Weizmann Institute of Science

The Weizmann Institute of Science is one of the world's leading multidisciplinary basic research institutions in the natural and exact sciences. It is located in Rehovot, Israel, south of Tel Aviv. It was originally established in 1934 by Israel and Rebecca Sieff of London as the Daniel Sieff Institute in honor of their son Daniel. In 1949, the institute was renamed after Dr. Chaim Weizmann, the first president of the State of Israel and founder of the institute.

History: Selected Milestones

• The archives of Dr. Chaim Weizmann contain more than 200,000 documents, including letters from Albert Einstein and Lord Arthur James Balfour

• In 1941, Dr. Weizmann founded the first pharmaceutical company in Israel, Palestine Pharmaceutical Products Ltd.

• WEIZAC, the first Israeli computer and the first computer in the world, was designed and built at the Weizmann Institute in 1954. It laid the foundation for Israel's thriving computer industry.

• The Institute's Feinberg Graduate School was the first academic institution in Israel to teach computer science.

• The Weizmann Institute of Science was the first institute in Israel to introduce cancer research and the first to build a particle accelerator.

• The Institute pioneered the creation of a technology transfer company, YEDA, in 1959. To date, it has registered nearly 2,000 patent families.

• Israel's first ethically produced drug, Copaxone®, was developed at the Weizmann Institute of Science and approved by the FDA in 1997.

• The Institute established Kiryat Weizmann, Israel's first high-tech park, adjacent to the campus.

• A Nobel Laureate and three Turing Award winners are associated with the Weizmann Institute of Science.

History of Philanthropy

The history of the Weizmann Institute of Science is intertwined with the history of its friends and donors from around the world. Originally founded with the generous support of the British Sieff family, the Weizmann Institute is proud to have assembled a broad international network of friends and supporters who share our vision of science for the benefit of humanity.

The Weizmann Institute campus pays tribute to these outstanding philanthropists through its buildings, plazas, halls and courtyards. Their names are engraved in stone and are an inspiration to our community.