Unofficial Liaison

English
 
Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, daughter Ilia and wife Sukina in Sur Baher
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, from the village of Sur Baher, near East Jerusalem, is a great believer in the ability of science to bridge cultural, social and political gaps. While completing his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Ankara University in Turkey, Dr. Abu Hamed became interested in conducting post-doctoral research in the Environmental Sciences and Energy Research Department at the Weizmann Institute. He was attracted to the Institute by its reputation for world-class research and such resources as the solar tower, one of the most advanced facilities in the world for solar energy research. “To me this was a natural choice,” says Abu Hamed. “I wanted to choose a path where I could realize my full potential.”
 
Despite the general political climate and the tensions between Palestinians and Israelis during the heat of the Intifada, Abu Hamed found the Institute welcoming: “People here are kind and easy-going, yet professional and accomplished. They're busy with science, and nothing interferes with that.” His adviser, Prof. Jacob Karni, says: “Naturally, people at the Weizmann Institute come from a broad spectrum of cultural, ethnic and political backgrounds. These differences are all completely irrelevant to our work.” “Many Palestinians don't want any sort of cooperation with Israel,” says Abu Hamed, “but for Palestinian students and researchers, it’s worthwhile becoming involved in the scientific community in Israel and taking part in the high-level, challenging science here.”
 
In Abu Hamed's youth he learned the value of communication in achieving common goals. As a teenager living in a small village on the West Bank-Israeli border, he spent his summers picking fruit on nearby kibbutzim. There he worked side by side with people from all over the world, learning and practicing English, and discovering other cultures. Abu Hamed describes himself as a sort of an unofficial cultural liaison: “By mixing with foreign visitors, I hoped to gain an understanding of other views and to influence the perceptions of those who live in Israel.”
At the Institute, as well, he often finds himself at the interface between Israelis, Palestinians and members of the international research community: “My Israeli friends often question me about the Palestinian point of view.” His personal beliefs, however, don’t always coincide with the Palestinian viewpoints most often reported in the press. The promotion of scientific cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians is more important to him than politics, and he believes this ideal should be fostered from the earliest elementary school levels. Since joining the Institute, he has organized tours of the Clore Garden of Science on the Weizmann campus for Palestinian children attending summer programs in his village. He sees himself as a role model for the children and their teachers as he accompanies the groups, explaining the scientific principles involved in the Garden’s interactive exhibits.
 
Abu Hamed would like to see all sorts of exchange programs instituted, in which Israeli and Palestinian lecturers, scientists and teachers would spend time with their colleagues and counterparts. “Beginning with one person and growing to 100, we need to work together for science education. To me, it was a shock that Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, President of Al-Quds University, received such severe criticism from the Palestinian scientific community for his initiative in signing an agreement with the Hebrew University.” Abu Hamed believes that “the future holds more cooperation, but it will require change and a new generation willing to support it. We’ll succeed if we truly want it and refuse to give up.” 

 

Alternative Fuel Holds Water

 

From solar energy to fuel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
Five kg (11 lbs) of hydrogen is sufficient to fuel an average car for 500 km (311 mi), and there are no CO2 emissions. Hydrogen can be extracted from water, using a somewhat tricky technique, but researchers have been most challenged to find a solution for hydrogen storage. In a recent study appearing in the Solar Energy Journal, Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, Prof. Jacob Karni and Michael Epstein, Head of the Solar Resources Facility, explore the use of boron, a lightweight semimetallic element, as a novel solution for onboard hydrogen storage and fuel production.
 
Abu Hamed: “Boron and water can be stored separately in two containers. Mixing them in a controlled fashion will release hydrogen as demanded by the engine.” The only byproduct is boron oxide, which is neither spent nor wasted: The boron can be separated from the oxygen in a process powered by solar energy and reused again and again for automotive hydrogen production.
 
“It's safe,” says Abu Hamed, “mostly involving materials that are harmless and relatively simple to handle.” The team plans to construct a working system in the near future to test the theoretical findings of this study.
 
Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, daughter Ilia and wife ukina. Warm welcome
Environment
English
  • Environmental Sciences and Energy Research
  • Jacob Karni
  • Solar Energy›Solar power

Code for Success

English

Prof. Adi Shamir. The S in RSA

 

The A.M. Turing Award, regarded in academic circles as the 'Nobel Prize' of computer science, has been awarded to Prof. Adi Shamir of the Weizmann Institute of Science.
 
Shamir shares the award with Ronald L. Rivest of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Leonard M. Adleman of the University of Southern California. The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) presented the award to them in its annual meeting.
 

Secure transactions

 
While working at M.I.T. in 1977, the three scientists developed an algorithm that was later called RSA (the acronym for their last names). Used worldwide to secure Internet, banking and credit card transactions, the RSA algorithm allows for the delivery and deciphering of encrypted codes between parties that have never previously been in contact. The time needed to crack some versions of the code, which is based on the multiplication of two very large prime numbers and the difficulty in deducing those prime numbers from their product, is estimated at millions of years.
 
Among the numerous applications of this research are smart cards, regularly installed in household television sets to ensure that only subscribers receive TV satellite broadcasts. The smart card also allows the company activating the satellite to charge its customers only for programs viewed by them.
 
Shamir began his acquaintance with the Weizmann Institute of Science as a teenager participating in its youth activities. He later earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees at the Weizmann Institute and spent three years at M.I.T. He then returned to the Institute, publishing numerous articles and receiving several prestigious awards, including ACM's Kanellakis Award, the Erdos Prize of the Israel Mathematical Society, the IEEE's W.R.G. Baker Prize, the UAP Scientific Prize, The Vatican's PIUS XI Gold Medal and the IEEE Koji Kobayashi Computers and Communications Award.
 

