The supreme governing bodies of the Technion, the Council acting on behalf of the International Board of Governors, and with the approval of the Technion Senate, resolved to confer upon Avraham Ashkenazi the Technion Honorary Fellow Award. The ceremony is slated to take place in Israel on June 11 and Ashkenazi says he will be there with all his family—from the United States, Canada, and of course, Israel.
In a letter to Ashkenazi informing him of the honor, Professor Uri Sivan, president of the Technion, wrote: “The decision to confer this honorary award upon you in honor of your life-long connection and devotion to Israel and the Technion, from which you hold two degrees; for leading by example at the American Technion Society, and as a member of the Technion Board of Governors; with gratitude for your many contributions as a Technion Guardian and alumnus in support of graduate fellowships and defense research.”
Ashkenazi joined the intelligence division of the Israel Defense Forces in 1957. Following his service, Ashkenazi was accepted at the Technion in 1962 and graduated in 1966. “I caught my second degree (masters) in engineering when I was working for Koor Industries in 1972,” he says, explaining that it was common in Israel to “do a masters while working.” Working during the day and studying at night, professors were driving forces behind students, he says.
Established even before the State of Israel, next year is the Technion’s 100th anniversary. “Most of the original professors came from Germany as they fled Hitler,” says Ashkenazi, who recalls Albert Einstein serving as a director of the school.
The Technion couldn’t find a better advocate than Ashkenazi.
“Without the Technion, we would not have any industry or high-tech in Israel. Period.” Ashkenazi calls the Technion the cornerstone of all the developments in the industrial, mechanical, and weapons arenas in Israel, and for the past 20 years since it created its medical school, in medical breakthroughs, as well.
“The Technion is a melting pot and a research hub for so many fields in the forefront of the world today, everything from engineering to medicine and nanotechnology.”
A Technion Guardian, the designation for those whose support reaches the highest level, Ashkenazi established the Avraham and Patricia Ashkenazi Endowed Graduate Fellowship and the Avraham Ashkenazi Space Defense Research Fund.
“When the award is bestowed upon Avraham in a couple of months, we will all be applauding,” says Betty Ann Levin, executive vice president/CEO, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater/Simon Family JCC. “We are so proud that Avraham now calls Tidewater his home and benefit from his wisdom, experience, and generosity. Mazel Tov Avraham on this well-deserved honor!”
–Terri Denison