Letters & Articles

Dear Weizmann community,

As we prepare for Passover, the holiday celebrating freedom and new beginnings, it is an apt moment at which to reflect upon the ordinary freedoms that mark our lives—and which are so easy to take for granted. As one of the recently released hostages pointed out, the simple act of opening the refrigerator at will is one of many that were taken away from him. Weizmann management calls upon our government and all involved parties to do everything in their power to hasten the release of all the hostages and bring peace to our region.

The value of academic freedom, so central to our work at Weizmann, also cannot be taken for granted. The current environment requires us to ensure this foundational value of education and research is preserved and protected. This is the basis for all our research endeavors and successes, and it’s our obligation to make sure it is preserved for future generations.

I send best wishes to everyone for a happy Passover—Chag Sameach! A happy Easter to those who celebrate, and a spring season filled with new beginnings.  

From Strength to Strength

We indeed have wonderful successes to celebrate. Among the many prizes awarded in recent months to our scientists is the highly prestigious Wolf Prize which has been awarded to Prof. Moty Heiblum of the Department of Condensed Matter Physics. That announcement came on the heels of the news that Prof. Yonina Eldar of the Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics will receive the Israel Prize, which is bestowed every year on Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel Independence Day. Prof. Ziv Shulman of the Department of Systems Immunology received the Rappaport Prize.

Mazal tov to Moty, Yonina, and Ziv!

There are many new beginnings on campus. In January, the Council for Higher Education approved the establishment of the Miriam and Aaron Gutwirth Medical School, which will train 40 students per year and offer MD-PhD degrees to its graduates. Plans for the program are moving along at a fast clip. On March 3, we had an outstanding turnout for an open house for prospective students. The application period has passed, and admission notifications begin in mid-July. We excitedly wait for our first cohort to begin at the start of the academic year, together with the rest of our student body. I’m also delighted to report that Prof. Ayelet Erez and Prof. Liran Shlush were elected Dean and Vice Dean of the medical school, respectively. Both are MD-PhDs themselves, and members of the Department of Molecular Cell Biology.

Our labs keep producing amazing discoveries. Prof. Yifat Merbl from the Department of Systems Immunology identified a previously unknown mechanism of the immune system which could potentially serve as the basis of a new class of natural antibiotics. In a shining example of the serendipity of basic science, Yifat and her team found the function in an unexpected place: the proteasome, the waste-disposal system of human cells which is the focus of the Merbl lab. Her team noticed that a series of protein sections that are sent to disposal in the proteasome had anti-microbial properties, and they witnessed that some of the products, when emerging from the cellular recycling bin, can kill pathogens directly, just like antibiotics do. This amazing finding, which could be a game-changer in the quest to find solutions to antibiotic resistance, was highlighted all over the world.

Prof. Asaph Aharoni unearthed a different kind of natural self-protective property, of so-called nightshade plants, which includes several vegetables (tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, and peppers). Asaph, a member of the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences who studies plant metabolites, wanted to know how nightshade plants do a particularly good job fending off pests and infections. It is well-known that nightshades contain powerful natural chemicals called glycoalkaloids, or SGAs. The Aharoni team had identified a series of steps in the biosynthesis pathway involved in SGAs production in nightshades, but had been stymied by one missing link in reconstituting its synthesis. Ultimately, they found a key protein called GAME15 that made all the difference. This discovery could lead to the production of a natural pesticide that would reduce our dependence on chemical pesticides, with implications for crops and other products that need to be kept pristine like food, cosmetics, and drugs.

The future of Weizmann science

I’m delighted to welcome two new scientists who have recently begun to set up their labs on campus. Prof. Ilya Kuprov joined the Department of Chemical and Biological Physics in January. Ilya is a theoretical physicist who explores magnetic properties of matter and designs magnetic resonance techniques for chemical, physical, and biomedical applications. His recent research includes mathematical methods for finding out how deep neural networks perform digital signal processing. His connections with the Institute go back a decade, starting with a collaboration with the late Prof. Shimon Vega; he has since collaborated with Profs. Lucio Frydman, Daniella Goldfarb, and David Tannor, and also spent time here as a visiting professor.

In March, Dr. Yinon Bar-On joined the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, where his focus will be quantifying terrestrial ecosystems’ capacity to absorb CO₂, otherwise known as the “land sink”. Using a combination of remote sensing, field observations, and computational tools, he’s casting a wide net by quantifying the absorption across living and non-living mass, from plants to landfills. During his postdoctoral fellowship at the California Institute of Technology, he found that most of the carbon captured on land is stored in nonliving mass like soil, harvested wood like furniture, and inland water sediments. This avenue of exploration, he hopes, could lead to ways to understand and predict the dynamics of land sink in an effort to mitigate climate change.

I wish the best of luck to Ilya and Yinon and look forward to witnessing their achievements!

I’m thrilled to report that the Council for Higher Education gave Weizmann an “A” ranking (the highest possible) on the Kav Hamashveh program, a national effort to advance women in science in higher education, both in terms of newly recruited faculty and the promotion of women faculty to higher ranks. This is truly an amazing achievement! Throughout the years, our Office for the Advancement of Women in Science and Gender Equality, headed by Prof. Idit Shachar, has taken on more and more new initiatives to ensure Weizmann successfully recruits a growing stream of women scientists—with a goal of achieving a more gender-balanced faculty and thus better reflecting the gender ratio of Israel’s PhD recipients in the sciences. While there is certainly more work to do, I consider the top ranking a badge of success for all of us—with science the biggest beneficiary of all. Our own Prof. Yonina Eldar helped spearhead the Kav Hamashveh initiative.