Second winner at Weizmann

 
In 1996, the A.M. Turing Award was conferred on Prof. Amir Pnueli, also a Weizmann Institute computer scientist, for his contributions to program and systems verification. Prof. Michael Rabin of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Harvard University received the award in 1976 for his research on nondeterministic machines. The award has been presented annually since 1966 to individuals who have made contributions of 'lasting and major technical importance in the field of computer science.'
 

THE CODE CRACKERS

 
The English mathematician Alan Turing, for whom the prize is named, cracked the German coding system 'Enigma' with his team during World War II, using a system he developed, called 'Bomba.' Many historians believe that this achievement actually decided the Battle of the Atlantic in favor of the Allies.
 

Alan Turing. Enigma

 

 

Prof. Shamir's research is supported by Mr. Mickey Cohen, Director of Technologies, SoftChip Technologies (3000) Ltd.; Mr. Junichi Hattori, Executive Vice President, SII-Seiko Instruments Inc.; Mr. Takeo Hiyama, President/CEO, Abit Corp.; and Ms. Yuko Ishida, President/CEO, Japan Datacom. He is the incumbent of the Paul & Marlene Borman Professorial Chair of Applied Mathematics.
Prof. Adi Shamir. Encryption
Math & Computer Science
English
  • A.M. Turing Award
  • Adi Shamir
  • Algorithm
  • Amir Pnueli
  • Applied Mathematics and Computer Science

Capturing the Voices of the Past

English

Prof. Steve Weiner and a new crop of archaeologists

Making the past come alive is a difficult task, requiring both a keen understanding of human culture and history as well as sophisticated analytical tools. A new program at the Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science at the Weizmann Institute of Science aims to tackle this challenge by educating a new type of archaeologist with a strong background in both archaeology and the sciences. It is among the first programs of its kind, and its prospects, in a region where such crucial developments as the emergence of villages and the development of agriculture first took place, are exciting.
 
“Archaeology has traditionally been confined to the humanities,” says program head Prof. Steve Weiner. “We integrate archaeological training with scientific know-how.” The program’s participants come from a wide range of backgrounds. Some are described here. 
 

DNA: A connecting thread to our past

Rivka Elbaum, doctoral student.

For tens of thousands of years humans were nomads, subsisting on wild plants and animals wher-ever they could be found. That epoch ended around 10,000 years ago in one of the greatest revolutions effected by humankind: the agricultural revolution. At that time humans made a significant stride toward controlling their own destiny by learning how to grow plants and domesticate animals. By offering a relatively reliable source of food, the agricultural revolution thus made possible towns, cities and civilization as we know it.
 
While earning an M.Sc. in materials science at the Weizmann Institute, Rivka became interested in this period when she happened to take a course given by Weiner. Her research today seeks to determine the imprints left on the DNA of plants as a result of their domestication in the agricultural revolution. She has analyzed olives discovered by archaeologist Ehud Galili of the Israel Antiquities Authority off the coast of Haifa, where a village of 6,500 years lies buried under the sea. Archaeologists suspect that this is the oldest explored site in which there was massive use of olives for oil. Rivka hopes to provide insight into whether the olives are wild or domesticated. She was able to detect the DNA of those ancient olives, strengthening hopes that DNA might one day prove a viable tool for studying the agricultural revolution.
 

Ancient tools

Dvory Namdar, doctoral student.

Science came to Dvory as a welcome surprise. She was a lawyer who had just completed a B.A. in archaeology at Tel-Aviv University, and knew what the subject of her master’s thesis would be: a spectacular find in a place called Givat HaOranim, near Ben Gurion Airport. A trove of beautifully decorated copper tools had been found there, dating back to the end of the prehistoric age (around 4000 B.C.). To examine how the tools were made, she consulted Dr. Sariel Shalev, a metallurgist working at Haifa University and Weizmann, and in time became captivated by science and decided to join the new program. Today she is using highly sophisticated methods to determine the contents of vessels found at archaeological sites. “If someone says ‘this vessel was used for wine’ I say ‘let’s prove it’,”  says Dvory. Her supervisors, in addition to Weiner, are Prof. Ronny Neumann of  the Weizmann Institute and Prof. Yuval Goren of Tel Aviv University. Dvory has only just begun her Ph.D. studies – a little over a year ago she was working as a lawyer while trying simultaneously to write her master’s thesis.
 

Earth

Ruth Shahack-Gross, postdoctoral fellow.

Ruth’s research has lent her a unique expertise: Going back thousands of years, she can tell you, using soil samples, whether cattle, sheep or goats were once kept in a specific area. The first student in the program, she joined in 1998, after finishing an M.Sc. in geology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a second master’s in archaeology, at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. It was there she became interested in ethno-archaeology.
 
“Ethno-archaeology is an effort to understand the past by looking at the present,” says Ruth. She traveled to Kenya and sampled soils from functioning Maasai settlements as well as abandoned ones, observing how materials produced by people and animals accumulate in the existing settlements and degrade in the abandoned ones. Thus she was able to better understand how herding sites are formed and change over time. Now she wants to apply the ethno-archaeological approach to sites in Israel, to understand how the many mound settlements (tel in Hebrew), containing a wealth of archaeological information, developed. The idea is to find clues to the origin of these mounds by examining how traditional cultures live today in other Mediterranean countries.
 

Fire

Ilit Cohen-Ofri, doctoral student.

Ilit earned an M.Sc. in chemistry at the Technion and then went to work for a large pharmaceutical company. When she heard of the archaeological sciences program, she immediately applied. “I have always loved archaeology – even as a child,” she says. Today she is studying the early use of fire by analyzing both present-day charcoal and charcoal found at archaeological sites.
 
