IBM Haifa Labs 30 Years of Excellence and Innovation

In 2002, the IBM Haifa Labs mark their 30th anniversary, celebrating a history of innovation and transformation, guided by a vision that pioneered the hi-tech field in Israel and keeps it on the cutting edge. Back in 1972, when the hi-tech industry in Israel was in its infancy, the IBM Israel Scientific Center was established in Haifa. Since then, it has grown from three researchers to over 500 employees, including regular employees as well as quite many students. It has expanded from half of a floor in the Technion to its own custom-built complex on the Haifa University campus, with branches in Herzlia and Rehovot. The scope of its projects has broadened to include middleware for autonomic computing, software and system verification technologies, programming environments, chip design, highly reliable storage systems, information retrieval, collaboration, and so much more. Today, it is known as the IBM Haifa Labs and its influence is felt in a broad range of IBM's products and services. Over the years, the IBM Haifa Labs have managed to strike a delicate balance between applied and long-term industrial research. While contributing to product development on many levels, the lab also maintains close ties to the academic world. This combination enables the IBM Haifa Labs to simultaneously meet the needs of the present while helping shape the future of information technology. Right from its establishment in 1972, the IBM Haifa Labs have always been responsive to both the research goals of IBM and the specific needs of Israeli industry - from medical non-invasive diagnosis projects, to computer-controlled irrigation, to scheduling of El Al flight crews, and to Hebrew voice recognition. Today, its contributions play an important role in emerging technologies, such as IBM's eLiza project for self-managing computer systems, iSCSI for the IBM TotalStorage™ IP Storage 200i, the InfiniBand high bandwidth network protocol, Enterprise Storage Systems, and information retrieval engines. In addition, verification tools developed in Haifa are used throughout IBM labs to verify and test software and hardware. The concept of establishing a research center for IBM in Israel was the brainchild of the late David Cohen, then general manager of IBM Israel, and the late Prof. Josef Raviv, a world renown Israeli computer scientist who headed a research group at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY. Raviv, who was killed in a tragic automobile accident in 1999, was the driving force behind the IBM Haifa Labs and continued to be instrumental throughout their growth. In 1971, Raviv spent a year on sabbatical in Israel, where he met with Cohen. Raviv and Cohen convinced IBM management to open a Scientic Center in Israel, modeled after similar centers in the United States, England, Germany, France and Italy. The goals of these non-profit centers were to promote the development of computer science and utilize advanced technology to solve problems critical to the local community. They saw that with its international reputation for high-level scientific research, a pool of talented researchers, and the support of advanced research institutions, Israel provides the right environment for successful research and development operation. "David Cohen was a man of great vision," says Dr. Israel Berger, Program Director of Computer Engineering, who was one of the first researchers to join the Scientific Center. "His dream was that the Scientific Center would develop and grow, hoping that IBM would eventually establish a development and production operation in Israel." This was a groundbreaking step. At the time, outside of the military industry, the field of hi-tech was almost non-existent in Israel, and computing was just starting to gain momentum in its academic institutions. "If Josef had stayed in the United States, I have no doubt that he would have become an important figure at IBM," says Manager of Administration and Communications Ettie Gilead, who worked closely with Raviv as his executive assistant for 15 years. "Instead, he chose to come and live in Israel. He traveled abroad countless times to interview Israelis and convince them to return to Israel and join the Scientific Center. It was important to him that people work and produce in Israel." In 1972, the IBM Israel Scientific Center opened its doors in the Computer Science Building of the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology), with a handful of employees - Raviv as manager, three researchers, and one programmer. "Because I was the only programmer, it quickly became the norm for everyone to do their own programming," says Quality and ISO Coordinator Alex Hauber. "At the time, it was practically unheard of for researchers to write their own programs." Using the Technion's computing facilities, the Center embarked on projects in the fields of medicine, agriculture, economics, computer sciences and applied mathematics in computer applications. At first, all of the