A research and training center model – the Weizmann Institute of Science

The Weizmann Institute of Science is one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary basic research institutions in the natural sciences and mathematics. It is located in Rehovot, some 40 km west of Jerusalem, Israel. It was initially established as the Daniel Sieff Institute in 1934, being a research center, mainly in organic chemistry. In 1949, it was renamed for Dr. Chaim Weizmann, the first President of the State of Israel and founder of the Institute (Figures 1 and 2). Dr. Weizmann was a renowned chemist and ardent Zionist. It was his vision of the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel and his long-sighted understanding of the crucial role of higher education and scientific research in the evolving young state. These also led to Dr. Weizmann’s leading role in the foundation of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem already in 1925. Dr. Weizmann understanding and appreciation of the essential role of developing higher education and science in an emerging state inspired and provided the frame for the Weizmann Institute. Its structure has been inspired by research centers already existing and operating successfully in the early 20th century such as those of Kaiser Wilhelm Society (the forerunner of the Max Planck Society of today). Namely, centers built on identifying original promising scientists and providing them with optimal research conditions. This was expected to lead to excellence in fundamental scientific research and establish a center striving to achieve the highest levels. This has and is being done at the Weizmann Institute by identifying promising young scientists and providing them with the possibility of pursuing their creative research ideas in a free and supportive environment.

Figure 1:

Building on the Weizmann Institute campus.

Figure 2:

A laboratory in the Weizmann Institute.

The Weizmann Institute of Science is located on a campus that covers a 1.1 sq km (280 acres) area in Rehovot. Its scientific structure consists of five faculties: Mathematics and Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biochemistry and Biology, encompassing 18 departments, including a Science Teaching department (Table 1).

Importantly, the faculties and departmental structures are primarily providing administrative frames while inter-disciplinary research is promoted as a dominant feature, and is indeed a characteristic of the Institute. For example, scientific questions of the life sciences are currently also investigated by mathematicians and physicists all the way to molecular biologists.

The Feinberg Graduate School provides the frame for the large body of students pursuing their research toward M.Sc (∼400) and Ph.D. (∼700) as well as postdoctoral researchers (∼370). It consists of five research schools: Physical, Chemical, Biochemical, Biological and Mathematics & Computer Sciences. These offer more than 200 frontal- and lab-courses. Annually, about 180 M.Sc. and 140 Ph.D. degrees are awarded. Moreover, the majority of the postdoctoral students are from foreign countries all gaining advanced research experience in the Institutes labs, supported by local and international scholarships.

The research of the Institute is led by close to 280 principle investigators, faculty members, running their individual laboratories that are involved in more than 1,000 active projects. Significantly, the vitality and creativity of the research are ascertained in several ways. Annual evaluations by international peer reviews and by continuous recruitment of young scientists. On average 10 new members have been hired annually in recent years.

All these research groups occupy 251 buildings of labs and support services, including specialized physical, chemical and biological support facilities, ranging from sophisticated cellular and organ imaging to advanced computing facilities. Conveniently, on-campus housing is also provided for faculty, students and visiting scientists.

The Weizmann Institute has already a considerable history of fundamental research and discovery achievements, all driven by curiosity and creativity that led to remarkable appreciation. One outstanding example is the crystallization and X-ray diffraction-based structure-determination of the ribosome recognized with a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 for Prof. Ada Yonath. Another illustration is the pursuit after the molecular nature of immune response, specifically examining why a certain membrane protein is involved in causing an autoimmune disease such as multiple sclerosis? 30 years of hard work by Profs. Michael Sela and Ruth Arnon led to the leading treatment for that disease by the drug Copaxone®, that also helped build Israel’s thriving pharmaceutical and biomedical sector.

All this led the Weizmann Institute being ranked as the sixth in the Nature Index of world-wide institutions according to the impact of their academic research on innovation by measuring how their publications are cited by patents held by third parties.