fbpx
 
Home / News, Videos & Publications / News / Press Releases /

An Impressive Green Campus

An Impressive Green Campus

March 21, 2012

Press Releases

A recent trip to Israel’s Negev region showed journalist Jim Motavalli that missiles can’t hold back the innovative spirit at BGU’s modern tech oasis.

On his National Public Radio’s Car Talk blog, Motavalli shares some of BGU’s innovations in driver safety, but he also delves into the University’s groundbreaking work in desert agriculture, alternative energy, water resource management, and more.

He writes, “Not only has the school brought in 20,000 students with a curriculum that emphasizes science and the environment Research, but its programs foster everything from archaeology and eco-tourism projects for the Bedouin to wine making and agriculture (growing olives and, believe it or not, green peppers and tomatoes) in one of the world’s driest and saltiest deserts. It may be a cliché to say that Israel made the desert bloom, but it’s certainly true in the Negev.”

Impressed with BGU’s Lab for Human Factors in Road Safety, Motavalli learned how researchers are studying the affects alcohol and marijuana have on drivers’ performances. From the driver’s seat of a Cadillac donated to the University by General Motors, they are measuring student volunteers’ reaction times in computer-based driving simulators.

Researchers also found that older drivers notice pedestrians about half as often as their younger counterparts. And new research is investigating how cell phone talking and texting distracts pedestrians from watching the road. Many of the test subjects are children.

Read more of Motavalli’s report, including how soldiers may eventually generate their own electric power on the march, eliminating the need to carry 15-pound battery packs; the efforts being made to study and prevent Dead Sea sink holes; how olive trees are being grown with run-off water only; work on bio-fuels; and more.

ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY

By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.

About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.

We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.

BGU at a glance:  

20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.

 

For all press inquiries, please contact:

James Fattal, J Cubed Communications

516.289.1496

[email protected]