Surprisingly little is known about the structure of charcoal formed in campfires. By comparing modern and ancient bits of charcoal found in the Kebara Cave on Mt. Carmel, Ilit hopes to understand how charcoal degrades over time. This may help in distinguishing between charcoal resulting from man-made fires (such as campfires) and natural fires (such as forest fires). Since charcoal is the most commonly used material for radiocarbon dating, her research has already contributed to a better understanding of this important aspect of archaeological research.
 
Prof. Steve Weiner is the incumbent of the Dr. Walter and Dr. Trude Borchardt Professorial Chair in Structural Biology. His research is supported by the Helen and Martin Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science; the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation; George Schwartzman, Sarasota, FL; the Women’s Health Research Center and Yad Hanadiv.
From left to right: Michal Kaufman, Rivka Elbaum, Prof. Steve Weiner, Ruth Shahack-Gross, Dvory Namdar and Ilit Cohen-Ofri. Scientific excavations
Scientific Archaeology
English
  • Scientific Archaeology
  • Stephen Weiner
Yes

For the Love of Wheat

English

Khalil Kashkush, Profs. Avi Levy and Moshe Feldman. Wheat enthusiasts

Three Israelis from different generations and backgrounds – one a former kibbutznik, the other from France and the third from an Arab village – all wanted to be agronomists yet fell in the love with the science of wheat.
 
As a member of Kibbutz Mishmar David in the 1950s, Prof. Moshe Feldman spent his days helping to plant and harvest the kibbutz’s 4,000 dunams of crops. From his early childhood he had loved nature: “Becoming an agronomist was the natural choice,” he says. But after a year’s study in Jerusalem, he was drawn to biology, particularly its evolutionary aspects. After completing his postdoctoral studies, in the course of which he had the opportunity to work with world-renowned wheat scientist Ernest R. Sears, he came to the Weizmann Institute in 1969 to continue probing the secret to wheat’s enormous success as an adapter: It has flourished all over the world, whether in the Brazilian tropics, the semi-arid areas of Sudan or underneath Canadian snow. “Wheat laid the foundation for civilization as we know it,” says Feldman. “Having learned to cultivate wheat, humans were able to settle in one place for long periods of time, building villages and towns. The wild wheat species that humans first cultivated – ‘the mother of all wheat’ – was discovered in Israel and still grows in these parts.”
 
About a decade later, along came a student, now Prof. Avi Levy, who shared Feldman’s fascination with wheat. He had made aliyah from France at the age of 17 and sought to realize the Zionist dream to its fullest – to work in agriculture in the land of Israel. “My mother cried when she heard I wasn’t going to be a doctor,” he says. He, too, began studying agriculture but became absorbed in wheat genetics. “Wheat is a small, beautiful, modest plant, with very few needs,” says Levy, “and yet its genetics is extremely complex.” He began his doctoral studies at Weizmann under Feldman, whose research in wheat genetics and evolution was by then well known. After completing his postdoctoral work in Stanford, he returned to the Institute as an independent researcher, inspired by Feldman to continue in this field. “But I had to prove that I wasn’t just continuing Mossik’s [Moshe’s nickname] ideas,” he says jokingly. So he branched off to a new topic, the dynamics of genes in other species. “Fortunately, my research proved in time to be central to wheat studies,” he says, and the door reopened to his favorite organism.
 
About four years ago, another wheat enthusiast joined their ranks – graduate student Khalil Kashkush. “When I was born, the first things I saw were strawberries, flowers and wheat,” he says, referring to the produce on his father’s farm in the Arab village of Qalansuwa. The crops’ dependence on rain had made him dream as a young child that one day he would devise a strain of wheat that needed no water. He decided to become an agronomist. “Like Avi’s mother, mine also wanted me to be a doctor. Now she consoles herself that at least I’ll have the title ‘Dr.’,” he laughs. His studies continually leave him feeling that he doesn’t know enough – and so, agronomist dream deferred, he is now completing his doctoral degree in the plant sciences. His work with advisors Feldman and Levy has already led to the publication of three articles in major scientific journals. “Khalil has a lot of spirit and the courage to do things that others before him haven’t done,” says Feldman. “We have high hopes for him. He is going to a leading laboratory to do his postdoctoral work and if he proves himself there, he’ll have an open ticket to all research centers.” Levy adds: “The future will tell, but Moshe, an inspiring teacher, might have laid the foundation for a dynasty of wheat geneticists at the Weizmann Institute of Science.”
 

Wheat and Human Evolution

 

Wheat might hold clues to one of the most mystifying questions in human evolution: Did a primitive creature double its genome around 500 million years ago, creating the genomic leap that led to the creation of all mammals?  
 
Wheat has doubled its genome several times in the past, creating new species of wheat virtually overnight. “Genomic doubling can be easily induced in the lab when it comes to wheat,” says Levy, “which is why it might provide insight into one of the events that might have shaped the human genome.”
 
Though for many years considered an exotic feature of plants, genome doubling is today recognized as a widespread force that has influenced the evolution of the animal, plant and fungi kingdoms. But human evolution? Scientists have found that many duplicated segments in the human genome date back to approximately 500 million years ago, suggesting that a whole genome duplication event may have occurred at that time. Yet this sort of “genetic archaeology” has its obstacles: Genes change over time and what could have begun as the perfect duplication of a gene might have altered over millions of years. Studying wheat could help scientists visualize what our genome would look like today if such a doubling event had indeed taken place in our past.
 
The team has uncovered several events that occur after genomic doubling. One finding was recently published in Nature Genetics. Doubling of genetic information was known to cause “genomic shock.” Genes that are normally dormant wake up and start interfering with the normal function of other genes. These genes are called “jumping genes” because they move around the DNA, “stepping on” other genes. What wasn’t known was that jumping genes have much subtler ways of sowing confusion: “Even when they don’t jump, they can turn neighboring genes on and off, reversing their activity,” says Levy. Since the publication of their article they have received reactions from many scientists who believe that the same kind of phenomenon occurs in human cells, which also contain many jumping genes.
 
