Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
The metropolitan area of Tel Aviv is the most densely populated coastal region in Israel, with over 3.6 million people, and is considered as the economic centre of the state of Israel. The Tel Aviv coastline offers beautiful urban beaches, an active marina and two small historic ports. These are the ancient Port of Jaffa, still serving as a fishing port today and the old Port of Tel Aviv that was recently retrofitted as a recreational area.
In addition, Marina Herzliya, the biggest and most innovative marinas in the East Mediterranean, is located north of Tel Aviv, is of the first marinas in Israel to receive the world-renowned eco-label “Blue Flag”. In 2016 Marina Hertzliya will host the WHP green engineering experiment.
The WHP partner in Tel Aviv, ECOncrete® Tech LTD, is a young innovative startup established by two marine biologists with a vision of changing the way our future coastlines look and function. Their environmentally sensitive bio-enhancing concrete technology improves the biological and ecological value of coastal and marine infrastructure such as breakwaters, pier piles and seawalls, while also contributing to their strength and longevity. By harnessing biological processes, ECOncrete® reduces the ecological footprint of coastal development projects, enhances biodiversity in the area and elevates environmental awareness among users and visitors.
Shimrit Perkol-Finkel
Shimrit Perkol-Finkel is the co-founder and CEO of ECOncrete®. Shimrit specializes in design, development, evaluation and assessment of urban marine structures. She holds a PhD in Marine Ecology from Tel-Aviv University, and is a Marie Curie Alumnae, successfully completing her post doc “MarUrbe – sustainable management of urban marine structures” in Ravenna, Italy (University of Bologna). Shimrit has over 15 years of experience in the field of Marine Biology and Ecology in over 20 counties, with flag projects showcasing ECOncrete’s technologies including ecological armoring units in the Military Port of Haifa (Israel), and designed tide pools and enhanced pier piles in Brooklyn Bridge Park (NY, US).
Ido Sella
Ido Sella is the co-founder and CTO of ECOncrete®. Dr. Ido Sella, has more than 10 years of experience in the field of Marine Biology and Ecology, with emphasis on ecological enhancement of coastal and marine infrastructure. In the last few years Ido was involved in extensive monitoring of the ports of Haifa and Ashdod in Israel, and the USA ports of New York, Savannah and Key West. Focusing on the effect of man-made structures on biomechanics process, and life history traits of marine invertebrate, he has a world-wide scientific experience and led onshore and offshore projects in temperate and tropical environments, such as the South China and Mediterranean Seas and the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Ido earned an MSc in Ecology and Environmental Quality and a PhD in Zoology, from Tel-Aviv University.