Gambling on the future
ISRAEL’S hi-tech success can be attributed to taking risks, one of its brightest scientists says.
Technion Distinguished Professor Moti Segev is a pioneering physicist in the area of photonics and the recipient of the 2014 Israel Prize, regarded as the State’s highest honour.
He is also the lead researcher in the Technion-Sydney University-NSW Government Photonics Research Project, which aims to develop the photonic chip of the future to power the next wave of computer chips and communications.
Speaking to The AJN while in Australia, he said: “The entire existence of Israel is a big risk that the Jewish people has taken. It’s in our nature to want to try things.
“It takes faith to believe that you can do it.”
He continued: “In Israel you are allowed to fail. If I start a company and I do my best for it to succeed but after three or four years, it doesn’t fly … it is not being held against you.
“Investors will again invest in you, they will not mark you as a failure.”
Segev has been involved in many projects with implications for the future.
Super resolution uses mathematics to enhance the resolution of microscopes. Applications include searching for defects in micro-electronics and viewing three dimensional structures of molecules.
Optofluidics uses light and nanoparticles to control the flow of liquids, bringing benefits in the medical field and many other areas.
Segev also provided advice to a team working on a high-resolution, compact three-dimensional camera which will feature in every laptop within two years. Commercialised through a start-up partly owned by the Technion, it was sold to Intel on the condition that R&D remains in Israel.
As for the Technion-Sydney University-NSW Government Photonics Research Project, he said “it’s making nice progress”.
“I can predict that by the [northern] summer we will have the first joint paper,” he said.
He said he hopes to continue his research for many more years.
“I am curious like a child, I really enjoy what I am doing and it really shows when I talk about my work,” he said.
He said he educates his students to “look beyond the horizon”.
“We compete with groups all around the world. The way that we can continue to lead the world and have new ideas all the time and such a major impact … I educate my students to not do the obvious. Your competition is as smart as you. You must think creatively.”
GARETH NARUNSKY
Professor Moti Segev. Photo: Gareth Narunsky
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