SCOPUS 2017

D R . E L A D G R O S S
Dr. Elad Gross is developing new
ways to turn biomass—plant and plant
byproducts—into usable fuel. A Senior
Lecturer in the Institute of Chemistry,
Gross develops catalysts—substances
that can efficiently transform organic
materials into high added value
chemicals. He is especially focused
on the development of catalysts that
will be able to transform methane—a
natural gas resource that was recently
found under the sea floor next to the
seashores of Israel—into methanol, a
useful energy source that can be used
to power cars and fuel other industrial
processes. The development of new
catalysts will help to make this process
greener and more economically viable.
P R O F . L I O Z E T G A R
Using the sun for energy has long
been an aspiration of humankind, but
mass solar electricity production often
requires financial investment and major
infrastructure changes. Prof. Lioz
Etgar, at the Institute of Chemistry,
has developed a solar panel that could
make producing energy from the
sun less costly and more efficient.
Traditional solar panels are made
from silicon, but Etgar’s is made from
a newly discovered material called
“perovskite,” a crystalline substance
that efficiently absorbs light. “We have
the sun,” Etgar says. “And we need to
take advantage of it.”
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