A $20 million gift to name The Nancy and Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP), a campuswide effort to consolidate Technion’s position as a global leader in energy innovation, was announced during the annual International Board of Governors meeting in June 2010, when Stephen Grand received an honorary doctorate. The Grands’ gift also served to bring the American Technion Society’s $1 billion, 13-year, “Shaping Israel’s Future” campaign to a successful completion.

“In order to have an impact on global energy issues, we need to invest in the brightest minds and provide them with the best facilities and equipment for their research. The Technion is ideally positioned for this program because of the outstanding quality of its researchers, and its well-developed ties with industry. We are proud to be with the GTEP at the forefront of this crucial area,” said Stephen Grand of San Francisco.

The primary goal of GTEP is to provide the resources for energy research projects with the potential to lead to new technologies that can lessen the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. GTEP Director Prof. Gideon Grader said, “The infrastructure is set up for interdisciplinary research that brings together researchers from various faculties and supports breakthrough research programs. To date, a carbon-free fuel development lab has been set up and a center for building and characterization of solar cells is being set up. In the near future, there are plans for the establishment of a center for energy accumulation, a center for the development of biological fuels and more. In addition, over the next five years, the program will fund five new faculty members at the Technion in the field of energy.”