The genome of wheat as we know it today is actually an amalgam of several wheat species, whose genomes can serve as genetic backup systems. The extra gene copies in the “backup genomes” come into play if some genes become mutated.  
 
If one of the primitive creatures serving as our distant forefathers doubled its genome, the extra gene copies, or “backup systems,” might have been used as playdough for creating new functions. Feldman: “The sudden increase in genetic information together with tolerance to mutations might have led to the creation of new genes, increased genetic complexity and, gradually, to the development of more sophisticated species.”  
 
Prof. Moshe Feldman is the incumbent of the Marshall and Edith Korshak Professorial Chair of Plant Cyto-genetics. His research is supported by the Charles W. and Tillie K. Lubin Center for Plant Biotechnology.
 
Prof. Avraham Levy’s research is supported by the Raymond Burton Plant Genome Research Fund and the Charles W. and Tillie K. Lubin Center for Plant Biotechnology.
Environment
English
  • Avi Levy›Avi Levy
  • Moshe Feldman
  • Plant Genetics
  • Plant Sciences

Tikkun Olam

English

 

Gershon Kekst and the Kekst court on the Weizmann campus
 
 

 

Though he will not take any credit, Chairman of the Board of Governors Gershon Kekst has played a crucial role in steering the Weizmann Institute of Science into greener pastures over a period of nine years. During this period, the Weizmann Institute family has been significantly broadened and strengthened. And it has overcome challenging times. Completing his term in November, Kekst here relates his views on a few core issues.


Challenges


"I am quite certain that the future role of the Weizmann Institute will be more profound and important than anyone today might contemplate. As an apolitical, scientific institution, it has the potential to produce a pathway to peace -  exactly as Chaim Weizmann intended: by strengthening Israel through the cultivation of its only natural resource -  brainpower. For example, crop enhancement or means of dealing with the water shortage will improve living conditions and standards in the whole region.

"One of the main goals of the administration under former President Haim Harari was to strengthen the Institute's financial footing,"says Kekst. "This was needed to ensure that Weizmann remained a leading scientific institution. Doubling the endowment has given the Institute an opportunity to achieve real financial strength and security. Therefore, the task ahead is to continue the momentum, in science and in finance. There is real evidence that exactly that ishappening under the new administration led by President Ilan Chet."


Building the Weizmann Family


When asked if the commitment to the Weizmann Institute will be passed on to the next generation, Kekst quickly responds, "In my family it will."His two sons, David, a lawyer, and Joseph, a student at Brandeis University, have been at Weizmann many times. Yet he acknowledges a challenge: "Unlike my generation, which was brought up on the notion of the centrality of Israel, later generations do not necessarily feel a direct linkage to Israel. So it's up to Israel and its institutions,including Weizmann, to reach out in ways that inspire and motivate the younger generations to want to be a part of this historic and vital mission."The Institute's values, he says, have much in common with those of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, which he also chairs. "Both are engaged in understanding the world and in tikkun olam [repairing, or healing, the world] -  one in the laboratory of science and the other in the laboratory of text and history."

In the final analysis, says Kekst, building the Weizmann family comes down to sharing values and establishing personal relationships. "In a very real sense,"he says, "my own two sons need to feel comfortable on the Weizmann campus and need to feel a sense of connectedness -  through people. I am glad to say: they do!"


Change

 
"Over the years I've seen an inter-disciplinary sharpening of focus among scientists -  a converging of skills and perspectives and disciplines to enhance research. That is one of Weizmann's great strengths. I've also seen tremendous professionalism and discipline in the administration and management of the Institute, which has enabled it to navigate through challenging financial times."
Of incoming Chairman Stuart Eizenstat, Kekst says, "He is a remarkable person, one who deeply understands the importance of the Weizmann Institute and Israel to the world, as well as the importance of the world to Israel. I believe him to be exactly the right man at the right time. My only advice to him is that he enjoy himself -  that would mean he is doing a great job."

And his own plans? "I think it would be wonderful if every serious person in the Jewish community and beyond it knew of the core values, achievements, and potential of the Weizmann Institute. I've been with the Weizmann Institute for the past 35 years and expect to keep working for it for 35 more."

Gershon Kekst is President of Kekst and Co., a New York-based public relations firm. Among his many awards is an Honorary Doctorate from the Weizmann Institute, conferred in 1995. Gershon and Carol Kekst established the Kekst Family Center for Medical Genetics at the Weizmann Institute.
 
Gershon Kekst, on background of the court dedicated to his family in the Jubilee Plaza
English
  • Gershon Kekst

Light Lends a Hand

English
Prof. Moshe Shaprio and Dr. Petr Kral. visiting physicist
 
 

 

Scientists are often attracted to either the very large or the very small. For Dr. Petr Kral, visiting theoretical physicist at the Weizmann Institute of Science, the fascination lies at the Lilliputian end of the spectrum. He has a longstanding interest in transport through tiny bodies -  how an electron, for example, gets through a molecule attached to two electrical contacts. Recently he has attracted attention with his theoretical work on optical and frictional methods of sending electrons through nanotubes -  tiny molecular cylinders -  to perform specific tasks.

The prefix "nano"means one billionth. A nanotube, despite its diminutive transversal size (the tube's length is thousands of times longer than its diameter), could, in principle, be made of almost any layered material. In Kral's laser pump research, he has shown that laser beams -  otherwise known as coherent light -  can be used to excite electrons inside carbon nanotubes so that they move in a single direction. As the electrons make their way through the tube, they push forward movable molecules inside it.

