the ever-growing status of SCE’s Department of Mechanical Engineering in the international scientific arena.

Tonight (Thursday), the acme of submission week arrives for SCE’s students of Visual Communication with the festive opening of their pop-up exhibit, entitled “Shift.” This exhibit summarizes the work of the department’s graduates in this field of perpetual motion: between screen and space; between image and action; between technology and human experience; and between classic graphic design and new worlds of visual storytelling and current media.

This event opens with blessings from SCE’s President, Semyon Levitsky; the college’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Avshalom Danoch; Head of the Department, Yossi Gavan; and a representative of the second graduating class, Rotem Bushusha. The exhibit, curated by faculty member Noa Segal, enables the public, industrialists, the graduates, their families and faculty members to take a close look at the work done by the department’s excellent graduates, to celebrate the completion of their academic studies, and to become more familiar with the new generation of creators of Visual Communication.

Congratulations to the second graduating class in Visual Communication for doing well over the last four years and best wishes for success as you take your first steps as professionals in the field.

Today is Wednesday, a holiday at SCE’s School of Architecture—when the school’s first graduates’ exhibit, entitled “Fold,” is being held.

This exhibit displays the graduates’ final projects, curated by Architect Hila Shemer, represents the pinnacle of their five-year academic journey, based on curiosity, creativity, innovation and critical thinking. The exhibition marks the beginning of a new architectural legacy—stressing the department’s contribution to spatial design, the advancement of architectural innovation and the development of the Negev region.

The display presents 21 folded objects each one made of two wooden panels (240 cm x 120 cm). Each fold is unique, also serving as a display podium, over which the students’ final projects are hung. Together, they form a dialogic field about the future of the Negev region and the desert environment.

In the words of SCE’s Head of the School of Architecture, Architect Netanel Alfasi, “Our first graduating class did not learn architecture only in studio spaces and out of books—rather from the Negev itself and during an intense war. Five years of study under extreme conditions taught our students that good architecture is not merely an aesthetic addition rather a necessary response to climate, available materials and the community. Indeed, the projects proposed today prove that, in the most challenging regions, a future generation of Israeli architects can arise—one that knows how to lead to creativity and real innovation.”

During the festive soirée, greetings were heard from the college’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Avshalom Danoch; student-body representative, Dor Edelstein; and Head of the Architectural Conservation Laboratory, Architect Yirmi Hoffman. Besides the opportunity to view the school’s exhibit and hear the academic lectures, this evening’s visitors are currently enjoying the lecture by international Architect, Pitsou Kedem.
Best of luck to SCE’s first graduating class (2026) from the School of Architecture! We’re very proud of you!

SCE, the Sami Shamoon Academic College of Engineering, is being awarded the 2026 “Defense Minister’s Shield”—a prestigious military decoration, granted to organizations and institutions demonstrating their outstanding commitment to those serving in Israel’s Reserves.

This commendation recognizes SCE’s broad and consistent support system provided to its students and faculty members who were called up for Reserves duty since the outbreak of the “Iron Swords” War. At a festive ceremony to be held with the participation of the Minister of Defense, Israel Katz; I.D.F. Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir; and Commander of the Reserve Forces Corps, Brigadier-General Benny Ben-Ari; alongside representatives of other academic institutions.

Since October 7, 2023, over 2,000 SCE student-reservists have been summoned to serve; this is an unprecedented number in the Israeli higher education system. Many of these student-reservists served for hundreds of days, some were drafted under “Order 8” (urgent, emergency). They had to cope with significant mental stress, physical burdens, and academic studies. It is important to note that almost half of SCE’s outstanding students serve in the Reserves, doing their military duty.

Behind this data, there are people with personal stories and complex experiences from their service and warfare—that even affect them for a long time after they return from the battlefield. Bearing in mind that returning to routine academic studies is not easy, SCE has been pro-active throughout the entire period of the war, enveloping returning student-reservists with broad support, tailored to suit their academic, personal and emotional needs. The college considers their support a valuable, national responsibility. Since the start of the war, SCE has provided these student-reservists with a comprehensive support system, including: personal academic considerations; easements and extensions; personal mentors and remedial classes—towards maintaining a high academic level and continuity in their studies.

Besides the academic solutions, SCE provides emotional and economic support and a variety of activities that strengthen personal and community robustness, such as special lectures, workshops, and targeted activities for students back from the front. All this stems from awareness of responsibility—seeing, asking, listening, identifying distress, even after the return from Reserves duty.

In the words of Prof. Jehuda Haddad, SCE’s founder: “Being granted the ‘Defense Minister’s Shield’ is a sign of great honor and recognition of our significant deeds. The college has had the privilege of educating valuable and dedicated students who serve in the Reserves, and who have revealed their sense of responsibility and outstanding leadership throughout. Our academic, moral and national responsibility is to stand beside them and to grant them all the support they need to go on and succeed. We are very proud of our students and of those who serve in the Reserves.”

