Weizmann Institute of Science

Weizmann Institute of Science
מכון ויצמן למדע
Former name
Daniel Sieff Research Institute (1934-1949)
Type Public
Established 1934
President Prof. Daniel Zajfman
Academic staff
952
Administrative staff
400
Students 1,082
Postgraduates 356
700
Location Rehovot, Israel
Campus Urban
Postdoctoral fellows 380
Website www.weizmann.ac.il
The WEIZAC (Weizmann Automatic Computer) construction in 1954
The front door of the administrative building with the former name
Koffler particle accelerator at night

The Weizmann Institute of Science (Hebrew: מכון ויצמן למדע Machon Weizmann LeMada) is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, south of Tel Aviv established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli universities in that it offers only graduate and postgraduate tutelage in the natural and exact sciences.

It is a multidisciplinary research center, with around 2,500 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, Ph.D. and M.Sc. students, and scientific, technical, and administrative staff working at the Institute.[1][2]

Three Nobel laureates and three Turing Award laureates have been associated with the Weizmann Institute of Science.

History

Weizmann residence, designed by Erich Mendelsohn

Founded in 1934 by Chaim Weizmann and his first team, among them Benjamin M. Bloch, as the Daniel Sieff Research Institute. Weizmann had offered the post of director to Nobel Prize laureate Fritz Haber, but took over the directorship himself after Haber's death en route to Palestine. Before he became President of the State of Israel in February 1949, Weizmann pursued his research in organic chemistry at its laboratories. The institute was renamed the Weizmann Institute of Science in his honor on November 2, 1949, in agreement with the Sieff family.

Details

The Weizmann Institute presently has about 2,500 students, postdoctoral fellows, staff, and faculty, and awards M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, biochemistry, and biology, as well as several interdisciplinary programs.[1] The symbol of the Weizmann Institute of Science is the multibranched Ficus tree.[3]

Undergraduates and recent graduates must apply to M.Sc. programs, while those earning an M.Sc. or an MD can apply directly to Ph.D. programs. Full fellowships are given to all students and outside employment is not allowed.

Youth programs

The campus

In addition to its academic programs, the Weizmann Institute runs programs for youth, including science clubs, camps, and competitions. The Bessie F. Lawrence International Summer Science Institute accepts high-school graduates from all over the world for a four-week, science-based summer camp. The Clore Garden of Science, which opened in 1999, is the world’s first completely interactive outdoor science museum.[1][4]

Rankings

In 2015, the Weizmann Institute made the Academic Ranking of World Universities at an unspecified place between 101 and 150 and the U.S. News' Best Global Universities list in 126th place.[5][6] However, it made neither the QS World University Rankings nor the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.[7][8] In the 2015 CWTS Leiden Ranking, which is based on the proportion of a university's scientific papers published between 2010 and 2013 that made the 10% most cited in their field, it was ranked 10th in the world and first in Israel.[9]

Presidents

The nonscientists Abba Eban and Meyer Weisgal were assisted by Scientific Directors, as was Weizmann himself owing to his duties as the first President of Israel. The following persons held the position of Scientific Director:

Faculty

Alumni

Access

Train

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Scientific Activities: The Yeda-Sela (YeS) Center for Basic Research". Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  2. "Facts and Figures - Weizmann Institute of Science". Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  3. Institution resource development, Weizmann Institute of Science
  4. "2BackToHomePage3". Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  5. "Best Global Universities". Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  6. "Academic Ranking of World Universities". Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  7. "QS World University Rankings". Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  8. "World University Rankings". Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  9. "CWTS Leiden Ranking". Leiden University. Retrieved 27 July 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Weizmann Institute of Science.

Coordinates: 31°54′27″N 34°48′33″E / 31.90750°N 34.80917°E / 31.90750; 34.80917

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