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.
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 18, 2021—It’s not just how hot the fires burn – it’s also where they burn that matters. During the recent extreme fire season in Australia, which began in 2019 and burned into 2020, millions of tons of smoke particles were released into the atmosphere. Most of those particles followed a typical pattern and settled to the ground after a day or week; however, the particles created in fires burning in one area of the country managed to blanket the entire Southern Hemisphere for months. When studying particle-laden haze, two researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science noticed puzzling spikes in a certain measurement, and tracked the elevated levels to the fires in that area. Next, as reported in Science, the Israeli scientists uncovered the “perfect storm” of circumstances that swept the particles emitted from those fires into the upper atmosphere and spread them over the entire Southern Hemisphere.
March 18, 2021
New Scientist reports on research showing that the Australian fires “led to record aerosol levels over the southern hemisphere.” Prof. Ilan Koren and Dr. Eitan Hirsch (Israel Institute for Biological Research) conducted the study.
March 18, 2021
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—December 23, 2020—As the plastic in our oceans breaks up into smaller and smaller bits without breaking down chemically, the resulting microplastics are becoming a serious ecological problem. A new study by the Weizmann Institute of Science...
December 23, 2020
In this video discussion, renowned plant scientist Prof. Asaph Aharoni takes us on a tour of his lab before sitting down to talk about his research. He particularly focuses on using plants to improve health and tackle major problems such as hunger and malnutrition.
December 17, 2020
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—December 9, 2020—The mass of all human-produced materials – concrete, steel, plastics, asphalt, etc. – has now grown to equal the mass of all life on the planet, its biomass.
December 09, 2020
Time Magazine covers the recent research by Prof. Ron Milo revealing the massive impact humans – and our stuff – are having on the planet.
December 09, 2020
Reporting on Prof. Ron Milo’s recent research, CNN states that “humans have changed the planet with staggering speed.”
December 09, 2020
Postdoc Rafat Qubaja – who studies with the legendary Prof. Dan Yakir – explains how “urban orchards and green spaces can contribute to a range of ecosystem services” in this Israel21C profile.
October 07, 2020
As Xinhua reports, Weizmann scientists found that networks of fungi connect the roots of different tree species, meaning that a mixed forest may be more resilient and stable.
July 01, 2020
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