Conference Circuit

The 14th Sde Boker symposium on Solar Electricity Production will take place at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center, located on the Sde Boker Campus of Ben-Gurion University.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Monday, February 19 The 14th Sde Boker symposium on Solar Electricity Production will take place at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center, located on the Sde Boker Campus of Ben-Gurion University. This three-day series of solar energy events has been held sesqui-annually since 1986. The full Symposium and Workshop programs may be viewed at: www.bgu.ac.il/conferences http://www.bgu.ac.il/conferences. The Sde Boker symposia are unusual in that they combine solar-thermal and photovoltaic presentations in a single conference without parallel sessions. In this way, specialists from both disciplines are able to find out first hand what is happening on the other side of the fence. For example, this year, photovoltaic specialists will have the opportunity to see the latest Solel-6 solar-thermal collector in operation, and solar-thermal specialists will be able to inspect large, state-of-the-art, European PV panels being tested under desert conditions. In addition to presentations from the Israeli solar research community, there will be two key-note speakers from abroad who will review one or more novel fields of increasing topical interest. This year's keynote speakers are: Professor Ulrich B nger, of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway who will speak on the subject "Hydrogen: from myth to reality," and Professor Susan Roaf, of the Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, and Arizona State University, USA, whose subject will be "Solar Cities." WOMEN ARE making ever greater inroads into the world of business and high finance. Some 30 successful Israeli business women who have made their mark in academia, investments, capital markets, pension funds, banking, real estate, restaurants, environmental organizations, etc will present their stories within the framework of the annual Women's Festival in Holon. Concurrent with the afternoon sessions there will be workshops in networking, arbitration, laughter and marketing. The event will be held at Meditech, Holon. For further details and registration, call: (03) 513-3650. Tuesday, February 20 ENVIRONMENT MINISTER Gideon Ezra along with representatives of the Israel Manufacturers Association and ecological experts will be among the participants at a symposium on hazardous waste hosted by the Sami Shamoun College of Engineering Beersheba. In November 2004, the Israeli cabinet called for the remediation of the national hazardous waste treatment site within the context of a comprehensive action plan for the Ramat Hovav industrial park. The decision specifically referred to the remediation of what is known as plot 181 in the older southern part of the hazardous waste site. Of the hazardous waste produced in Israel, 60 percent is transferred to Ramat Hovav, the national site for the treatment of hazardous waste. The government decision was aimed at reducing environmental problems in the region and to enable the safe relocation of army bases to the area south of Beersheba. In September, 2006, an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Environment Protection and the Environmental Services Company that will administer the remediation project on behalf of the State. ESC has operated the hazardous waste treatment plant at Ramat Hovav since 1990 and will continue to be the primary contractor while supervising the work of secondary contractors. An agreement was also signed with the Ramat Hovav Manufacturers Council and with the not-for-profit organization Sustainable Development for the Negev that was founded in 1999 for the purpose of combining economic and social development. The symposium at the College will provide a platform for all sides in the agreement to express their views. The symposium begins at 3 p.m. on the College campus. For further details, call Sigal Yaron or Hila Levinstein (08) 927-8553. MICROSOFT EXECUTIVE Circle in conjunction with the Leon Recanati School for Business Administration at Tel Aviv University will host a seminar on business initiatives and strategies under the title Balanced Scorecard. The event in the Blue Prime convention hall at the Tel Aviv Fair Grounds begins at 8 a.m. Entry is free of charge but advance registration is required. For additional details and registration call: (03) 053-3910. Thursday, February 22 TO MARK the 15th anniversary of the passing of Israel's sixth prime minister, Menachem Begin, the Begin Heritage Center will hold a number of events in his memory. For details, call Hadasa Greenberg-Yaakov: (02) 565-2027 TOURISM MINISTER Isaac Herzog, Agriculture Minister Shalom Simchon, and Gilboa Regional Council chairman Danny Atar will be the main speakers at a seminar at Geva in the Gilboa to pave the way for new initiatives and increased tourism to country areas. One of the major items tabled for discussion is the value of a hippodrome in developing tourism and the local economy. Also tabled for discussion is how to develop rustic tourism on farms. The seminar will be conducted under the title "From concept to reality." VISITING INDIAN scholar Dr. Navras Jaat Aafreedi will discuss "Jewish Contributions to Indian Culture" under the auspices of the Root and Branch Association. Aafreedi, a post-doctoral research fellow (Israeli Government Scholarship Winner), at the Graduate School of Historical Studies, Entin Faculty of Humanities, Tel Aviv University, is the author of Indian Jewry and the Self-Professed 'Lost Tribes of Israel' in India (Raphael Ezekiel Jhirad, Mumbai, 2006.) This is believed to be the first book to combine study of the Lost Tribes of Israel in India with that of the Indian Jews, and the third serious major work ever by a non-Jew on the subject of the Lost Tribes of Israel. The lecturer will be introduced by Dr. Shalva Weil, a social anthropologist at the Hebrew University's Research Institute for Innovation in Education. Weil curated, "Beyond the Sambatyon: The Myth of the Ten Lost Tribes," a 1991 Exhibition at Bet Hatfutsoth (Museum of the Jewish Diaspora) and has written extensively on India and Indian Jewry. The lecture will take place at the Israel Center, 22 Keren Hayesod, Jerusalem, at 8:00 p.m., Israel Center non-members NIS 25, Israel Center members NIS 20, students NIS 10, Israel Center life members NIS 5, journalists free. Friday, February 23 PROF. ASHER Susser, director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies will lecture to Israeli Friends of Tel Aviv University at 11 a.m. in the Rose and Morris Leigh Auditorium in the Cohen-Porter United Kingdom Building of Life Sciences on the TAU campus. His topic will be: So what's "New" in the Middle East ? Tuesday, February 27 NOBEL PRIZE laureate, Prof. Daniel Kahneman, of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University will the annual Eitan Berglas Memorial lecture at the School of Economics, Tel Aviv University. His topic will be: "The psychology of decision making: a retiree's perspective." The lecture will be held in room 012 at 6 p.m. FOOD SERVICE 2007, a conference on everything to do with food in terms of preparation, presentation, restaurants, catering for the masses, managing a menu, running a successful food enterprise and much more, will take place at the Avenue Conference Center, Airport City. For registration and details call: (03) 696-2143. Wednesday, February 28 ONO ACADEMIC College will host a symposium on "The Future of Securities: The Stock Exchange: vs Trading Houses." The symposium will begin at 3 p.m. at the Sheraton City Tower Hotel, Ramat Gan. For registration and further details, call: (03) 531-0946.