This pumping technique could give rise to such applications as a nano pen, in which atomic "ink"(a chain of atoms) is pushed through the nanotube to write on a surface. The nano pen could also be used for biomedical purposes: By virtue of its tiny size, it could deposit molecules into an individual cell. Recently Kral suggested a scheme in which circularly polarized light could be used to rotate nanotubes with frequencies of billions of times per second -  an idea that could potentially be applied in nanomotors and nanopropellors.


Separating lefts from rights


Kral, who is working in Prof. Moshe Shapiro's group at the Materials and Interfaces Department, is also looking for ways in which laser beams can be harnessed to perform practical tasks in molecules.

One particularly intriguing innovation the team is pursuing is a way of employing lasers to separate the left and right versions of a chiral molecule. Any mirror-image pair -  such as our hands, ears, or feet -  is said to be "chiral"(chir is Greek for "hand"). Molecules can also exhibit this kind of relationship. But left and right molecules, though similar in many respects, can exhibit very different behavior patterns. Aspartame, for example, is a sweet molecule, but its mirror molecule is bitter.

Because only one chiral form may be desired in a biological application, the lefts and rights have to be separated from each other. Theoptical separation of lefts and rights depends, according to Shapiro and Kral's theory, on their asymmetry. Molecules exist in discrete energy states called "quantum levels,"and light can be used to couple different quantum levels. But while non-chiral molecules are subject to certain "selection rules"that dictate conditions for these couplings, chiral (or asymmetric) molecules are largely free of these limitations.

This greater freedom implies that chiral molecules can theoretically be transported across a wider variety of quantum levels. Kral has devised a method, using three laser pulses, that can transfer chiral molecules either directly from one quantum level to another or via anintermediate level. The innovative technique involves a cyclical movement between levels (for example, from level 1 to level 2, from level 2 to level 3, and from level 3 back to level 1).

The next step is to separate the lefts from the rights. The cyclical excitation of molecules by lasers creates interference. The interference conditions that are generated for left and right molecules are different. This determines which molecules go to which level -  lefts to 2, rights to 3,or vice versa, depending on the lasers'phases -  which in turn makes the moleculesdistinguishable from one another. Once the groups have been sorted out by left and right orientation, it becomes possible to pull them apart.

Shapiro and Kral believe it might be possible to use light not only to sift out the desired versions of individual molecules but even to convert the undesirables directly and efficiently into their more beneficial counterparts. The conversion, says Kral, can be done in a few nano-seconds only by using light -  a considerable improvement over all other methods attempted to date.

Right and Left molecules

Prof. Shapiro's research is supported by Mr. Bram Appel, Canada; the Estate of Dr. David Salmon, UK; and the Fritz Haber Center for Physical Chemistry. He holds the Jacques Mimran Professorial Chair.

 

 
illustration: Separating molecules with light
Chemistry
English
  • Chiral
  • Laser
  • Moshe Shapiro
  • Nanotube

A Dream House at Minimal Cost

English

 

The Weizmann House, newly restored
 
 

 

Can one build an ideal house at minimal cost? A pipe dream, claimed Eric Mendelsohn, the famous Jewish architect commissioned by Dr. Chaim Weizmann to design a house on Rehovot's sand dunes during the early 1930s. But Weizmann, first President of the State of Israel and founder of the Weizmann Institute of Science, thought differently. Who was right?

This story was recently recounted at a celebration to mark the completed renovation and preservation of the Weizmann House and its launching as part of the Institute's Barbara and Morris Levinson Visitors Center. The evening, planned jointly by the Institute and the Council for the Restoration of Buildings and Historic Sites, included guest lecturers architect Hillel Shoken, who planned and oversaw the renovations, and Merav Segal, curator of the Weizmann House. Segal described the complex relationship between Mendelsohn and Weizmann. Apparently, the difference of opinion nearly cost Mendelsohn the commission.

The relationship between an architect and his or her client is somewhat like a marriage. Building a private residence requires an understanding of the client's habits and lifestyle and a knowledge of intimate details. Which part of the house constitutes the heart of the family's interaction? How important is the kitchen? And of course, what is the client's financial situation? The architect is faced with the challenge of satisfying as many of the client's needs as possible, whereas clients usually lack the resources required to finance their dreams. This situation causes more than a few tensions among the "design team," and in cases where the "client" is a couple * between them as well.

Weizmann and Mendelsohn had an unusually complicated relationship. Having heard that Mendelsohn was to plan a house for the well-known publisher Zalman Shoken, Weizmann, living in England at the time, asked him to plan his Rehovot residence. The two agreed that construction would begin on April 1, 1935. After this initial agreement, Weizmann asked for that unwelcome but necessary piece of information: a price estimate. Mendelsohn quoted £20,000, an enormous sum at that time.

Weizmann was astounded. He had anticipated a cost of roughly £12,000. For over a year the two conducted exchanges, mostly in writing, with Weizmann trying to cut costs and Mendelsohn attempting to comply, within limitations. After checking with Henkin ("one of the more responsible contractors in Palestine," according to Mendelsohn), it became clear that he would demand even more than the estimated fee. "Architects are usually unduly optimistic, anticipating unreasonably low construction costs," Mendelsohn explained to Weizmann, adding that were this not so, many buildings would never reach the construction stage. Yet Weizmann was adamant. The price was too high.

Mendelsohn wrote that he was familiar with the problem since, "of course, it is easier to build when financed by others." In a series of convincing arguments, he tried to persuade Weizmann to stick with the original plans: "The house's beauty is in its planning, its compatibility with its surroundings, the climate, and your personal and official needs. The building's proportions are perfect. You requested a house with a country-like character, rather than the glamor of an urban palace. Your position in the country mandates that you use organized Jewish labor (which is more expensive). Your status dictates a house that will be open and attractive to people from all walks of life. I can offer you the best plan and most reliable supervision, but it is unreasonable to expect an ideal house at a minimal price. As your architect, I am prepared to plan a new design at no additional charge, but as a friend whose respect for you is everlasting, I advise you to use the existing plan. Should you agree, we will begin construction on the first of July 1935 and you will be able to move in on October 1, 1936."

