Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (pictured above left with Prof. Dan Blumberg) led a large delegation to BGU last Wednesday to discuss potential future
collaborations.
"We
are the energy capital of the world with the largest medical center in the
world and the most diverse city in the U. S. The areas we are focused on
now are technology and innovation and our visit to Ben-Gurion University was
one of the highlights of our trip to Israel as we seek to establish
partnerships and collaborations in order to create our Data Science
Institute," Mayor Turner said after the visit.
BGU
is at the heart of transforming Beer-Sheva into the cyber capital of Israel and
a major international hub that has made countries and cities the world over sit
up and take notice. A unique ecosystem comprised of academia, industry,
government and the IDF has already attracted international heavyweights such as
Deutsche Telekom, Dell-EMC, Leidos, PayPal, IBM and more. They and Israel's
national CERT sit at the Advanced Technologies Park adjacent to the University.
BGU is a founder of and investor in the Park itself, successfully creating more
than 2,000 hi-tech jobs in just three years.
"BGU
has much to offer Houston in the realm of cyber security and many other areas
of mutual interest," said Prof. Dan Blumberg, VP and Dean of R&D at BGU,
"We are gratified that Mayor Turner is interested in our research and
insights and we look forward to widening our contacts with Houston and the
great state of Texas."
Mayor
Turner led a delegation to BGU and Israel that included city officials, innovation
leaders, businesspeople, academics and Sarah
Braham, a member
of the local Jewish community. In addition to Prof. Blumberg, they met with
Prof. Steve Rosen, VP for External Affairs, Prof. Angel Porgador, Deputy VP and
Dean of R&D and a leading cancer researcher and Prof. Eitan Bachmat of the
Department of Computer Science.
Above left to right: Prof. Dan Blumberg, VP and Dean of R&D, BGU; Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner; Houston City Council Member Michael Kubosh; and Prof. Steve Rosen, VP for External Affairs, bgu
