Annual Report 2011 » From the President

Nearly 40 Weizmann Institute scientists have retired in the past five years. About 60 will be reaching retirement age in the next five. That means that, in one short decade, we will see a turnover of nearly half the Institute’s faculty. In the meantime, we continue to take in a large number of young scientists. The stakes are high and the potential payoff dramatic: The changeover will shape the scientific “personality” of the Weizmann Institute for decades to come.

Recruiting large numbers of scientists in only a few years presents a true challenge. Clearly, we must maintain our normally high standards when inviting scientists to join. Achieving this means the Institute must be an attractive option for talented young researchers, many of whom receive offers from top universities around the world. And this requires a major effort, including serious investment in our research infrastructure.

What is the magic formula for attracting the best young researchers to the Weizmann Institute? Good equipment and lab conditions are an important factor. The human environment – the chance to work in the company of other outstanding scientists – is certainly a draw. But these are not enough. Top scientists need facilities that meet the highest international standards. In addition to equipping individual labs, we create large, highly advanced facilities to serve the needs of any number of scientists at once. An example of this is the
Lorry I. Lokey Preclinical Research Facility. Similar centers that we plan to establish in the near future include a chemistry facility and an institute for personalized medicine research. These will be key factors that will aid us in recruiting a new cadre of outstanding young scientists who will move the Institute forward in the coming years.

 

At the same time, we are engaged in broadening the research interests of our scientific faculty. The Braginsky Center for the Interface between Science and the Humanities that we have established will create a platform for our scientists to collaborate with colleagues in fields that were, until recently, considered “outside the pale.” This is truly a mixing of cultures, and the insights gained from this cross-fertilization could rise to levels far above those that we have known until now. For example, a meeting of brain research and psychology could yield new approaches and depth of understanding that neither could produce on its own. Other fields to be addressed in this center include sociology, anthropology, economics, environmental policy and sustainability, systems analysis (policy studies, etc.) criminology, history and archaeology.

 

Another new institute, the Azrieli Institute for Systems Biology, aims to further strengthen our leadership in the field of systems biology. This discipline is reshaping research in the life sciences. It explores not just the “trees,” but the complex networks and relationships between the different elements that shape the whole “forest.” Together with the Weizmann Institute, Harvard University is a world leader in this field; the Institute recently hosted a systems biology conference attended by dozens of Harvard researchers. We expect the two institutions to develop new and fertile collaboration in this area in the future.

 

On the management side, we have been undergoing a period of increasing professionalization of the administrative staff. We are in the process of establishing higher administrative standards, resulting in an improvement in the services we offer to our scientists. This, too, is a draw that makes the Institute, as an organization, an attractive work place for young, outstanding scientists.

 

All of this diverse activity could not take place without exceptional team work. This is my opportunity to give my profuse thanks to our four vice presidents: Haim Garty, Israel Bar-Joseph, Mordechai (Mudi) Sheves and Isaac (Tsachi) Shariv. I have been extremely privileged to work with this group of highly effective, creative people.

 

Finally, I would like to tell you about a fascinating experiment that has taken place over the past year. In response to the stereotype of the scientist in the ivory tower and our counter-belief that scientists should be proficient communicators, we staged several popular science events for the general public. In one evening, 40 Institute scientists and students talked about their research in various bars and coffee shops in Tel-Aviv. Another evening, 32 scientists appeared in venues in and around Rehovot. The results exceeded our expectations: In both cases, the pubs and eateries were filled beyond capacity. Our conclusion? The public is as thirsty for knowledge as it is for beer. Alongside our primary goal of conducting cutting-edge, basic research, we have always had another aim – making science accessible to everyone. We seem to have discovered a new way of bringing that ideal closer to reality.