Center's work was done in cooperation with Israeli public and academic research groups. Teams comprising Scientific Center personnel and research partners worked on joint projects, and their results were published in the public domain, as per IBM's guidelines for all Scientific Centers. This turned out to be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it was wonderful to focus on projects that had the potential to make a difference for the country without having to make direct return-on-investment considerations. On the other hand, many researchers were frustrated by the inability to see their work mature into practical implementation and use. In the first three years, the Center's staff grew to 15. "We started off with half a floor in the Technion's Computer Sciences Building," says Hauber. "Little by little, we had to move the divider that closed off our offices to create more space, until we just got to be too big for the building." "In those days, it was like a family," recalls Freddie Roth, who joined the Center's administrative staff in 1973. "We celebrated holidays together. On Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day), we would have a picnic, with Josef manning the barbeque himself." Joint Ventures Across the Oceans In the late 1970s, Raviv began searching for ways to expand the Scientific Center's activities. He approached other Scientific Centers in Europe about conducting joint research projects. One of these was a project in farm management, in collaboration with the Madrid Scientific Center. "This allowed us to buy our first computer," recalls Prof. Michael Rodeh, the Director of the IBM Research Lab in Haifa, who joined the Scientific Center as a student in 1975. "It was a 5110, a portable computer about the size of a suitcase." The research team implemented algorithms on this machine and carried it from one kibbutz (collective farm) to another, to solve their individual irrigation problems. Another important project was the development of an ultrasound system for the early detection of liver cancer, in conjunction with IBM Austria and Israel's Sheba Hospital. Although today ultrasound equipment is routinely used in a wide range of medical applications, at the time it was a relatively new technology. Haifa's expertise in signal processing was key to the development of this project. Through such collaborative projects, the Scientific Center quickly became recognized as a focal point for research and development in engineering and scientific computing for all of IBM's European Scientific Centers. This facilitated the growth of the Center from 15 to 22 employees. To accommodate its expansion, the Scientific Center moved to newer and larger premises in the Technion's Andre and Bella Meyer Advanced Technology Center in 1982. Raviv was still on the lookout for ways to expand the Center even further. He began seeking out new avenues for cooperation and hit on the idea of subcontracting to IBM's research labs in the United States. He thought that perhaps the labs in the US could use specific skills to solve specific problems, and might be interested in working on a per-project basis. At the time, this was a radical idea, but as it took shape Dr. Ralph Gomory, then director of IBM Research, decided to sponsor this concept and created the Haifa Research Group (HRG) in 1982. This new activity began with only two projects - vendor chip testing and DAIOS (DASD I/O simulations) - and grew at an unprecedented rate. These two projects formed a core of activity that eventually led to the creation of the Haifa Research Lab's Verification Technologies and Storage System Technologies departments and to the Haifa Microelectronics Development Lab. In 1983, the Scientific Center and HRG were brought together under the roof of the Science and Technology Division of IBM Israel. It became a legal subsidiary of IBM Israel in 1989, which, at the time, was managed by Joshua Maor. Its major research and development projects in the 1980s included Hebrew computational linguistics (including text-to-speech synthesis for the blind), optimization of water distribution systems, computer-based education technology, portrait compression, signal processing for the hearing impaired, document recognition and processing, hand-written and printed text recognition, data compression and parsing techniques, and VLSI design verification and testing tools. "We had a wonderful mix of research and product development," recalls Dr. Israel Berger, who was instrumental in developing original verification technologies for the first chip-testing project. "The Scientific Center enabled us to do research. Our work for the labs enabled us to develop technology." During the late 1980s, the emphasis of the Scientific Center's work began to shift. IBM was phasing out its Scientific Centers, as computing became more widely used. In Israel, a decision was made to change the focus of the Center's work to benefit IBM Israel by finding solutions for its customers. In 1992, the Israel Scientific Center