But his arguments were to no avail. The price is unacceptable, persisted Weizmann. He wrote: "Even if I could afford to spend so much money, I would decline for moral reasons. One cannot do so in Palestine. I want a decent house, not a luxury residence." Weizmann had initially named a ceiling price of £12,000, yet following lengthy negotiations agreed to compromise at £14,500. In a strongly worded letter to Mendelsohn, Weizmann expressed his disappointment, claiming further that since the house's dimensions had shrunk from 1,028 to 796 square meters, there was no justification for demanding £18,000.

Weizmann sought further advice. He asked David Hacohen, manager of Solel Boneh to estimate the construction costs according to Mendelsohn's plans and blueprints. Hacohen responded: £16,000.

Let's review the figures: Weizmann had initially stated a ceiling price of £12,000, yet following lengthy negotiations agreed to compromise at £14,500. Mendelsohn lowered his initial estimate of £20,000 to £18,000, after considerable pressure. David Hacohen's estimate was £16,000.

But Mendelsohn was determined to see the project through. He wrote Weizmann, asking him not to decide on the matter before reading his further suggestions. To cut costs he suggested replacing the iron shutters with wooden ones and paving only the main rooms with marble ("Palestinian stone"), making do with terrazzo for the rest. He also offered to put out a new tender for a contractor and make every effort to build the house as planned; and he repeated his offer to draw up alternative plans for a smaller house at no extra cost. Weizmann refused. In a letter to one of his friends he wrote that Mendelsohn had severely disappointed both Vera and himself, wasting nearly a year of their time. "He may be a brilliant architect, but he is a very difficult man." Negotiations between the two continued for about a year. Then, at the end of August 1935, Weizmann sent Mendelsohn a telegram saying only: "Good Luck."

So, what happened between July and August? How was Weizmann sufficiently appeased to authorize Mendelsohn's plan? We may never know.

Construction costs were not the only cause of conflict. Mendelsohn demanded a 10 percent fee for his work, as was customary in England, while Weizmann discovered that the customary fee in Palestine was only 6 percent. From that point on, he washed his hands of all construction details, leaving all house- related financial matters to Mr. Abraham Landsberg, a friend and one of the founders of Resco and Kfar Shmaryahu.

In July of 1936, Weizmann received a further letter from Mendelsohn: "The house has been plastered and looks exceptional. I checked the closets at the carpenter's workshop, and they are first class -- a European achievement. All the rooms are flooded with light, though the floor is still missing. Epstein (the gardener) is working at full steam, the grounds and the terraces are well suited to the area, and the garage is done." As a side note, he also mentioned the payment owed him.

In January 1937, the Weizmanns took up residence. About a year later, Weizmann complained of a number of defects in the house: "Every time it rains the stairway is flooded, as is my room, and the drapes and carpet have been damaged. When we have a strong wind, it blows ashes from the fireplace filling the entire library with soot . . . it is the duty of the architect and the builders to solve these problems without delay."

Yet despite Weizmann's displeasure with Mendelsohn, on hearing in the 1940s that Mendelsohn was about to leave the country, he wrote Zalman Shoket, asking him to do all he could to ensure that the acclaimed architect remained in the country. It was vital for the face of the fledging country, he explained.

And the bottom line? Following all negotiations, the final cost of the construction amounted to £14,832 and 80 pence. In other words, very close to Weizmann's "last offer." Another proof -- if proof were required -- of the acuity and bargaining talents of Israel's first president.
 
Eric Mendelsohn's plan for the Weizmann House
 
 

 

 
 
English
  • Chaim Weizmann
  • Weizmann House

Fighting Cancer the Empty-Handed Way

English

Prof. Israel Rubinstein. Scientist and black belt in karate

 

Slicing the air in a flurry of powerful, yet calculated motions, Prof. Israel Rubinstein lashes out at his invisible foe with the mastery of a black belt karate fighter.

Which in fact he is. When not in the lab, Rubinstein of the Weizmann Institute's Materials and Interfaces Department, seems to tackle unusual challenges - like picking up karate at age 45 in the Dojo (class) of Asher Chen, one of Israel's leading Shotokan instructors. "My son is to blame," he says, smiling. "I wanted to encourage him to do more physical activity. We attended a trial lesson and ended up training together for five years."

Shotokan karate-do has its roots in ancient religious rites. Over fourteen hundred years ago, Daruma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, introduced the monks at his monastery to arduous training techniques designed to soften the spiritual and physical challenges of their path. These methods were later imported to Okinawa, a group of Japanese offshore islands, where they blended with the indigenous fighting techniques.

Karate is a dance of rhythm, rigorous technique, power, and intense concentration, wrapped within traditional Oriental values. Honoring ones opponent, developing strong character, and avoiding conflict - these are the pillars upon which kara-te-do, meaning the empty-handed way, revolves. "Insecurity, in its various forms, is often what pushes a potentially violent situation over the edge," says Rubinstein. "While karate is a potent art of self defense, its central philosophy is to nurture physical prowess together with strength of spirit in order to resolve conflicts nonviolently."

Some obstacles are internal. By 1996, Rubinstein had worked his way up to a brown Ikkyu belt and was eyeing the next challenge, the black Shodan belt, when he found out that he had cancer. "It was a terrible blow, emotionally and physically," he said. "I hadn't been feeling well for quite some time, but learning that I had cancer was devastating."

