Gurfil holds the Shirley & Burt Harris Chair and serves as a chaired professor in Technion's Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. He joined the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the Technion in 2004. He was promoted to full professor in 2018. From 2015 to 2020, he served as the head of the
Asher Space Research Institute (ASRI). a Full Member of the
International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), and a Member of the
International Astronomical Union. (IAU)
Research Gurfil's research focuses on
astrodynamics, spacecraft
orbital mechanics,
guidance, navigation and control, and space
systems engineering. A significant area of his work involves
satellite formation flying, and research on
fractionated spacecraft, for which Gurfil received a highly-competitive grant from the
European Research Council (ERC). As head of the
Asher Space Research Institute, he led the Adelis- SAMSON space mission, the first-ever initiative to design, build, and launch three autonomous coordinated nanosatellites. The project, a collaboration with the Israeli space industry, aimed to demonstrate formation-flying technologies for
search-and-rescue and
geolocation purposes, and was launched in March 2021 on board a
Soyuz-2 launcher. Gurfil has also been involved in promoting international space collaboration, as well as in studies concerning
Israel Space Agency's strategic planning, and has commented on national space policy and exploration initiatives, such as the
Beresheet lunar lander. == Academic publications ==