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.
The “Internet of Things” allows your microwave, thermostat, and other devices to anticipate your needs. But what are these devices revealing about you? Weizmann Institute research shows how a flaw in wireless technology can infect smart home devices with a malicious code that enables cybercriminals to steal your information, or even shut down a city’s electrical grid.
Technology can make our lives easier, but it also leaves us vulnerable to hackers. In the sixth episode of Weizmann in Focus, CEO Dave Doneson explores how Weizmann scientists are leading the way in cybersecurity. In a recent breakthrough, renowned cryptographer Prof. Adi Shamir exposed a major weakness in the “Internet of Things,” the growing world of smart devices that connect online. His groundbreaking work could result in better methods for keeping our private information safe.
We invite you to watch Weizmann in Focus, a new video series featuring American Committee CEO Dave Doneson. In this inaugural episode, Dave introduces one of the Weizmann Institute’s newest initiatives: the Artificial Intelligence Center for Scientific Exploration. He then explains how Prof. Yaron Lipman’s recent AI breakthrough is improving health care for heart patients.
The Weizmann Institute’s Prof. Adi Shamir, along with Ron Rivest (the S and R in “RSA”) and an international panel of cryptographers, discuss the state of cryptography today.
April 18, 2018
From the Stone Age to the Bronze Age and beyond, curiosity about materials—both natural and man-made—has been a major driver of human progress. The Center for Advanced and Intelligent Materials (C-AIM), a new research initiative that will include a state-of-the-art building on campus, will bring together Weizmann scientists in a variety of fields to advance the materials of tomorrow. Profs. Leeor Kronik, Jacob Klein, Lia Addadi, David Cahen, and Oren Tal, and Dr. Michal Leskes discuss their groundbreaking research, which has important implications for medicine, energy, electronics, and more.
Prof. Doron Lancet, Head of the Crown Human Genome Center, and Dr. Daniela Amann-Zalcenstein, Head of High-Throughput Sequencing, explain the importance of next-generation high-throughput sequencing technology for genetics research, with thanks for support from Chicago's Crown family and the American Committee's New York Region.
Even before we have the quantum computers of tomorrow, we may have their successor: biological computers. Prof. Ehud Shapiro has created one that's so small that a trillion can fit in a single drop of water, and which has diagnosed cancer in a test tube. Someday the computer could circulate through the human body, diagnosing and treating disease.