Given by the American Technion Society, the award honors Ed’s numerous humanitarian contributions

On May 3rd, the American Technion Society presented Ed Satell with an historic honor — the rarely conferred Albert Einstein Award — for his extraordinary leadership and abiding commitment to Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, the State of Israel, and the world of science. The honor also recognized Ed’s important contributions to Corporate Social Responsibility.

[Watch a video of the award ceremony here.]

The award is the highest given by Technion, which is one of the most renowned research institutions in the world and an entity whose many advancements in science, technology and medicine have been crucial to the State of Israel and the world. Since 1972, Technion has presented the Einstein Award to only a few prestigious humanitarians who lead by example. Ed – who was previously awarded an honorary doctorate by Technion in 2016 — now joins that even more elite group.

Through the years, Ed has not only been the quiet major financial supporter of at least eight different and important scientific programs associated with Technion (detailed below), but an involved partner, offering vital feedback and guidance based on his experience in management and business. The programs have produced breakthrough research and internationally recognized scientific superstars.

Befitting those quiet, unique contributions, the award ceremony – which took place at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia — featured an array of important figures from science, academia and business who were on hand to honor Ed. Among them were Peretz Lavie, former president of Technion and one of the world’s leading sleep researchers, and Gidi Grader, the renowned energy researcher who served as dean of the Technion Faculty of Chemical Engineering. A brief film highlighted the work, supported by Ed, of internationally known scientists Marcelle Machluf, Ido Kaminer and Alon Dana.

Ed was presented with the Einstein Award by Zahava Bar-Nir, chair of the American Technion Society, and Michael Waxman-Lenz, CEO of the organization, both of whom noted Ed’s many extraordinary and unique contributions. After receiving the Einstein Award, Ed offered gracious remarks to the crowd about how important business contributions and involvement can be to the work of great scientific accomplishment.

The Einstein Award is named, of course, for Albert Einstein, who enjoyed a close relationship with Technion and was vital in its development. In 1923, Einstein visited the Technion. During his visit, he planted a now-famous first palm tree. The tree still stands today in front of the Technion’s original building. Einstein returned to Germany to set up the first Technion Society, and served as its chairman.

In that tradition, Ed has supported Technion in many ways, including:

* The Ed Satell Doctoral Fellows Program. Ed established this program to fund graduate school tuition for those who couldn’t afford it at the request of Israel’s first Nobel Prize winner in science, Avram Hershko. Hershko had shared with Ed that graduate students were integral to scientific research, and he could not have won the Nobel Prize without them.

By graduate school in Israel, a high percentage of the population, having already served in the military (a minimum of two years for women and three years for men) and completed their undergraduate studies, are married, and often have children. This makes taking on graduate studies exceedingly rigorous. With the help of President Lavie, Ed not only funded the program, but engaged for the students a mentor, Professor Marcelle Machluf, who had spent five years at Harvard, with her husband and three children, doing her post-doctoral work while handling similar burdens. She was a role model/leader for these young graduate students who were struggling with family, money and the intensity needed in this rigorous academic life. This program enabled about 25 highly qualified graduate students to complete their multiyear graduate studies at the Technion, where many have continued to distinguish themselves in the field of science.

* The Satell Family Nitrogen Hydrogen Alternative Fuels Research Laboratory. Ed was the original sponsor of Israel’s first energy program, led by Professor Gidi Grader at the Technion (with Alon Dana, who went on to become an outstanding professor at Technion, as lab manager). After two years of recognized pioneering success with alternative energy, this project sparked significant expansion in 2007, being the first part of the acclaimed, multi-disciplinary alternative energy research and graduate education initiatives, uniting experts throughout the world under the Grand Technion Energy Program. Ed used his real-world experience in business to serve in an important advisory role for the program.

This work ultimately produced startup H2Pro, founded in 2019 after years of research (first in the Satell Lab and later in other Technion Labs), which is expected to impact climate change and provide clean hydrogen to generate significant amounts of electricity to millions of homes and more. H2Pro has won numerous prizes and attracted financial backing from leading investors, including Bill Gates’ climate fund, Breakthrough Energy Group. H2Pro was recently recognized by Bloomberg as one of “12 Climate Tech Innovators Building a Net Zero World.”

* The Richard D. Satell Stem Cell Research Program. This program, specializing in genetic research, is dedicated in honor of Ed’s late brother.

* A Novel Encapsulation System for Stem-Cell Based Technologies. This has the proven potential to solve many organic cancers. Professor Machluf’s “Nanoghost” hypothesis, using the individual’s own lab-grown stem cells as safe delivery vehicles for targeted cancer drugs, is now a worldwide phenomenon. This highly promising work of “Dr. Cell” is now in final human testing.

* Satell Leadership Research Fellows at MIT. Ed was the lead funder of the distinguished and highly competitive program, sending 29 of Israel’s top PhDs in science, at the rate of five a year, to MIT for a four-year, all-expense paid program as Senior Postdoctoral Associates. While many came back to be outstanding young professors – soon expected to be superstars – at the Technion, others were courted to be professors at top-ranked research universities in the U.S. and throughout the world.

Ed’s hope is that among this group will be top recognized research professors who become future Nobel Prize winners. Several have already achieved notable success, including Gili Bisker (blood monitor implant) and Ido Kaliner (head of the Electron Beam Quantum Dynamics Lab, whose work proved applying UV light into ventilation systems of buildings and shared indoor spaces quickly and effectively deactivates airborne and surface-deposited viruses – an invaluable aid during Covid).

* The Satell Global Energy Research Initiative. This program funds cooperative energy research, as well as student and professor exchange, between the Technion energy program in Israel and the UCONN energy program in the United States.

* The Satell iTrek Fellowship Program. Many groups of Jacobs Technion-Cornell MBA graduate students in New York take advantage of this program, where they learn about and are exposed to Technion and much in Israel for 10 days per group. This gives them the opportunity for what the first cohort called a “life-changing experience.”

* The Ed Satell Fellowships within the Interdepartmental Technion Graduate EnergyStudies Program. This program provides doctoral candidates as research assistants.

In addition to his support of Technion, Ed was honored for his dedication to and advancement of Corporate Social Responsibility. In 2016, Ed founded the Satell Institute, a collective force of business and foundations partnering with nonprofits for the greater good. He continues to serve as the organization’s chair.

Congratulations to Ed on this extraordinary and well-deserved honor.