Adminstering the Institute

It was with regret and sorrow that we recently mourned the loss of Prof. Ephraim Katzir and Bill Davidson. Ephraim Katzir, a distinguished Israeli, achieved the high office of President of the State of Israel. He was a founding member of the Weizmann Institute of Science, and during his professional career his contributions as a biophysicist were widely acclaimed. Bill Davidson, a denizen of Detroit, Michigan, was a most generous benefactor. His stalwart support enabled the establishment of our Davidson Institute, whose contribution to science teaching in Israel is widely respected. Long will they both be remembered with profound gratitude.

 

Living in these times of economic upheaval is difficult, but with the support of our board members and donors, I am confident we have the team in place to surmount the challenges arising. In this current year the Institute’s financial position is healthy. However, we are mindful of the fact that this is due in the main to a record rate of transfer from our endowment fund and a strong shekel.

 

Currencies fluctuate, and it would be unwise to assume the shekel will not. Nor can we expect the short-term transfers from W-GEM to continue at the current rate. The value of our endowment funds did not escape the buffeting impact of worldwide markets last year. In the last few months, however, we have seen a reversal of the negative trends, with a consequent growth in the value of the endowment funds. The managers we select to handle the endowment are not short-term oriented, and we will continue to carefully monitor and evaluate their performances.

 

We are grateful to our national committees for the extra effort they are expending in these times. Profs. Daniel Zajfman and Israel Bar-Joseph and their teams have been giving the national committees 100% support and will continue to do so.

 

An ongoing priority for the Institute is to continue to enlarge and strengthen our scientific team with outstanding younger scientists and to encourage new research projects. Our success in attracting additional scientists to the Institute was recognized by the award of the President’s Prize (established to commemorate the memory of the
late Dr. Chaim Weizmann) to the Institute. Integrating these additional scientists and establishing their laboratories requires considerable capital resources.

 

Just as basic scientific research is a vital and integral part of the Weizmann Institute, so are our activities in education. Construction of the extension to the Feinberg Graduate School and its facilities is nearing completion. Eventually we expect to increase our intake of graduate students by 25%. At present, non-Israelis comprise 32% of those doing their postdoctoral work at our Institute; on completion of their time in Israel, they will be well equipped to enhance science in their respective home countries. Our institute continues to enjoy and benefit from its 50-year association with the renowned Max Planck Society of Germany; this association will be recognized at a festive event in December. In France, we recently signed an agreement with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique to collaborate in the fields of nanoscience and biological science. In the UK, our scientists continue to work closely with scientific colleagues at the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, and in the US we have recently signed research agreements with Harvard University in systems biology and with Texas A&M University.

 

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the dedication of the Weizmann Institute of Science (which started life as the Daniel Sieff Research Institute), a series of events and galas took place in Paris last May. The panel discussions and addresses by Prof. Daniel Zajfman and past Presidents Profs. Haim Harari and Michael Sela were highlights.

 

The gala at the Chateau de Versailles was indeed a glittering affair attended by 600. It was a memorable experience for those of us present in Paris. Principally responsible for its organization, Dr. Robert Parienti and Prof. Israel Bar-Joseph were rightly showered with praise. We now look forward to concluding the anniversary celebration when we meet for the annual board meeting in Rehovot in November.

 

As envisaged by the governance reform recommendations, the newly formed Executive Board met at the end of April, and the Management and Asset Committees are appointed and in place. Ido Dissentshik, who chairs the Executive Board, has started his term with enthusiasm, and needless to say we are very grateful to him for the time and energy he devotes to assisting in the governance of the Institute. Equally, Daniel Zajfman and his team of vice presidents are unstinting in their efforts and energy in guiding and expanding the Institute. On behalf of the international board, I extend to them our thanks.