For the first 30 years of its existence, the Technion did not have separate scientific departments. However, basic education in physics is considered vital and was therefore included in the curricula. Prof. Aharon Tcherniavsky took upon himself the sole responsibility of teaching physics to all students at the Technion. In those days luxuries such as laboratory equipment were obtained only thanks to donations.
In 1952, the Department of Physics was established as part of the Faculty of Sciences. The first head of the physics department was Prof. Nathan Rosen, Einstein’s last assistant. In 1958, the physics department moved from the “green shack” located next to the old Technion building in Hadar Hacarmel to the new campus in Neve Sha’anan and the Einstein Institute of Physics was founded.
In 1962 the physics department changed its status and became a faculty. Experimental research in physics received a significant boost in 1976 when the Rosen Solid State Institute was founded. In 2004, a new wing, the Lidow Complex, was inaugurated, thanks to the donation of 90-year-old Eric Lidow, 50 years after his first donation! In 2006, the Institute for Theoretical Physics was named the Lewiner Institute for Theoretical Physics. Prof. Yakir Aharonov, winner of the Wolf Prize and the Israel Prize, is a graduate of the Technion’s Faculty of Physics.