This week opens with news that makes us proud. Tali Ohayon Lavi, an SCE Masters’ degree student in Green Engineering, won a prize for her outstanding poster at the largest international conference in the world dealing with sugars—the “32nd International Carbohydrate Symposium,” recently held in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Now, Tali is completing her Masters’ research, under the joint mentorship of Prof. Oshrat Levi Ontman and Prof. Adi Wolfson, on a unique biological polymer produced from red algae that serves in the preparation of substrates that absorb pollutants from sewage.
Within the framework of the conference, she presented a chapter from her research regarding the production of eco-friendly hydrogels from renewable and perishable sources—a 3D polymeric network that can retain a large quantity of water. Hydrogels absorb the color, methylene blue, used in the textile industry and have medical applications, as well. After such absorption, the toxin can be separated from the hydrogels and reused. Tali’s poster was chosen for its excellence from among tens of posters created by other young researchers.

Tali had completed her Bachelors’ degree at SCE in Chemistry a few years earlier and had worked in various companies as an Engineer. Then, she decided to return to the college to fulfill her old dream, to do research. During the two years of her graduate studies and research, Tali, the mother of four children, also did no small amount of I.D.F. Reserves duty.

According to Prof. Ontman: “The fruits of this research are only one of the many diverse applications developed in our laboratory, based on biologically- sourced polysacharrides, which are highly significant for the promotion of green and self-sustaining solutions. As her mentors, we and SCE are very proud of Tali for winning such a prestigious prize.”

Today (Sunday), we held the special launch of SCE’s new B.Sc. in Medical Imaging, that will officially open at the beginning of October 2026, with the outset of the 5787 (2026/27) academic year.
Against the background of a serious lack of medical services and trained professionals in X-ray and medical imaging, especially in the southern region, this new study program will train skilled professionals in the field of imaging. The academic studies will be held on SCE’s Be’er-Sheva campus, while the practical training will be done at the Soroka/University Medical Center (Be’er-Sheva) and at the Barzilai Medical Center (Ashkelon).

Participating in the festive ceremony were: SCE’s founder and Rector, Prof. Jehuda Haddad; Dr. Avshalom Danoch, SCE’s Managing-Director; and Head of the Medical Imaging Department, Dr. Isaac August; also, from the Soroka/University Medical Center: Director of the Medical Center, Prof. Shlomi Kodesh; Manager of the Imaging Institute, Prof. Ilan Shelef; Chief Radiographer of the Imaging Division, David Shushan; his assistant, Roman Cherniavsky; and from Barzilai Medical Center: its Director, Dr. Frenkel Hagay; Director of the Imaging Institute, Dr. Yvgenia Cherniavsky; and the Head Radiographer, Ms. Dorit Heineken.

Prof. Jehuda Haddad, SEC’s founder: “This unique study program is the first of its kind in the Negev and is meant to meet the growing need for professional personnel in the field of imaging. It offers a real solution for the distress existing today in the southern medical services by training and recruiting experienced, high-quality manpower, able to contribute and improve the medical services provided to the Israeli public.”

*The granting of a degree is conditional on the approval of the Israel Council for Higher Education (as is standard practice regarding all new academic programs during the authorization process).

Today is the fourth and final day of the SCE “Tech-Fest 26,” which began on the Be’er-Sheva campus together with the “SCE Annual International Research Conference.” This conference provides the opportunity for lecturers to speak to an audience consisting of SCE’s leading researchers and their partners from abroad. All three sessions of this conference are dealing with aspects of artificial intelligence (AI) relevant to Engineering applications for materials and mathematics.

This day started with greetings by SCE’s President, Semyon Levitsky, and those of the conference organizer and Chairman, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering on the Be’er-Sheva campus, and Head of the Research and Development Authority, Prof. Victor Kagalovsky. “We welcome our guests and wish them all the conference’s participants an enriching and fascinating day.”

And there’s no such thing as a festival without any art! On the Be’er-Sheva campus, displayed throughout the entire week, there are charming exhibits by SCE students.

For example, the Department of Visual Communication, today (Wednesday) will launch its exhibit, entitled “Trump’s signature,” in which fourth-year (senior) students will present the products of a multidisciplinary course exercise given to them by their lecturer, Yosef Ohayon.They were asked to give personal interpretations of the famous signature of U.S. President, Donald Trump. Over the years, Trump’s signature has become one of the most identifiable marks in the world. Their products include a wide variety of critical and ironic interpretations, among which are: food brands, consumer products, games, fashion, daily objects and speculative products. This exhibit displays works in a variety of media, among which are commercial video clips, posters, 3D models, various objects and digital media.

Even the students from the School of Architecture are presenting their works on these days. Within the contexts of the studios they attended, they researched the Negev region: its unique conditions; different habitats, lifeforms and communities; the connections between them and the natural environment; and the various infrastructures, environmental aspects and sustainability—the fruits of this research are exhibited in the Lugassy building and are open to the public.