The School of Marine Sciences is proud to be part of a double win in the University of Haifa’s “We Came to Improve” sustainability competition – a campus-wide initiative promoting environmental innovation and action.
A new scientific article summarizing Israel’s strategic plan to conserve 30% of its deep-sea territory has been published in the prestigious journal Ocean and Coastal Management — and we are proud to be among the contributors.
Last week, our Marine Geosciences Department had a strong presence at the Annual Conference of the Israel Geological Society,
Researchers and students from the Charney School recently participated in the annual European Geosciences Union (EGU) conference held in Vienna, Austria.
Congratulations to Prof. Ilana Berman-Frank on receiving a prestigious grant from the Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC) for marine research centers. The research team is led by Professors Berman-Frank, Yizhaq Makovsky and Barak Herut, together with Prof. Roee Diamant and Dr. Yoav Lehahn from the Charney School, as well as a large multidisciplinary team from leading research institutions in Israel.
This week, we set sail as part of the "Sea Voyage" course in our Maritime Strategy program, focusing on connecting historical heritage with contemporary maritime policy. The course, co-led by Dr. Igal Berenshtein, PhD Berenshtein and Dr. Yoav Lehahn, is built around a brilliant concept: learning about strategic, environmental, and historical topics of the Eastern Mediterranean in situ—while sailing, observing coastal sites from short distances, and engaging in meaningful conversations in an intimate setting. Aboard the yacht, with our small group and the gentle Mediterranean breeze, we created the perfect atmosphere for exchanging knowledge and insights about the sea and its significance.
Dr. Oren Gal's Swarms and AI Lab (SAIL) at the Hatter Department of Marine Technology is collaborating with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems on the European Union's #UnderSec project. Our research team is developing advanced algorithms for underwater target detection through multi-sensor data fusion - cutting-edge technology that will enhance the security of maritime infrastructure and protect marine ecosystems.
This week we held a special event that brought together our entire community - researchers, students and interested visitors gathered for an experiential and connecting meeting. It was moving to see the fruitful connections formed between all members of our school community, who share a common vision for creating change through the sea.
Researchers at the Morris Kahn Marine Research Station, part of the Charney School, have conducted Israel's first-ever ultrasound examination on a sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) and discovered that she is in an advanced stage of pregnancy. The examination was performed on a shark named "Romi" off the coast of Hadera as part of a long-term study on local shark populations.
At the Water Chemistry Lab in Morris Kahn Marine Research Station, we are actively monitoring nutrient dynamics as part of our ongoing research efforts. This work is conducted within the framework of EMS FORE (Eastern Mediterranean Sea as a Model for Future Ocean Research) project , aiming to enhance our understanding of biogeochemical processes in a rapidly changing marine environment.
Ocean Instrument
Do24 Seaplane - SAS image taken by the A18D during system testing in southern France. Depth ~100m
Press to watch the video on Youtube
Entire system mounted on a truck before mobilization.
Facilities
Tenure Track
We invite applicants for a tenure track faculty position in marine technologies.
Contact: martec@univ.haifa.ac.il
Students
The department of Marine Technologies is looking for Master and PhD Students.
Contact: martec@univ.haifa.ac.il
ABOUT
We are the Hatter Department of Marine Technologies within the Leon H. Charney School for Marine Sciences, University of Haifa. We work in technological research to develop knowledge, novel methods and advanced equipment for applied research of the sea. Located outside the University’s main campus at the IOLR research institute, the department has established an advanced national infrastructure for the study of the sea. The department’s academic staff combines expertise in marine engineering with understanding and research in the fields of oceanographic natural sciences. Professional engineers and technicians support the operation and maintenance of the department’s marine platforms and technologies, and develop sensors that assist in research.
The department, academically linked to the Faculty of Natural Sciences, offers a variety of graduate courses across several engineering disciplines and is the only academic center in Israel to offer a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Marine Technologies. The department has exceptional students, strong scholarship in terms of knowledge generation and application and vibrant public-private partnerships with major economic impact on the State of Israel and beyond. Evident in research expenditures, scholarly publications and leadership positions in professional societies, the department has extraordinary research strength in advanced signal and image processing, underwater autonomous vehicles, machine learning, telecommunications, navigation, marine engineering, ocean physics, underwater propulsion and maneuvering.
The department uses the facilities of the Helmsley Charitable Trust Mediterranean Sea Research Center.
A Tribute to Sir Maurice Hatter
The University of Haifa mourns the loss of Sir Maurice Hatter (1929-2020), respected businessman, philanthropist and cherished friend and benefactor of this University.
Sir Maurice provided generous support for the marine science research at the Institute for Maritime Studies and the Hatter Department of Marine Technologies.
News
OLD STAFF THAT I DID NOT COPY – GIL
Prof. Yizhaq Makovsky
Department: Marine Technologies
Research Areas: Active seafloor processes – climate and conservation, potential geohazards and resources, Margin and basin studies, Multi-attribute 2D & 3D seismic methods in offshore research, exploration and development, Very High Resolution acoustic profiling, imaging & characterization
Laboratory: Applied Marine Exploration Laboratory
Phone: +972-4-8249261
Office: 286, Multipurpose Building
Email: yizhaq@univ.haifa.ac.il
About
Courses
About
Prof. Yizhaq (Itzik) Makovsky is a faculty member with a shared position at the Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences and at the Hatter Department of Marine Technologies. He is a geophysicist specializing on the full scope of offshore exploration and development including: 3D imaging, reservoir characterization as well as seafloor active processes and geohazards.