One of the first steps that Rubinstein took was to track down the Swedish physician Professor Kjell Oberg, world renowned for treating his rare form of the disease. Another was to resolve to continue leading his research group and to resume studying karate. "Modern science is so adept at conquering disease that people often fail to contribute their own healing. I believe in both," says Rubinstein.

Receiving chemotherapy treatments regularly, Rubinstein suffered the side effects afflicting many cancer patients - extreme weakness and localized pain. His training often helped him. "My karate training became a goal to strive for and a source of encouragement. It strengthened my ability to cope with the disease and maintain my normal life as much as possible," he said. "The lessons are also great for relieving the stress of scientific research. In fact, our karate group consists of quite a few scientists from Weizmann and the nearby Hebrew University campus. Challenging or "stubborn" research problems, the tediousness of grant proposal writing - all these are blocked out as the lesson begins. "This may be due," he adds, "to the deep concentration called for in karate, in focusing on your opponent while remaining alert to the surrounding environment. Kata movements, for instance, the core of karate training since antiquity, are meant to overcome numerous attackers from several directions."

In 1998, after his chemotherapy regimen subsided, giving more time for recuperation and training in between, Rubinstein decided to tackle his original goal, the Shodan black belt. "I passed the exam together with 24 other students, tested by a nationwide panel of karate masters. While we were all extremely excited by the accomplishment, I must admit that it held particular meaning for me," he said in his low-key way. "I have my family, my coach, and my fellow karate students, all of whom supported me in whatever way they could, to thank for this."

Karate requires you to reconsider and modify your natural movements, said Rubinstein. You have to shift your center of gravity as low as possible in order to enhance stability and learn how to siphon the body's collective strength through the hip, directly onto the target. Sounds like a strong approach for dealing with life's changing deck of cards.
 

Nanoworlds


While at work, Prof. Israel Rubinstein concentrates on projects of very different dimensions  more along the nanometer (one-millionth of a millimeter) scale. A leader in the fields of electrochemistry and nanomaterials, Rubinstein's research group focuses on creating ultra-thin films on electrodes as part of the current trend in science and technology toward miniaturization. Working with Prof. Abraham Shanzer of the Organic Chemistry Department, Rubinstein has recently developed molecular mono- and multi-layered films on metal substrates that can be structurally controlled using specific chemical reactions. The films are designed for use as super-miniature electronic and optical elements, which are the basis of modern technology - the fundamental units in radio, TV, computers, and various communication systems. Collaborating with Prof. Gary Hodes of the Materials and Interfaces Department, Rubinstein's group has made important headway in efforts to create a single-electron transistor, significantly smaller than current transistors. Their achievements may contribute to the development of future miniature electro-optical devices.

Prof. Israel Rubinstein's research is supported by the Henri Gutwirth Fund and the Philip Klutznick Endowed Scientific Research Fund.
 
 
Prof. Israel Rubinstein
English
  • Israel Rubinstein
  • Materials and Interfaces
  • Nanomaterial

The World of Science Salutes the Weizmann Institute

English

 

Science's leading lights at the Institute
 
 

 

David Baltimore, President, California Institute of Technology:

Caltech salutes the Weizmann Institute, founded in a moment of optimism and devoted to excellence. It has never lost its commitment to the highest values of science and technology. Its success in a mere 50 years is in fact a marvel.


In the next decades, we will see the applications of science fuse ever more tightly to the discovery process, blurring the distinction between applied and basic science. We will see a growing impact of science on the most intimate aspects of daily life, altering how we communicate, shop for goods, even how we conceive children.

Institutions like Weizmann and the others represented on this platform will have special responsibilities both to generate the future and to help guide the societies in which we live to absorb these new perspectives and ensure that they are used for the benefit of all humankind.

Maxine Singer, President, Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C.:
In 1971, I was anxious to initiate new research in animal systems with an animal virus. Ernest Winocour, here at the Institute, had one of the best labs in the field, and I came on sabbatical. I entered Israel from a ferry in Haifa harbor, along with an orange VW minibus that was packed with one husband, four children, and lots of luggage.

To this day, my knowledge of Weizmann and its work is constantly refreshed. Exciting research, that engages the most active scientific topics worldwide, is presented each year, reminding me of how essential change is to a research institution; change in facilities and in research directions, capitalizing on new opportunities, ideas, and technologies. The Weizmann of today is very different from what it was 30 or 20 or even 10 years ago, and it will again be different in a few years time.

Luciano Maiani, Director General, European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), Geneva:
It is a great honor for me to salute the Weizmann Institute on its 50th Anniversary. We all recognize the Institutes prominent position across an enormous front of basic research. I have great respect for the Institute and its capacity to transmit knowledge, education, and technology. This is an example that CERN hopes to emulate in the coming years.

Today an important group of Weizmann Institute physicists are at CERN, preparing experiments that will be performed with the Large Hadron Collider. What will be found? I dont know. Maybe new symmetries, or new layers of realities. In any case, these three dimensions: engagement in basic science, engagement in transmitting knowledge and technology, and international collaboration, are key aspects of the Weizmann Institute.

Hans Wigzell, President, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm:
As a kid, I remember that there was a mythical institute somewhere to the southeast - the Weizmann Institute. Then its people started flying into Stockholm. They validated their reputation of being not only brilliant scientists but also having fantastic color. Leo Sachs came, for instance. Then came Michael Feldman, Michael Sela, and Irun Cohen. I think that an institute that can produce and house this colorful array of scientists is fantastic and would say that the future of the Weizmann Institute is brilliant.

Hubert Markl, President, Max Planck Society, Munich:
It is my pleasure and honor to bring the congratulations of the German scientists and especially of the Max Planck Society to the Weizmann Institute on its 50th Anniversary.

