About Us
Founded in 1944, the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science develops philanthropic support for the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and advances its mission of science for the benefit of humanity.
May 26, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL – May 26, 2022 – About 30 massive, intricate computer networks serve the scientists who stand at the forefront of climate change research. Each network runs a software program comprised of millions of lines of code. These programs are computational models that combine the myriads of physical, chemical, and biological phenomena that together form the climate of our planet. The models calculate the state of Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land, and ice, capturing past and present climate variability and using the data to predict future climate change. These results are analyzed by leading research institutes across the globe, including the Weizmann Institute of Science, and then incorporated into the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report. Policymakers rely on the IPCC report when they form adaptation and mitigation strategies for climate change, one of our generation’s greatest crises.
May 31, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—May 31, 2022—Ketamine, a well-known anesthetic used in smaller doses as a party drug, was hailed as a “new hope for depression” in a Time magazine cover story in 2017. Two years later, the arrival of the first ketamine-based antidepressant – the nasal spray esketamine, made by Johnson & Johnson – was applauded as the most exciting development in the treatment of mood disorders in decades. Yet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration still limits the spray’s use. It is mainly given to depressed patients who have not been helped by other therapies – in part, because the new drug’s mechanism of action is insufficiently understood, leading to concerns over its safety.
Jun 13, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 13, 2022—They say that where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and Weizmann Institute of Science researchers are working hard to investigate that claim, or at least elucidate what constitutes “smoke.” In an article published today in PNAS, the scientists reveal an advanced, innovative method that they have developed and used to detect nonvisual traces of fire dating back at least 800,000 years – one of the earliest known pieces of evidence for the use of fire. The newly developed technique may provide a push toward a more scientific, data-driven type of archaeology, but – perhaps more importantly – it could help us better understand the origins of the human story, our most basic traditions, and our experimental and innovative nature.
Jun 27, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—June 27, 2022— Of all the fungi that live in the human body, the most infamous is probably the yeast Candida. This distant cousin of baker’s yeast is notorious for causing various types of thrush that can be a major nuisance, but it can also lead to an invasive infection that may, on occasion, prove fatal. In a study published today in Nature Immunology, a Weizmann Institute of Science research team headed by Prof. Jakub Abramson uncovered a previously unknown defense mechanism employed by the immune system in fighting Candida infections.
https://weizmann-usa.org/blog/chaim-weizmann-s-acetone-discovery-was-key-to-british-wwi-effort/
Nov 10, 2022...
More than a century ago, in 1915, a senior lecturer in biochemistry at the University of Manchester named Dr. Chaim Weizmann invented a fermentation process that converted starch — a poly-sugar readily available from corn and potatoes — into acetone and butyl alcohol, facilitated by a bacteria, Clostridium acetobutylicum, that Dr. Weizmann had previously isolated.
This novel method of acetone production became known as “the Weizmann process.” As serendipity would have it, acetone was a key component in the production of the smokeless gunpowder (cordite) used by the Allies in World War I. Acetone had previously been made from calcium acetate imported from Germany, but since the Allies were at war with Germany, this was no longer possible, and the U.S. had a sparse supply. So, Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, requested that the “Weizmann process” be used to mass produce acetone in England, Canada, and the U.S.
Nov 21, 2022... Weizmann Scientist, Prof. Yonina Eldar of the department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, explains how Artificial Intelligence can be used to improve signal processing. Signal processing is a crucial component that enables many of the devices we use today including hearing aids and medical imaging equipment, like MRI, CT and X-ray, which can all greatly benefit from better imaging and resolution. Prof. Eldar’s specializes in developing algorithms for signal processing, and for the representation and transmission of information using advanced mathematical techniques. Her lab develops AI tools and to acquire and extract information and combine them with other modes like physics or medicine to pave the way to new technologies that can see, hear, and communicate beyond existing limits. Prof. Eldar’s innovations have helped to make ultrasound devices smaller, cheaper, and uploadable to the cloud; optimize MRI scans for medical imaging, improve data storage and communications, create super-resolution microscopy, and support computational biology.
Dec 29, 2022... Prof. Alon Chen, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science, has been awarded the 2022 Bennett Family Award for Collaboration in the Science of Wellness, along with Juan de Pablo, the Executive Vice President for Science, Innovation, National Laboratories, and Global Initiatives, and the Liew Family Professor in Molecular Engineering at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. Each year, the Bennett Family Award will recognize individuals engaged in collaborative research, merging science and wellness for the advancement of human health.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/nasa-to-cooperate-on-israeli-astrophysics-mission/
Jan 25, 2023...
WASHINGTON — The United States and Israel are finalizing an agreement that would see NASA contribute to an upcoming Israeli astrophysics mission.
The focus of the agreement, which could be signed as soon as later this month, involves a mission called Ultrasat under development by Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science with support from the Israel Space Agency and German research center DESY.
As part of the agreement, NASA would provide the launch of Ultrasat, which will operate in geostationary orbit. NASA will likely arrange to fly Ultrasat as a secondary payload on a commercial GEO launch, said James Rhoads, NASA project scientist for Ultrasat, during a session of the 241st Meeting of the American Astronomical Society Jan. 11.
Feb 21, 2023...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—FEBRUARY 21, 2023 NASA will launch Israel’s first space telescope – the Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite, or ULTRASAT – into high-Earth orbit in early 2026, as part of a newly signed partnership between United States’ NASA and Israel's Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.
ULTRASAT, a premier project of the Israel Space Agency (ISA) in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology and the Weizmann Institute of Science, is expected to revolutionize scientists’ ability to detect and analyze transient events in the universe, such as neutron star mergers and supernova explosions.
Feb 22, 2023... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—FEBRUARY 22, 2023 One of the striking aspects of the quantum world is that a particle, say, an electron, is also a wave, meaning that it exists in many places at the same time. In a new study, reported today in Nature, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science make use of this property to develop a new type of tool – the quantum twisting microscope (QTM) – that can create novel quantum materials while simultaneously gazing into the most fundamental quantum nature of their electrons. The study’s findings may be used to create electronic materials with unprecedented functionalities.
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