International Day of Women in Science was marked on campus with an incredibly inspiring event on March 4. Journalist Dr. Hila Korach, who has a medical degree, was the guest speaker, and we heard from a long series of women scientists, primarily PhD students and postdocs, who represent the future of science. These short and engaging lectures on a range of research avenues had something for everyone, from all corners of the scientific endeavor, and the event left attendees with a great deal of enthusiasm about where science is going and the bright minds who are leading us there.

A Verdant and Vibrant Community

The lush green beauty of our campus has always been a source of pride—and has contributed to the sense of peace and order that enables our scientists, students, and staff to do their best work. Our Tu B’Shvat celebration in February was a wonderful reminder of this, and Alon Weingarten, Vice President for Administration, offered an overview of our plans for planting 1,200 trees as part our Green Campus Initiative. Prof. Avraham Levy of the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences and the lead scientist on this initiative gave us a “taste” of his research on wheat and food security, and Eli Haputa, the Galilee-Golan Region Director at Keren Kayemet LeYisrael (the Jewish National Fund) who was invited as a guest speaker, described the devastation on the forests of the north as a result of the war on the Lebanon front—but also provided us with hope and optimism in describing the plans for rehabilitation. After the event, some of you helped us plant 200 trees across campus!

Now, we are taking “green” to a new level, as part of our overall efforts to advance sustainability efforts (and of course environmental research). We recently signed an agreement with Enlight, Inc., which will provide our campus with 80% of our electricity needs, all through solar energy sources; this will replace our fuel-based contracts. We will also expand our own photovoltaic panel infrastructure on campus, which now provides us with 12% of our electricity, so that we reach 20%. Thus, by the end of 2025, 100% of our electricity needs will be supplied by solar energy. This transition will enable us to cut our carbon footprint in half.

Another thing is flourishing on campus: volunteerism. We are witnessing the fruits of many individual volunteer efforts, a trend that the Weizmann Institute has been encouraging and promoting. This year we instituted a volunteerism prize for the first time. I want to congratulate all the winners of our “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself” Award, which offers us the opportunity to highlight the good work and special commitment of members of the Weizmann community to society.

A hearty mazal tov to: Vered Mehani-Harush from Weizmann IT whose project supported people in need in Rehovot and Mazkeret Batya; Dr. Michal Andelman-Gur of the Department of Brain Sciences, who has been working at the Levinsky Clinic in Tel Aviv, helping under-supported individuals with health needs; Tamar Danon, a recently retired staff member of the Department of Molecular Cell Biology, for her work on the Kruvit Project, which provides food for individuals in need, particularly those who are unable to cook for themselves due to a disability or serious illness;
and Prof. Eran Bouchbinder of the Department of Chemical and Biological Physics, who has been leading a years-long program at the ORT School for Science and Engineering in Lod in which Weizmann scientists, students, and postdocs teach science and math lessons and serve as role models to underprivileged youth. Prof. Bouchbinder and his Weizmann colleagues who participated in the program were awarded the prize as a group.

Needless to say, since October 7, everyone in this country has been affected by the war in some way, and that has come with a new layer of emotional stress. We have seen the rising demand for psychological counseling offered through Human Resources, and saw a need for services that are more immediately available and discreet by way of direct outreach between the student or employee and the service. To that end, HR’s Wellbeing Unit has engaged an organization called GroupHug which is offering fully discreet, subsidized professional and personal counseling services to Weizmann employees. Any member of the Weizmann community is eligible to take advantage of this benefit.

Science for the Next Generation

With the new beginnings offered by the spring have come other new beginnings. On March 19, we celebrated the cornerstone-laying of what promises to be a beautiful new indoor space for science education activities, science lectures, and other events at the Clore Garden of Science, and which will offer a new venue for a range of Weizmann Institute activities, including scientific lectures and workshops, and gatherings for Board members and supporters. The planned Sir John Ritblat Exhibition Hall will further the Institute’s efforts to nurture the next generation of science lovers and scientists, and I look forward to welcoming the Weizmann community to the Exhibition Hall when it’s complete.

We also celebrated the publication of a new book about the Weizmann Institute, called The Weizmann Effect, which describes the history and legacy of the Institute and showcases its scientific prowess and impact on the world. The book was also generously funded by Sir John Ritblat. The book launch, in the Michael Sela Auditorium, included an exhibit of some of the exquisite photographs that were taken as part of the project, showcasing the beauty of campus, the activity in our labs, and the excitement of scientific discovery.

On a personal note, the good news coming out of our campus is particularly heartening amidst the volatile period in which we find ourselves in today. To borrow from Dr. Chaim Weizmann’s words, the Institute is an oasis. At the same time, the work we do here, and our ongoing science discovery, is a source of strength for Israel and beyond, with positive reverberations well beyond our own campus. Indeed, the motivation to do outstanding science is a source of resilience, leading to new beginnings and hope for a better future. Wishing everyone a peaceful holiday and a pleasant spring season, and the return of all the hostages to their loved ones.

Sincerely,

Prof. Alon Chen