The rise of this magnificent Institute from humble beginnings to one of the pinnacles of international scientific prominence may seem like one of those cosmological wonder stories where, out of an energetic vacuum, new worlds arise.

It is now almost 40 years since the fruitful scientific collaboration between Max Planck and Weizmann scientists first began. In this cooperation, Weizmann is for Max Planck more than a conventional international partner. It is a most challenging benchmark, to which we gladly pay tribute.

Maxime Schwartz, Director General, Institut Pasteur, Paris:
While we are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Weizmann Institute of Science, this commemoration corresponds with that of the 25th anniversary of this Institutes association with the Institut Pasteur. The collaboration started, or so the legend goes, from a conversation that took place in an airplane between our great virologist and Nobel Prize winner, Andre Lwoff and the famous immunologist from this Institute, Michael Sela. This collaborations success stemmed from the friendship and mutual respect that existed, the strong interest of both institutes in immunology, and the tireless efforts of one man, Robert Parienti, who managed to raise the funds necessary for collaboration, year after year.

One of the most outstanding collaboration projects concerns the ongoing research for a cancer vaccine. The purpose is to teach the cells of the immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells.

Phillip Griffiths, Director, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey:
I am honored to join you at this Jubilee celebration to salute both the pioneering statesman and scientist for whom this Institute is named and those of you who carry out his vision with such vigor and leadership. Each year the Institute for Advanced Study receives a continuous flow of visiting members from the Weizmann Institute, who bring us fresh thinking and new energy.

Some of the most exciting modern science takes place at the intersections between traditional disciplines. The Weizmann Institute has understood this and created a series of interdisciplinary research centers that provide a model for other institutes and universities worldwide. In a world that is changing rapidly, perhaps too rapidly for some of us, you have shown that it is possible to keep up with change through brilliant innovations.

Arnold J. Levine, President, Rockefeller University, New York:
My first visit to the Weizmann Institute was in 1977. I was very much looking forward to it since at the time I studied viruses and this was a mecca for virology.

A highlight of my trip to the Institute was meeting a very young graduate student who was in Ernest Winocours lab  Moshe Oren, who is a professor here today. Moshe was interested in pursuing a postdoctoral position at my laboratory at Princeton University. It took me all of one minute to figure out that this would be a wonderful relationship.

Moshe arrived at my laboratory in 1979, a momentous year for my laboratory with the discovery of a protein that interacted with the Simian Virus 40 tumor virus. We thought that the protein, which we named p53, was connected to cancer, but did not dream that it would also be an important factor in the origins of human cancer.

Moshe took on the most difficult task we could ask of him, to clone the gene encoding the p53 protein. Afterwards, we began a ten-year period as friendly competitors, trying to determine the function of this protein. And in 1989, using a derivative of the gene uncovered by Moshe, Hert Vogelstein at Johns Hopkins University found that mutations in this gene were present in human cancer.
 
Science's leading lights at the Institute, Celebrating 50
English
  • CERN
  • Ernest Winocour
  • Irun Cohen
  • Michael Feldman
  • Michael Sela
  • Moshe Oren

Threads of Silver, Threads of Gold

English
Threads of Silver, Threads of Gold
 
In 1949, when a decision was made to prepare an appropriate national flag for the new office of the President of the State of Israel, the task was assigned to Lotta Engel-Hecker . No one was more suited to the job than this lady, who had already proved her skill in designing and embroidering ritual objects and did so with a deep sense of mission.
 
While still in Germany, Lotta Engel steered her profession -- applied art -- toward Jewish ritual objects. A graduate of the School of Applied Art in Hamburg, she continued her vocation in Berlin, where she specialized in very precise embroidery, employing gold and silver threads implanted in extremely thin tubes.
 
The isolation of Jews from the surrounding society at the start of the Nazi regime caused an increased awareness and appreciation of religious traditions. As her family was one of the first to espouse Zionism in Germany, Engel's motifs were mostly Jewish. She tried to revive interest in ritual objects, imbuing them with much expression and an additional dimension of beauty. She worked with the same materials beloved by her ancestors -- velvet, silk, gold, and silver -- creating designs that were simple, elegant, and expressive.
 
When she reached Israel in the late 1930s, Engel was requested to design ark curtains for three synagogues. Her style, with its melding of modern art and traditional values, ideally answered the needs of religious immigrants from Central Europe.
 
Since the strength of her creations lay not only in designing but also in the guaranteed quality of her work, the newly established state turned to her whenever important decorative projects were envisioned. Having cherished the hope since her childhood of seeing Herzl's vision come true, Engel was only too proud and happy to accept these commissions. She designed and made the pennants for the car of the first President, Dr. Chaim Weizmann, as well as four large flags for the ship in which he planned to sail to Europe and America and a silver-framed banner for his office. The menorah, symbol of the State of Israel, appeared on all these flags: in white applique on a blue background for the ship's flags, in silver embroidery on blue silk for the pennants and the banner.

Original symbol of the Weizmann Institute
Every one of the thousands of stitches that made up the menorah with the two olive branches and the word "Israel" (in Hebrew) had to be precise in placement and size. Tiny silver spirals held by threaded silk imparted a three-dimensional feel to each flag.
 
When the Weizmann Institute was dedicated in 1949, a need arose for the symbol of the Weizmann Institute to be embroidered on the academic gowns that would serve Institute scientists on formal occasions. Lotta Engel accepted this task and undertook it with a sense of deep dedication to the man who was not only the President of Israel but now also President of the Weizmann Institute, Dr. Chaim Weizmann. Several of these gowns can be found to this day in the Wix Auditorium -- tokens of a craft rich with tradition that did not survive the transition to an age of advanced technology.

English
  • Chaim Weizmann

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