Tel Aviv University and the Israeli Air Force announced on Sunday that they had established a joint center that “will harness the world of civilian research and knowledge to advance various areas related to policy making and strategic thinking on issues of air and space.”
Named the Elrom Center, the new think tank opened its door at the end of last week and is the first of its kind in Israel in this area of research.
At an opening ceremony held at TAU led by TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat and with Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin present, the two signed a joint document emphasizing that "a framework has been formed for multidisciplinary research promoting theoretical and practical knowledge on air and space power.”
The document also said that the center would try to expand “fruitful ties between academia and a range of other sectors, including industry, nonprofits and organizations, government agencies, and Israel's security forces, to develop education and cultivate a cadre of future researchers in this important field."
Further, the center is part of the IAF’s vision “to harness scientific knowledge for the benefit of the Air Force, encouraging creative and critical thinking and accelerating the incorporation of innovation into world views of the Air Force.”
The academic research carried out at the Center will “help in the development and adaptation of the Air Force's operational concepts, combat doctrines, and power- building processes.”
Moreover, the center’s research will seek to address concrete applied science, engineering and other real-world issues.
The new Center will be headed by Prof. Eviatar Matania of the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center, who has real-world experience as the founding and former Head of the Israel National Cyber Bureau.
Norkin said, “we are groundbreaking pioneers in a vast range of operational issues which have grown in response to the challenges of our Middle-Eastern neighborhood…together with the IDF's intelligence operations, air power has become the main answer to the country's security challenges.”
“Fighting terrorism from the air, air supremacy, remotely piloted aircraft, the most advanced air defense in the world, and three F-35 squadrons – are only some of the aspects in which the Israeli Air Force, together with Israel's defense industries, are leaders and pioneers,” he said.
Porat said, “The field of Air and Space Power is important and promising, both socially and scientifically. Many researchers at TAU address this subject from different angles, and the new Center will contribute a great deal to the advancement and development of both research and education in this area.”
This new center adds another layer to TAU's strategy to seek to advance groundbreaking multidisciplinary research that brings together the university's finest researchers, the hi-tech industry, and the broader community.
In this context the Center “will develop a cadre of future researchers and establish systematic academic activity in this area in Israel. It will encourage students to specialize in air & space power – both students who belong to nonprofits and organizations, government agencies and the security forces.”
Several other recent multidisciplinary centers established over the past year, included: the Center for Combating Pandemics, the Center for Climate Change Action, the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, and the Center for Aging.