The study aims to provide an economic model for optimizing the future power grid by solving a linear programming optimization problem. Linear programming is a common method for solving optimization problems for practical and multidimensional design problems. This method is used for determining the optimal electricity network structure, which is required to supply the future electricity demand of the Israeli electricity sector at minimal cost (minimum investment of resources). The objective function includes various constraints, such as meeting the government’s national targets for a desired mix of renewable energies, ensuring the reliability of the electricity network, and stabilizing the fluctuations in the amounts fed into the grid. Feasible solutions satisfy all the constraints. The model proposed in this study assumes a competitive electricity economy in which electricity production is determined according to the two-stage model of Milstein and Tishler. To date, Eyal began the introduction to the literature review of the traditional structure of electricity markets and the trend of the transition of future electricity markets to zero-carbon electricity markets. Specifically, it focuses on the structure and costs of the transmission and distribution network. He has also participated at the 80th Midwest Political Science Association Conference in Chicago, USA, and in the Araba Region at the 51st Annual Conference for Science and Environment. Additionally, Drivers of Urban Sustainability Development in Israeli Cities was published in the ecological journal Ecology and Environment, 14(1).

Over the course of the research fellowship, Lior has been actively engaged in the establishment of The Israel Futuristic Electricity System Research Lab, collaborating closely with esteemed PhD candidates and industry professionals who specialize in electricity policy. This exciting initiative includes the invaluable contributions of renowned academics, such as Professor Itai Sened, Professor Asher Tishler, Professor Vered Blass, and Dr. Irena Milstein. Within this dynamic forum, Lior had the privilege of presenting my work on two occasions. During the first presentation, he shared insights from a report he published as a chapter in the Bank of Israel’s annual report. This report focused on environmental and energy policy in Israel, particularly in relation to the nation’s determined contribution to the IPCC. The presentation highlighted the critical aspects of environmental considerations in shaping Israel’s energy policies. The second presentation provided an overview of his ongoing PhD thesis, which is centered on investigating the economic feasibility of introducing nuclear energy for electricity production in Israel. This comprehensive thesis is developed in close collaboration with his supervisors, and its outline is meticulously structured. The study commences with an introduction that sets the context and significance of examining nuclear energy implementation. The subsequent literature review explores energy markets and electricity markets, encompassing various elements like production, transmission, distribution, supply, and the role of Independent System Operators (ISOs). Competitive and centralized models in electricity markets are also scrutinized, with a specific focus on Israel’s unique electricity market.  Another essential aspect of the thesis explores the technical, safety, economic, and environmental facets of nuclear energy in electricity production. Throughout this section, Lior delves into models of optimal capacity mix, considering the interplay between nuclear technology, natural gas, photovoltaic cells, and storage solutions. As the report concludes, he reflects on the significant progress made during the past year, which includes formulating the thesis outline, advancing the literature review, and completing relevant courses. Additionally, his active participation in The Israel Futuristic Electricity System Research Lab has been instrumental in shaping his research journey. The upcoming phases entail finalizing the literature review, conducting empirical analysis, and preparing the crucial results and conclusions section of the thesis.

After a comprehensive study in which articles and previous studies were reviewed about virtual power plants and the correlation between the load profile of an institution and the storage volume of a fleet of electric vehicles, it was found that such a study does not exist and it is possible that the establishment of a network of chargers for long-term parking lots may exist only in a model of sharing and diverting loads to the network. A literature review was performed about the previous studies, and the engineering challenges involved in building such a model were studied. It was decided that Ben Gurion Airport would be a case study for implementing the model, and contact was made with the airport managers to coordinate cooperation and receive energy consumption data. During the second semester, a mathematical model was built in which the objective function was to minimize energy consumption, but in a mid-term meeting, it was determined that it would be better to build a model that would maximize the economic profit and also minimize the energy losses.

Over the winter of 2022, Eitan conducted research at IIT Madras in Tamil Nadu, working in the research groups of Professor Kumar and Professor Pradeep. The bulk of the research conducted in Tamil Nadu was the thorough assessment of the environment surrounding the Hindustan Unilever thermometer factory site in Kodaikanal. This factory was found in 2001 to have been – for 18 years – dumping large amounts of mercury-contaminated material into the adjacent forest, selling mercury-contaminated scrap without disclosure, and storing said scrap on its own property to ensure it leaked to poison the surrounding environment. A 3D map of the sampling sites assessed is provided in Figure 1. Eitan proposes a new and highly critical policy perspective on this topic, ‘The Right to Remediation,’ for both the environment and its residents. This policy perspective will be supported by insights from ecological chemistry and environmental engineering and will be applied to the intersection of national and supranational policy that dictates the regulatory framework in which mercury continues to poison our world. Furthermore, Eitan worked on three other projects during the year: Development of Novel Recyclable Platform for the Removal of Mercury from Water combining nano, meso, and macroporous materials to generate high performance, high throughput, mercury selective reactive medium; the platform Eitan developed for mercury could be adapted for lithium, and applied to the brine produced by existing desalination processes, where the concentration is up to three times higher; and Affordable Self-maintaining Ultrafiltration Home Water Treatment, for which Eitan developed an entirely mechanical solution to this problem in the form of a device that requires no electronic components, and thus can be manufactured at very low cost.

