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.
Feb 25, 2019...
Machine learning is being applied to an ever-widening variety of fields, including biology and chemistry, and is becoming increasingly crucial to Israel’s high-tech success.
REHOVOT, Israel — For years, Israeli scientist Tamar Flash has been fascinated with the octopus, and the unusual way the invertebrate’s eight arms propel it effortlessly through the water.
Her interest is no mere hobby. A renowned professor who does research in artificial intelligence at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Flash is using the octopus as a model for methods of diagnosis and treatment of disorders from Parkinson’s disease to autism.
Aug 28, 2019...
Image via Shutterstock.com
Prescribing the right anti-depression medication often involves tedious trial and error. Your psychiatrist suggests one type of pill, but it doesn’t work or has too many side effects. So you go on to the next medication and then another one until you finally find a prescription that seems to work. Meanwhile, the debilitating symptoms of depression continue.
Neuroscientist Dekel Taliaz found the entire drawn-out process to be, well, depressing. So, together with his brother Oren, he set up a company bearing the siblings’ family name – Taliaz – to apply the latest in artificial intelligence and machine learning to enable psychiatrists to prescribe the right anti-depression medication the first time.
Oct 30, 2019...
Pairs of face images that elicited similar (left column) and different (right column) neuronal activation patterns. Each bar shows the response of one electrode to the face in the photo; the higher the bar and the lighter the red, the stronger the response
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—October 30, 2019—Our brains are so primed to recognize faces – or to tell people apart – that we rarely even stop to think about it, but what happens in the brain when it engages in such recognition is still far from understood. In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have shed new light on this issue. They found a striking similarity between the way in which faces are encoded in the brain and successfully performing artificial intelligence (AI) systems known as deep neural networks.
Jun 10, 2020... Prof. Eran Segal provides an update on his symptom-tracking questionnaire and how it can help predict the second wave of COVID-19. As he explains, testing is insufficient...
Jun 03, 2020...
Israeli government investment arm the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) has approved the establishment of the CRISPR-IL consortium, which will focus on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and CRISPR technologies to develop advanced computational tools for genome editing, IIA announced Wednesday.
The consortium will be allocated with a total of NIS 36 million (approximately $10.36 million) for a period of 18 months, with an option to extend operations for an additional 18 months.
Aug 24, 2020... In this video, Prof. Yonina Eldar (Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics; Head, Biomedical Engineering & Signal Processing Center) discusses her development of novel methods for diagnosing COVID.
Sep 13, 2020... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—September 13, 2020—A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in the United Arab Emirates was signed on September 12. The signing ceremony, which was held virtually, took place in the presence of Weizmann Institute President Prof. Alon Chen and His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, member of the Federal Cabinet, and Chairman of the MBZUAI Board of Trustees. A delegation headed by President Chen is expected to travel to Abu Dhabi next week to finalize the details of the MoU and discuss its implementation.
Oct 15, 2020...
If one were to objectively examine the topics being discussed in their social media feeds, that person might reach he conclusion that COVID-19 is all that’s going on in this world. It’s all anyone is talking about, and rightfully so. The effects of this pandemic on the human species will be discussed and analyzed for many years to come.
What is not being discussed enough, however, are the effects COVID is having on our mental health. Loneliness, anxiety, depression, hopelessness; these are just some of the emotions a global pandemic can, and are causing – and it’s important that we acknowledge it.
Jan 19, 2021... In his WIS TALK, Prof. Yaron Lipman of Weizmann’s Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics discusses new frontiers in AI.
Feb 04, 2021... American Committee CEO Dave Doneson shares news of the Weizmann Institute’s historic partnership with Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in the UAE. In a first-of-its-kind undertaking, the two institutions will work together to significantly advance AI research, including through student and postdoc exchanges, conferences and seminars, research collaborations, and a joint virtual institute for AI. The partnership will also support Weizmann’s Artificial Intelligence Enterprise for Scientific Discovery, a flagship initiative that will harness the power of AI to transform biomedicine, environmental research, and other areas of science.