Talpiot program
Encyclopedia
Talpiot program is an elite Israel Defense Forces
training program for young people who have demonstrated outstanding academic ability in the sciences, physics and mathematics. Graduates of the Talpiot program pursue higher education while serving in the army, and then utilize their expertise to further IDF research and development. The program was inaugurated in 1979.
. The idea was to harness human creativity, which peaks early, to develop new technologies for the army. The program is sponsored by the Israeli Air Force
and IDF Administration for the Development of Weapons and the Technological Industry
, and run under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
In addition to the 3 years obligated by the israeli law, the service includes 6 years of standing army service in a wide variety of positions. The total program, including military service, is nine years.
The first class had 25 cadets. Later, the class was increased to 50-60. The applicant pool consists of nearly ten thousand top scorers of a test taken by all graduating high school seniors. 150-200 potential applicants are then subjected to a two-day series of tests. These include further IQ exams as well as group-tasks designed to test one's social dynamics, all conducted under the supervision of trained psychologists and military personnel. For example, teams of applicants are given a specific task then the instructions are changed while the test is in progress, such as shortening the alloted time or changing the assigned tasks. Final applicants appear before a panel of professors, military leaders, and other examiners where they are asked questions such as to explain the theory of relativity or mechanisms of solar heating. Final acceptance into the program entails a high security clearance rating, given by the Air Force.
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
training program for young people who have demonstrated outstanding academic ability in the sciences, physics and mathematics. Graduates of the Talpiot program pursue higher education while serving in the army, and then utilize their expertise to further IDF research and development. The program was inaugurated in 1979.
History
The initiators of the program were Professor Felix Dothan and Professor Shaul Yatziv of the Hebrew University, who submitted the idea to the Israeli chief of staff Rafael EitanRafael Eitan
Rafael "Raful" Eitan was an Israeli general, former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and later a politician, a Knesset member government minister...
. The idea was to harness human creativity, which peaks early, to develop new technologies for the army. The program is sponsored by the Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
and IDF Administration for the Development of Weapons and the Technological Industry
Administration for the Development of Weapons and the Technological Industry
The Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure , abbreviated Maf'at , is a joint administrative body of the Israeli Ministry of Defense and Israel Defense Forces that coordinates between the Ministry of Defense, the IDF, the military industries, Israel Military...
, and run under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Program
During their initiation period, the cadets study for their B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics (some of them Computer Science – according to their choice) at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in Air Force uniform, while also undergoing different periods of field training designed to familiarize them with all branches of the IDF (infantry level 04 basic training, parachuting course, combat engineering course,armored corps course, artillery corps course ,instruction in military tactics etc). At the end of the course which lasts 40 months the cadets receive a rank of first lieutenant (Segen) and the B.Sc. and become integrated in the R&D in the IDF and Israeli military industries, or alternatively, in various combat positions if they so choose.In addition to the 3 years obligated by the israeli law, the service includes 6 years of standing army service in a wide variety of positions. The total program, including military service, is nine years.
The first class had 25 cadets. Later, the class was increased to 50-60. The applicant pool consists of nearly ten thousand top scorers of a test taken by all graduating high school seniors. 150-200 potential applicants are then subjected to a two-day series of tests. These include further IQ exams as well as group-tasks designed to test one's social dynamics, all conducted under the supervision of trained psychologists and military personnel. For example, teams of applicants are given a specific task then the instructions are changed while the test is in progress, such as shortening the alloted time or changing the assigned tasks. Final applicants appear before a panel of professors, military leaders, and other examiners where they are asked questions such as to explain the theory of relativity or mechanisms of solar heating. Final acceptance into the program entails a high security clearance rating, given by the Air Force.
Talpiot graduates (Talpionim)
- Abraham (Avi) LoebAbraham (Avi) LoebAbraham Loeb is an American/Israeli theoretical physicist who works on astrophysics and cosmology. Professor Loeb serves as Chair of the Harvard Astronomy department and is also director of the Institute for Theory and Computation at Harvard University...
, American/Israeli theoretical physicist at Harvard University - Yoav FreundYoav FreundYoav Freund is a researcher and professor at the University of California, San Diego who mainly works on machine learning, probability theory and related fields and applications.From his homepage:...
, professor at the University of CaliforniaUniversity of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, San Diego, and Gödel PrizeGödel PrizeThe Gödel Prize is a prize for outstanding papers in theoretical computer science, named after Kurt Gödel and awarded jointly by the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science and the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory .The...
winner - Shlomo Dubnov, composer and researcher, professor at the University of CaliforniaUniversity of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, San Diego - Arik Czerniak, one of the founders of MetacafeMetacafeMetacafe is a web site that specializes in short-form video entertainment in the categories of movies, video games, sports, music and TV.The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London and Tel Aviv...
, a Palo Alto company that has user posted videos. - Marius Nacht, one of the co-founders of Check PointCheck PointCheck Point Software Technologies Ltd. is a global provider of IT security solutions. Best known for its firewall and VPN products, Check Point first pioneered the industry with FireWall-1 and its patented stateful inspection technology...
Software Technologies - Amit Klein, web security expert and CTO of Trusteer, Ltd, a consumer transaction security company.
- Uri AlonUri AlonUri Alon is a Professor and Systems Biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science. His highly cited research investigates gene expression, network motifs and the design principles of biological networks in Escherichia coli and other organisms using both computational biology and traditional...
, professor of systems biology at the Weizmann Institute - Elon LindenstraussElon LindenstraussElon Lindenstrauss is an Israeli mathematician, and a winner of the 2010 Fields Medal.Since 2004, he has been a professor at Princeton University...
, professor of mathematics at the Hebrew University and winner of the 2010 Fields MedalFields MedalThe Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union , a meeting that takes place every four...
External links
- The beginning of Talpiot
- Israeli tech & Talpiot, Wall Street Journal - July 6, 2007
- Brain Gain, David A. Fulgham, Aviation Week - August 2, 2010