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.
Apr 21, 2020...
Remember the exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7s that made headlines three years ago?
Well, it turns out smartphones aren’t the only machines whose lithium-ion batteries can explode when overloaded. E-cigarettes, airplanes and electric vehicles also blow up from overheated batteries.
“When you sit on an e-bike, right over the battery, you are sitting on energy that is equivalent to 1 kilo of gunpowder, and in electric cars it’s equivalent to 100 times that much,” points out Niles Fleischer, CEO of Israeli startup ALGOLiON.
May 13, 2020...
Israeli researchers have discovered new entities created from interaction between matter and light particles, Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) reported Wednesday.
The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, has several implications in developing quantum applications, fine control of chemical processes and designing new materials.
The difference between light and matter should be a clear and simple division, but there are situations in which the two become so closely connected that the situation becomes blurred.
Jun 10, 2020...
This it is the story of a unique material – made of a single compound, it conducts electrons in different ways on its different surfaces and doesn't conduct at all in its middle. It is also the story of three research groups – two at the Weizmann Institute of Science and one in Germany, and the unique bond that has formed between them.
The material belongs to a group of materials discovered a decade and a half ago known as topological insulators. These materials are conducting on their surfaces and insulating in their inside “bulk.” But the two properties are inseparable: Cut the material, and the new surface will be conducting, the bulk will remain insulating.
Jul 20, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—July 20, 2020—Scientists searching for better diagnostic tests, drugs, or vaccines against a virus must begin by deciphering the structure of that virus. And when the virus in question is highly pathogenic, such research can be quite dangerous. Prof. Roy Bar-Ziv of the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Materials and Interfaces; staff scientist Dr. Shirley Shulman Daube; Dr. Ohad Vonshak, a former research student in the Bar-Ziv lab; and current research student Yiftach Divon have an original solution to this obstacle. They demonstrated the production of viral parts within artificial cells.
Jun 22, 2020... In 2018 it was discovered that two layers of graphene twisted one with respect to the other by a “magic” angle show a variety of interesting quantum phases, including superconductivity, magnetism and insulating behaviours. Now a team of researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science led by Prof. Shahal Ilani of the Condensed Matter Physics Department, in collaboration with Prof. Pablo Jarillo-Herrero’s group at MIT, have discovered that these quantum phases descend from a previously unknown high-energy “parent state,” with an unusual breaking of symmetry.
Oct 22, 2020... The Midwest Region hosted its tenth annual Women for Science Luncheon, this time in a virtual format. Chaired by Midwest Regional Board member Rona Wolf and Bess Ekstein, the event honored Dr. Melissa Simon of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine with the Vision & Impact Award.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/achy-knees-weizmann-discovery-may-help/
Aug 10, 2021...
The world’s population is trending older – in large part because we take better care of ourselves, such as through exercise. But those years of running, playing, even just of everyday living, take a toll on our joints, often leading to osteoarthritis.
Age is only one risk factor for osteoarthritis, which predominantly occurs in the knees, hips, and hands. Other factors include joint injury or overuse/repetitive stress, such as from running and other sports; gender, with women (of course) being more likely to develop the disease; weight; and genetics.
Nov 18, 2022... Dr. Sivan Refaely-Abramson of the Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science department at the Weizmann Institute shares a story about sunlight. She explains how, through the amazing world of materials, the power of the sun can transform quantum particles and be used as a main energy source. Dr. Refaely-Abramson’s research in materials science is dedicated to designing intelligent energy conversion in order to consume energy in a way that is clean, green, and unlimited. “Understanding materials and the way particles interact within them allows for new and smart ways to harness sunlight, leading us to a cleaner greener future.”
©2023 American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science
FOR THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR
