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.
Jun 24, 2019... 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.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/boycott-of-israeli-academics-misguided/
Aug 04, 2006...
The recent motion by the U.K.’s largest university union (NAFTHE) recommending a boycott of all Israeli academics who “do not publicly dissociate themselves” from Israeli policies has reignited the debate around this issue (“Over protests, U.K. union endorses boycott of Israeli academics,” E. Marshall, News of the Week, 2 June, p. 1289).
Despite the fact that the NAFTHE decision is only “advisory,” it is likely that many will view it as an inducement to act along the lines of the motion. As an Israeli academic, I find myself wondering just which Israeli policies these anonymous potential boycotters would like me to publicly dissociate myself from? Should I dissociate myself from the policy to encourage joint Palestinian-Israeli science projects, the policy to admit students and faculty to our universities regardless of their race or religion, or the policy to continue withdrawals from occupied territory if the Palestinians will only stop using such territory as launching pads for further attacks on us? Or perhaps the boycotters would like me to dissociate myself from the security barrier that has markedly reduced the number of deaths of Israeli civilians from homicide bombers? If the latter, unfortunately, it seems the boycotters would like to see us choose between death and damnation.
May 16, 2016... Between shadowy hackers and powerful government agencies, keeping electronic communication private can sometimes feel like a losing battle. Now chemists have come up with a clever alternative that's a little old-fashioned. They describe in Nature Communications a way to encrypt and send short messages on paper using everyday chemicals as keys, although they admit its usefulness probably has limits.
Jan 24, 2011...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—January 24, 2011—Protection against nerve gas attack is a significant component of the defense system of many countries around the world. Nerve gases are used by armies and terrorist organizations, and constitute a threat to both the military and civilian populations, but existing drug solutions against them have limited efficiency.
A multidisciplinary team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science succeeded in developing an enzyme that breaks down such organophosphorus nerve agents efficiently before damage to nerves and muscles is caused. Their results were recently published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology. Recent experiments performed in a U.S. military laboratory (the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, or USAMRICD) have shown that injecting a relatively small amount of this enzyme into animals provides protection against certain types of nerve agents, for which current treatments show limited efficacy.
Apr 01, 2016...
Academic hackers used a telescope, cheap computer and laptop to collect signals coming from a compromised connected lightbulb.
It’s now a given: the Internet of Things is horribly broken.
Connected lightbulbs, though one of the few possibly-justifiable products in the gross melange that is the IoT market, are sometimes contributors to that rank unsecurity. And now researchers have shown just how evil attacks on lightbulbs can be, claiming their hacks can cause epileptic fits and steal information from segregated, supposedly-secure networks in startling sub rosa fashion. All they needed was to subtly modulate light pulses in two bulbs on the market to convey data to a telescope up to 100 meters away, or have them create a strobe effect to bring on seizures. Both attacks were possible because authentication on the lightbulbs – a Philips Hue and a LimitlessLED – were found wanting, allowing anyone who could locate the devices to send commands.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/science-tips-january-2007/
Jan 24, 2007...
Weizmann Institute Scientists Discover a Genetic Risk Factor for Smoking-linked Head and Neck Cancer
A simple blood test may be able to identify those most at risk for developing head and neck cancer as a result of smoking. This was the finding of a recent study by Prof. Zvi Livneh, Head of the Weizmann Institute’s Biological Chemistry Department, Dr. Tamar Paz-Elizur of the same department, and their research team that worked in collaboration with Dr. Rami Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv-Sourasky Medical Center, Prof. Laurence Freedman of Sheba Medical Center and Prof. Edna Schechtman of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Mar 13, 2013...
Prof. Shafi Goldwasser
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—March 13, 2013—The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) today announced that Prof. Shafrira (Shafi) Goldwasser of the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT’s) Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, will receive the ACM A.M. Turing Award. She receives the Award together with Prof. Silvio Micali of MIT “for transformative work that laid the complexity-theoretic foundations for the science of cryptography, and in the process pioneered new methods for efficient verification of mathematical proofs in complexity theory.”
Feb 03, 2017...
Renowned Israeli cryptographer Adi Shamir. (YouTube screen capture)
An Israeli computer scientist was among three winners of the 2017 Japan Prize, an award honoring achievement in science and technology, for his work in the field of cryptography.
Adi Shamir, a professor at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, was recognized for his “[c]ontribution to information security through pioneering research on cryptography,” according to the prize’s website. The Japan Prize Foundation announced the awards Thursday.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/video-gallery/rsa-conference-the-cryptographers-panel-2018/
Apr 18, 2018... 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.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/why-light-bulbs-may-be-the-next-hacker-target/
Nov 03, 2016...
The Internet of Things, activated through apps, promises tremendous convenience to homeowners. But it may also prove irresistible to hackers. Credit: Carlos Gonzalez for The New York Times
SAN FRANCISCO — The so-called Internet of Things, its proponents argue, offers many benefits: energy efficiency, technology so convenient it can anticipate what you want, even reduced congestion on the roads.
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