formally became known as the Advanced Solutions Center of IBM Israel. In recognition of the value that the Center was bringing to IBM, Dr. Jim McGroddy, director of IBM Research, named it the Haifa Research Laboratory in 1993. At the time, it was one of only three laboratories affiliated with IBM's Research Division outside of the United States, the others being Zurich and Tokyo. At the time, the Center had more than 250 employees; to accommodate its growing staff, HRL moved into Building 8/1 in the MATAM Advanced Technology Center at the southern tip of Haifa, not far from the Carmel Beach. During the 1990s, HRL's contributions to research and development were reflected in a variety of IBM products, such as the hardware and software for RS/6000 workstations, mathematical elementary functions for several IBM computers, consistent backup of data without interruption to active applications, and design verification of certain IBM products. HRL became the largest Research lab outside of the United States. In 1999, on his 65th birthday, Raviv retired as director of HRL and began to pursue another daring innovation - the establishment of an IBM development center in Israel. A few months later, he and his wife, Joanna, were killed in a tragic auto accident while on vacation in New Zealand. Although Raviv did not live to see the fruits of his latest endeavor, his legacy lives on. The development center that he planned grew into the IBM Haifa Microelectronics Development Laboratory and is managed today by Dr. Ilan Spillinger. Associated with IBM's Microelectronics Division, the goal of HDL/MD is to bridge the gap between pure research and the implementation of innovative technologies. Its projects include high-speed networks, high-speed circuits, software/hardware integration, and physical design of key VLSI components. It is one of the leaders in the emerging InfiniBand technology. Looking Forward "We are constantly looking for new ways to increase the value that we create for IBM and for the Israeli Society," says Rodeh. "To this end we would like to see IBM's R&D operation in Israel evolve into a cluster of labs, one of which is affiliated with the IBM Research Division, while the others focus on development." And indeed, in the fall of 2001, Ubique, an Israeli-based subsidiary of Lotus, became part of IBM's Software Group, and joined the Haifa Labs. The group develops the Sametime™ instant messaging and presence software Together, the three IBM labs form the IBM Haifa Labs. The labs have branches in Herzlia, and Rehovot (home of the Weizmann Institute of Science). In its 30th year, the IBM Haifa Labs moved to a new building on the University of Haifa campus. This new site was the brainchild of Prof. Josef Raviv, President of Haifa University Prof. Yehuda Hayut, and Haifa Mayor Amram Mitzna. It could not have been built without the full support of IBM Senior VP and Director of Research Dr. Paul Horn and General Manager of IBM Israel Meir Nissensohn. From its vantage point on the Carmel mountain range, the new building offers breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea and the city of Haifa below. The new location's proximity to the university, together with plans to move the Herzlia branch to a new complex at Tel Aviv University later this year, are a clear indication of the Labs' strong ties with the academic world. "You could say that we are going back to our roots," says Rodeh. "With our emphasis on research, we are positioned somewhere in the middle, between academia and the industrial world." These ties take on several forms. The IBM Haifa Lab researchers teach at the Technion, the Haifa University, and the Tel Aviv University. They also supervise student theses and undergraduate projects. Several staff members are also involved in special projects with academic institutions in Israel, the United States and Europe. These include coordination technologies with Purdue University, garbage collection with Tel Aviv University, distributed reputation systems with Bar-Ilan University, symbolic image databases with the University of Maryland, and algorithms with the Technion, and automated software testing with the AGEDIS consortium in Europe. Today, IBM's Haifa Labs boast the highest number of employees in Israel's hi-tech industry who hold doctorate degrees in science, electrical engineering, mathematics, or related fields. Researchers participate actively in international conferences and are frequently published in professional publications. Rodeh, who became HRL director when Raviv resigned, continues to seek new directions for growth. "Our mission for the future is to explore new areas that have not yet been thought of, while enhancing our technological leadership in areas where we are strong," says Rodeh. "We must constantly raise the level of expectations for ourselves and for those we serve. Through a mix of research and development activities, and by strengthening our collaboration with the local hi-tech industry, we can do more for IBM and for the State of Israel."