NEW YORK, N.Y. (May 6, 2010) -- World-class architect Dr. Santiago Calatrava and his wife Robertina opened their Manhattan home the evening of Tuesday, May 4th for a dinner in honor of supporters and friends of the American Technion Society (ATS) and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.
Dr. Calatrava was the recipient of a Technion Honorary Doctorate in 2004. In 2009, at the center of the Technion campus, he dedicated the Kinetic Obelisk (that he designed), which celebrates the vision of the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, the revolutionary virtual research center of excellence for the 21st century science of nanotechnology.
Dr. Calatrava was recognized for his warm and ongoing friendship with the Technion and Israel. Dr. and Mrs. Calatrava were presented with a framed picture of the Obelisk, as well as an optical crystal laser-engraved with a 3-D image of the Ubiquitin molecule, complete with the signatures Technion Profs. Avram Hershko and Aaron Ciechanover, the Nobel laureates who discovered it.
Laura Flug of Manhattan chaired the event. Among those in attendance were Technion President Professor Peretz Lavie, who flew in from Haifa, Israel; Manhattanites Scott and Patricia Berrie, who represented the New Jersey-based Russell M. Berrie Foundation; ATS President Joel S. Rothman and wife Jeri of Wilmette, Ill.; and ATS Executive Vice President Melvyn H. Bloom of Manhattan.
The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is Israel's leading science and technology university. Home to the country's winners of the Nobel Prize in science, it commands a worldwide reputation for its pioneering work in nanotechnology, computer science, biotechnology, water-resource management, materials engineering, aerospace and medicine. The majority of the founders and managers of Israel's high-tech companies are alumni. Based in New York City, the American Technion Society (ATS) is the leading American organization supporting higher education in Israel, with offices around the country.
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