Prof. Gershon Grossman, one of the top researchers in the field of energy in Israel and a senior and influential faculty member in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technion, passed away in 2026.
Gershon was born in Haifa in 1942, the son of parents who immigrated from Poland. He attended “Alliance” School in Haifa and then enlisted in the academic reserve track, where he began his studies at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technion. In 1964 he completed his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. During his service as an ordnance officer in the Navy, he continued his master’s degree studies at the Technion, which he completed in 1967. He later traveled to the United States to study for a PHD in mechanical engineering at MIT which he completed in 1971 .
After a period of work in research and development in the United States, Gershon joined the faculty of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technion in 1973. For more than five decades, he was a central figure in the teaching and academic leadership of the faculty and the field of energy at the Technion and in Israel.
Gershon’s research covered a wide range of topics in the fields of energy, thermodynamics , and heat and mass transfer,and in particular solar energy, energy conservation, refrigeration and air conditioning systems, heat pumps, absorption systems, and cryogenic refrigeration. His work combined basic research with engineering and applied developments, and he was a partner in the promotion of technologies for more efficient use of energy and renewable energy sources.
Alongside his extensive research activity, Gershon held a number of leadership positions at the Technion. From 1997 to 2001 he served as Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Over the years, he headed the Energy Engineering Research Center,the Solar Energy Laboratory, and the Rechler Cryogenic Refrigeration Laboratory , and served as the Sherman-Gilbert Chair in Energy. He was a member of central committees at the Technion and contributed greatly to the design of research and teaching in the fields of energy and mechanical engineering.
Gershon’s activities extended beyond the Technion. Since 2005, he has headed the Energy Forum at the Shmuel Ne’eman Institute for National Policy Research, where he has been involved for years in the discussion and shaping of energy policy in Israel. He has also served as a consultant on energy conservation and solar energy utilization in Israel and around the world, and has extensive research ties with leading institutions in the United States and Europe.
His scientific and professional contributions have received wide international recognition. Gershon was a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). Among the awards he received were the Georg Alefeld Lifetime Achievement Award in the field of absorption heat pumps, the B. Scott Russell Prize of the American Society of Cryogenics, and in 2017 the Frank Kreith Energy Award of the ASME, which is awarded for a significant contribution to a sustainable energy future, with an emphasis on energy conservation and renewable energy. In 2021, he was also awarded the Honorary Fellow of the Society of Electrical and Energy Engineers, in recognition of his many years of contribution to the Israeli energy sector.
During his decades of academic activity, Gershon trained generations of students and engineers, developed new research areas, and connected academic research, engineering practice, and energy policy. His influence is evident not only in his publications and the scientific developments he led, but also in the people he taught and supervised, and the institutions and research frameworks he helped build and promote.
From the words of Gershon’s research students, August 23, 2022 :
This is how a tradition begins, and a tradition is built around a unifying factor”.
So obviously cryogenics is the topic, but without a doubt, you, Gershon, are the person who connected and united everyone here tonight.
We were all privileged to be your students and to be infected with the thermodynamics bug , entirely thanks to you/because of you …
We sit here together and consider ourselves an “Israeli cryogenic community” because you taught us the basics of the profession, taught us research and development from them, and just as importantly, taught us to collaborate, listen, try, fail and succeed, all in a respectful atmosphere.
We are very proud to be in a field so important to the State of Israel and to lead the development of military and civilian products, and to contribute our part to the strength of the country, no less.
So if you haven’t noticed, we see you as the head of the tribe, an educator and a teacher, and with great excitement we wish to thank you for the wisdom and knowledge you have instilled in us .”
