Research Institutes and Centers can maximize the dynamism and synergy of outstanding groups of scientists working together in creative ways that can lead to unexpected and rewarding results to benefit all humanity. They are created by endowments given by philanthropic friends of the Weizmann Institute in order to focus research attention on broad topics that can benefit from a multidisciplinary approach. The annual yield provides funds for research grants, student stipends and travel allowances, postdoctoral fellowships, major shared equipment purchases and maintenance, and intellectual exchange.

Additional aims are to:

• facilitate the recruitment of additional scientists to the field, especially promising young researchers, by providing funding for their absorption and laboratory set-up.
• provide start-up funds for highly original projects at a conceptual stage too preliminary to compete for national and international agency funds.
• consolidate the Institute’s leadership role in rapidly advancing fields.