This afternoon, I am thrilled to be having professor Avi Mendelson from Technion Israel Institute of Technology visiting Ecole Polytechnique. I visited Technion in the spring of this year (2016) with a small delegation from Ecole Polytechnique. This was my first ever trip to Israel, and I was blown away by both how welcoming the Israeli were, and by the very rich program that Technion had put together for us (and I also appreciated the fantastic weather). And, of course, by the exciting work that Avi was presenting.
One of the many strengths of Technion is cybersecurity – and Avi is one of the leading figures in that field. With his double background in both academia and industry he has a very unique perspective on research in general, and on his domain in particular. His focus on the cross-layer between hardware and software especially pique my interest, given my own background in electronics, and I greatly enjoyed our exchanges during my short stay in Technion. His visiting Ecole Polytechnique today is a fantastic opportunity to continue our discussions, and identify areas of future collaboration, exchanges, etc., and to familiarizing him with our institution.
Given how much I enjoyed my first trip to Israel, I am eager to find good reasons to go back frequently. And while excellent scientific peers already are a great point of attraction in Israel, an environment like the below doesn’t hurt either:
