International Physicists' Tournament 2025
We’re proud to mark a new Technion-Physics milestone — Israel’s first-ever participation in the International Physicists’ Tournament (IPT)!
The IPT is an international competition where university students tackle open-ended physics problems over several months, then defend and debate their solutions in a format that simulates real scientific discourse — including roles like presenter, opponent, and reviewer. It’s a unique and intellectually intense experience that bridges theory and teamwork.
🎯 This year, a team from the Technion proudly represented Israel for the first time ever, with participants from both the Physics department and the Electrical and Computer Engineering department.
👏 Special recognition goes to Dr. Igor Khanonkin, Technion alumnus currently completing his postdoc at ETH Zurich. Igor was fortunate to encounter the IPT when it was held at ETH and went on to serve as team leader and judge. He later played a key role in bringing the competition to Israel.
🧠 Our amazing team: Maor Goldman, Daniel Sverdlov, Robert Merian, Vishesh Makwana, Jonathan Shelest – who took on the challenge and represented Israel at the tournament.
Vishesh Makwana shared “it was an incredible experience representing Israel for the first time at the IPT. We worked on 17 challenging problems that tested our creativity and deep understanding of physics. At the tournament, we presented and defended our solutions in intense yet friendly “physics fights” against teams from around the world. The exchange of ideas and the opportunity to engage in scientific debate with such passionate peers made it an unforgettable and inspiring event.”
💡 And a huge thanks to our dedicated team leaders:
• Chen Mechel, Alexey Gorlach, Lev Melnikovsky, and Doron Har-Lev – thank you for your guidance in solving the IPT problems.
🙏 A heartfelt thank you to the IPT organizers for hosting such an inspiring, high-level competition and for welcoming Israel into this amazing community.
🏅 The team members gained valuable experience through the IPT, improving their presentation skills, collaborating with peers worldwide, and taking on diverse roles such as opponents and reviewers—developing both critical thinking and scientific communication in a real-world physics setting.
📍Next year’s IPT will be held at Oklahoma State University, USA!
Igor is already looking ahead and invites all Israeli universities to join next year’s IPT and help us build a strong national tradition of participation in this exciting, challenging, and enriching event.
📩 Interested? Please contact Igor — let's make it happen! <
Well Done!!!
• Daniel Sverdlov, Robert Merian, Vishesh Makwana, Jonathan Shelest – Physics Department, Technion
• Maor Goldman – Joint ECE & Computer Science Program, Technion
• Chen Mechel and Alexey Gorlach – PhD students, ECE Department, Technion
• Igor Khanonkin – Postdoc, ECE Department, Technion
• Doron Har-Lev – Physics Department, Technion
• Lev Melnikovsky – Weizmann Institute of Science
