Weizmann Institute of Science

Weizmann Institute of Science
מכון ויצמן למדע
Former name
 Daniel Sieff Research Institute (1934–1949)
Type Public research
Established 1934
Founder Chaim Weizmann
President Prof. Daniel Zajfman
Academic staff
 952
Administrative staff
 400
Students 1,082
Postgraduates 356
700
Location Rehovot, Israel
Campus Urban
Postdoctoral fellows 380
Website www.weizmann.ac.il
The front door of the administrative building with the former name
Koffler particle accelerator at night

The Weizmann Institute of Science (Hebrew: מכון ויצמן למדע‎ Machon Weizmann LeMada) is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli universities in that it offers only graduate and postgraduate degrees in the natural and exact sciences.

It is a multidisciplinary research center, with around 3,800 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, Ph.D. and M.Sc. students, and scientific, technical, and administrative staff working at the Institute.[1][2]

As of 2018, 6 Nobel laureates and 3 Turing Award winners have been associated with the Weizmann Institute of Science.

History

Chaim Weizmann (1874-1952), first president of the State of Israel and founder of the institute
Weizmann residence, designed by Erich Mendelsohn

Founded in 1934 by Chaim Weizmann and his first team, among them Benjamin M. Bloch, as the Daniel Sieff Research Institute. Weizmann had offered the post of director to Nobel Prize laureate Fritz Haber, but took over the directorship himself after Haber's death en route to Palestine. Before he became President of the State of Israel in February 1949, Weizmann pursued his research in organic chemistry at its laboratories. The institute was renamed the Weizmann Institute of Science in his honor on November 2, 1949, in agreement with the Sieff family.

WEIZAC, one of the world’s first electronic computers was locally built by the institute in 1954–1955 and was recognized by the IEEE in 2006 as a milestone achievement in the history of electrical and electronic engineering.[3]

In 1959, the institute set up a wholly owned subsidiary called Yeda Research and Development Company to commercialize inventions made at the institute.[4] By 2013 the institute was earning between $50 and $100 million in royalties annually on marketed drugs including Copaxone, Rebif, and Erbitux.[5][6]

Details

The Weizmann Institute presently has about 2,500 students, postdoctoral fellows, staff, and faculty, and awards M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, biochemistry, and biology, as well as several interdisciplinary programs.[1] The symbol of the Weizmann Institute of Science is the multibranched Ficus tree.[7]

Undergraduates and recent graduates must apply to M.Sc. programs, while those earning an M.Sc. or an MD can apply directly to Ph.D. programs. Full fellowships are given to all students.

Youth programs

The campus

In addition to its academic programs, the Weizmann Institute runs programs for youth, including science clubs, camps, and competitions. The Bessie F. Lawrence International Summer Science Institute accepts high-school graduates from all over the world for a four-week, science-based summer camp. The Clore Garden of Science, which opened in 1999, is the world’s first completely interactive outdoor science museum.[1][8]

Rankings

In 2017, the Weizmann Institute made the Academic Ranking of World Universities at an unspecified place between 101 and 150 and the U.S. News' Best Global Universities list in 104th place.[9][10] In the 2017 CWTS Leiden Ranking, based on the proportion of a university's scientific papers published between 2012 and 2015 that made the 10% most cited in their field, it was ranked 13th in the world and first in Israel.[11]

Presidents

The nonscientists Abba Eban and Meyer Weisgal were assisted by scientific directors, as was Weizmann himself owing to his duties as the first president of Israel. The following persons held the position of scientific director:

Faculty

Alumni

Access

Train

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Scientific Activities: The Yeda-Sela (YeS) Center for Basic Research". Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Facts and Figures - Weizmann Institute of Science". Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Milestones: WEIZAC Computer, 1955". IEEE. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  4. ↑ Borchardt, John (September 26, 2000). "Israeli biotech - a child with great promise". The Scientist.
  5. ↑ OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy. OECD Publishing. 2006. p. 119. ISBN 9789264029750.
  6. ↑ Weinreb, Gali (28 July 2013). "Yeda earns $50-100m annually". Globes (in Hebrew).
  7. ↑ Institution resource development, Weizmann Institute of Science
  8. ↑ "2BackToHomePage3". Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  9. ↑ "Best Global Universities". Retrieved 23 Jan 2018.
  10. ↑ "Academic Ranking of World Universities". Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  11. ↑ "CWTS Leiden Ranking". Leiden University. Retrieved 23 Jan 2018.
  12. ↑ https://www.weizmann.ac.il/materials/LahavPage.html

Coordinates: 31°54′27″N 34°48′33″E / 31.90750°N 34.80917°E / 31.90750; 34.80917

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