Prof. Makovsky graduated his BSC (1990) at the Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, Tel Aviv University, and his PHD (1997) at the Department of Geophysics, Stanford University, CA, USA. From 1998 to 2007
Prof. Makovsky worked as a senior consulting geophysicist with Paradigm (one of the leading software companies in the global oil and gas industry), serving worldwide as an on-site global technology transfer, service and support expert in geophysical imaging and reservoir analysis.
In 2007 Prof. Makovsky joined Prof. Zvi Ben Avraham in establishing the Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa, and became the establishing head of the Department of Marine Geosciences (through 2010). Subsequently he established and heads the Applied Marine Exploration Laboratory (AMEL), and has a major role in establishing the Helmsely Center of Deep Sea Research, both at the School.
Prof. Makovsky is a member in an internal committee of the Israeli Academy of Science and Humanities aimed at promoting the academic infrastructure related with the gas and oil EEZ development, and is at the core management group of the National University of Haifa led Israel Mediterranean Sea Research Center consortium.
Courses
Criminology of Fish
Dr. Derya Akkaynak
Department: Marine Technologies
Laboratory: Computational Optics and Light in the Ocean Realm Lab (COLOR Lab)
Office: IUI, Eilat
Email: dakkaynak@univ.haifa.ac.il
About
About
Derya is an Assistant Professor at the Hatter Department of Marine Technologies, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa, jointly with the Interuniversity Institute of Marine Sciences (IUI) in Eilat. Derya is from Urla (İzmir), Turkey, and received her undergraduate degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, her master’s degree in Aeronautics & Astronautics at MIT and her PhD in Mechanical and Oceanographic Engineering in the joint program between MIT & Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Derya has professional, technical, and scientific diving certifications and conducted fieldwork from Bering Sea to Antarctica.
Dr. Oren Gal
Department: Marine Technologies
Laboratory: Swarm & AI lab
Phone: +972-4-8249261
Office: 286, Multipurpose Building
Email: orengal@univ.haifa.ac.il
About
Research Interests
About
I received my B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering, M.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Geo-information Engineering, all from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. I am currently an Assistant Professor, heading the Swarm and AI (SAIL) Lab, at the Hatter Department of Marine Technologies. Prior to joining the University of Haifa, I was the founder and CTO of Autonomy & Data Science R&D in the government sector, working with research partners around the world and leading research groups, for more than twenty years. In the last five years, I am working on joint research with CSAIL & LIDS MIT labs and UPenn, on swarms and machine learning algorithms.
Research Interests
My research focus on making humanity better, using swarms and AI across scales. The adaptability and scalability of swarms make them particularly suited to tasks that require distributed sensing, acting, and processing, presenting numerous possibilities for addressing complex and large-scale challenges facing humanity. From nanorobots for cancer treatment, to environmental monitoring and conservation in the ocean, or disaster response and recovery, traffic management and logistics etc. – swarms, particularly swarm intelligence, offer several significant benefits for humanity.
In our cutting-edge research lab, we delve into the complex and rapidly evolving field of swarms and autonomy, leveraging the latest advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to push the boundaries of autonomous systems across scales.
Our vision is to make human life better, where adaptability and scalability of swarms can make the difference for the ocean and for other aspects as well.
We strive to pioneer innovations that contribute significantly to the fields of autonomy and swarms, ultimately shaping the future of intelligent autonomous systems.
Prof. Tali Treibitz
Department: Marine Technologies
Laboratory: Marine Imaging Lab
Phone: +972-4-6053606
Office: Tel- Shikmona, P.O.B. 8030, Haifa 31080
Email: ttreibitz@univ.haifa.ac.il
About
Research Interests
About
Heading the Marine Imaging Lab, in the Department for Marine Technologies, Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa. Here is my full CV.
Previously: I was a post-doc, working with Prof. David Kriegman in the Computer Vision group, Computer Science and Engineering department in the University of California, San Diego, and with Prof. Jules Jaffe in the Jaffe laboratory for Underwater Imaging in the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
My Ph.D.: “Geometry and Photometry of Imaging Through a Medium”, Electrical Engineering, Technion, under the supervision of Prof. Yoav Schechner, in the Hybrid Imaging lab.
Based on the developments in the lab we established SeaErra-Vision, developing intelligent vision solutions for the underwater world.
Research Interests
Research Areas:
Imaging | Underwater Sensing | Oceanic Engineering | Computer Vision | Computational Photography
Prof. Itzik Klein
Department: Marine Technologies
Laboratory: The Autonomous Navigation and Sensor Fusion Lab (ANSFL)
Phone: +972-4-8240759
Office: 271 ,Multipurpose Building
Email: kitzik@univ.haifa.ac.il
About
Research Interests
About
Itzik Klein received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, in 2004 and 2007, respectively, and a Ph.D. degree in Geo-information Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, in 2011. He is an Associate Professor, heading the Autonomous Navigation and Sensor Fusion Lab, at the Charney School of Marine Sciences, Hatter Department of Marine Technologies, University of Haifa. He is an IEEE Senior Member and member of the IEEE Journal of Indoor and Seamless Positioning and Navigation (J-ISPIN) Editorial Board. He is currently a Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society and part of the leadership team of the Data Science Research Center at the University of Haifa. Prior to joining the University of Haifa, he worked at leading companies in Israel on navigation topics for more than 15 years. He has a wide range of experience in navigation systems and sensor fusion from both industry and academic perspectives.
Research Interests
- Data-driven inertial sensing and sensor fusion
- Inertial Navigation
- Nonlinear estimation
- Autonomous navigation
- Inertial Sensors
- Global Navigation Satellite Systems
- Visual Inertial Odometry
- Robotics
Visit our lab website to learn more about our research: http://marsci.haifa.ac.il/labs/ansfl
