Co Directors
Naama Scheftelowitz
Teaching & outreach
Naama is the director of the Sourasky Central Library in Tel Aviv University since 2009. She is an expert in information and knowledge management, Academic library management, information research and very active in the academic information world in Israel, leading the Israeli group of Digital Humanities in Israeli Academic Libraries. she also leads the renovations of the library and lately opened the virtual and extended reality Center in the library.
Prof. Tom Schonberg
Academic & Director of Minerva Center
Tom Schonberg started his academic path in the unique Interdisciplinary program at Tel Aviv University, leading directly to a Masters Degree. He received his PhD in 2010 from Tel Aviv University with Co-supervision from Caltech, on the topic of reinforcement learning in the human brain using functional MRI. In his post-doctoral research, he studied risky decision making and then behavioral change. Tom opened his lab at Tel Aviv University in October 2014, where he is now an Associate Professor in the The School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics in the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Sagol School of Neuroscience. Tom's lab studies the neural basis of behavior change and is interested in the process of value construction in value-based decision making. Research tools in the lab include structural and functional MRI, eye tracking, sports bracelets, computational decision-making models and virtual reality. Since October 2021, Tom is the director of a Minerva center for the study of human intelligence in immersive, augmented and mixed realities. Tom is committed to the principles of open and new science.
Studio Team
Operations
Avi Budianu
Operation Manager
Yonatan Oberklied
Operator
Yahel Shuker
Operator
Yarden Freund
Operator
About The Center
TAU XR is a unique center for research and learning using virtual, augmented and mixed realities experiences.
The center was founded in early 2022 and is located in a dedicated space at the Sourasky Central Library. The center is led by Prof. Tom Schonberg from the School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics at the Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Dr. Naama Schetelowitz, the director of the library.
Alongside the research importance, the center has an experiential pedagogical role. Virtual reality enables in-depth interactions that can enhance teaching, learning and enjoyment through digital environments such as game-building technologies, digital or responsive environments. For all disciplines, we can build new and imagined worlds that delve deeper into understanding the neural basis for human decision-making processes.
Constructing more realistic environments allows for full and monitored functioning, which goes beyond the scope of a traditional laboratory experiment. With the help of the center and the use of virtual reality, it is possible to examine human processing and reactions in a safe environment.