Extreme weather, rising water levels, and a damaged ecosystem will heavily impact the already large number of refugees. The need to help people that flee their country will be a significant future challenge. Helping as a concept inherently entails unequal power relations, as the help provider has resources the help recipient does not have. Thus, Dr. Knab argues that helping can lead to maintaining power relations, especially when helping is offered in a dependency-oriented manner (help that makes the recipient dependent on continued help instead of providing the tools, i.e., autonomy-help). In this project, Dr. Knab proposes that norms to help the disadvantaged group (in one’s social environment and on a country level) impact which of these seemingly different action tendencies is shown. Concretely, people who feel threatened by the disadvantaged group but perceive strong norms to help the group should opt for dependency-oriented help because it allows them to follow the norms in their environment but also satisfy their underlying motivation to maintain hierarchy due to the perceived threat. Data from a pilot experimental study (N = 110) and three studies conducted in Germany and Israel (combined N = 823) show that dependency-oriented help is highest when participants perceive strong norms but feel threatened simultaneously. This interaction was not visible for autonomy help. Whereas studies 1-3 were conducted with refugees as the disadvantaged group, study 5 (N = 365) aimed to extend the findings to a different intergroup setting and shows also that Jewish Israelis offer more dependency-help to Arab Israelis when there is a high threat and strong norms perceptions (in contrast to weak norms). In a fifth study conducted in the US (N = 200), Dr. Knab aimed to reduce negative emotions (including threat) to give rise to autonomy-oriented help. By creating interdependence between citizens and people migrating to the country, people showed higher autonomy helping in contrast to a control group. The results have implications for initiatives that can increase social equality.

The field of conflict resolution is unique due to its interdisciplinary properties and the ability to synthesize theories that belong to a vast array of fields of knowledge. Many scholars have worked on analyzing different disputes to create models of their escalation, with the goal of understanding which factors result in collective violence. Despite this, there has yet to be an agreement in the field as to what exactly is the process behind escalations. Existing models are either single or dual-disciplinary, while due to the field’s interdisciplinarity, conflicts are affected by an extensive amount of both internal and exogenous factors. This is a crucial gap in research, as without this, it is not possible to classify conflicts according to their type, which could help develop better strategies for more efficient resolution processes, mitigation efforts, and confidence-building measures. The attempt to fill this gap through Petr’s doctoral dissertation is best explained in two distinct phases. Firstly, a new model of escalation was proposed by reviewing existing ones. Having a multi-level, interdisciplinary, and chronological model of escalations, the theoretical basis provided is an attempt to review all angles that most conflicts tend to have while being able to see which ones happen when in each one, as well as what are the effects of each corresponding factor within the model. Following that, in the second stage, a conflict typology will be created by looking at the model’s variations between case studies. This typology will have a scope of looking at conflicts that are of the violent, intergroup type. Theoretical works on conflict escalations are very context-specific to the conflicts that scholars analyze. Because of this – a significant limitation of all the existing models that were reviewed in this section is that they are single, or best-case dual disciplinary, omitting many significant factors that influence the flow of the conflict. Through a process of developing a theoretical framework, five key elements were identified: Structural Causes & Institutions, Social Identities & Groups, Narratives, Elite Level Decision-making, and Mobilization towards organized collective violence. Petr proposes three distinct stages: initiation, ignition, and manifestation. The first stage is when the conflict is invisible. However, the oil for it is already put in place, and the gears are starting to shift. At this stage, structural causes of conflict and social identities are formed, impacting the communities through unmet needs and establishing the in and out-groups. Furthermore, the conflict moves in the ignition stage, where it finally becomes visible to the naked eye, through establishing and altering the narrative, according to the social identity parameters, while elites are starting to make decisions that can serve as early indicators of conflict. At the last stage of manifestation – the society becomes mobilized to carry out acts of collective organized violence towards the out-group, so the conflict takes full effect and is no longer visible but rather blinding. The process occurs on both sides of the conflict; thus, to grasp the complete picture, two models need to be filled with inputs from each group and juxtaposed against one another. In order to fill in the gaps of knowledge as per the current literature on typologies, the model will be used to address typology conflicts. For this purpose, the following research question was adopted for this purpose: How does the violent intergroup conflict group according to the process model?