This morning, in the presence of the President of the State of Israel, Mr. Reuven (“Ruvi”) Rivlin, a historic scientific cooperation agreement was signed between The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities (IASH) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of the United States.
The groundbreaking cooperation agreement was developed and signed by the President of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Prof. Nili Cohen, and her counterpart at the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Marcia McNutt.
The purpose of the accord is to benefit outstanding scientists in both countries and to formalize cooperative relations between their scientific communities. Under the terms of the agreement, annual national scientific conferences with the participation of dozens of leading scientists will take place alternately in Israel and the United States. The accord also provides for annual binational exchanges of eminent scientists and scholars, who will hold meetings and conduct seminars at local academic institutions and deliver public lectures.
The IASH has agreements with more than forty corresponding institutions around the world and enjoys especially fruitful cooperation with the Royal Society and with several additional academies in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and the Far East. The NAS similarly collaborates with the academies of many other countries, including the Royal Society, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and French Academy of Sciences, as well as international networks of academies of science.
From left: Prof. Nili Cohen, President of The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, The
President of the State of Israel, Mr. Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin and Dr. Marcia McNutt, President of the
U.S. National Academy of Sciences (photo: Amos Ben-Greshom, GPO)
From left: Dr. Marcia McNutt, President of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Prof. Nili Cohen,
President of The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and Mr. Kenneth Fulton, Executive Director of the
U.S. National Academy of Sciences (photo: Israel Academy)
The cooperation agreement between the IASH and the NAS will be implemented with the support of the Blavatnik Family Foundation headed by the American businessman and philanthropist Len Blavatnik. The initial agreement will run for a five-year period, to the end of 2023.
The three honorees of the 2019 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in Israel—Dr. Michal Rivlin of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Dr. Moran Bercovici of the Technion, and Dr. Erez Berg of the Weizmann Institute of Science—also participated in the signing ceremony. The Blavatnik Awards honor promising young Israeli scientists for their exceptional achievements, research innovations, and promise of scientific discoveries in the future.
The President of the State of Israel, Mr. Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin, welcomed the cooperation agreement and stated, “Dear Friends, today marks the beginning of an official partnership, between our National Academies, in the hope of many more decades of mutual collaboration. The friendship between our two countries, is deep and long-lasting. Israel and the U.S. are at the fore-front of scientific research, each in its own right. Our joint efforts are sure to bring us incredible discoveries.”
Prof. Nili Cohen, President of The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and an Israel Prize laureate, described the signing of the accord as an achievement for Israeli academia and science that will lead to the institutionalization and expansion of research cooperation among front-ranking scientists from both countries and open new horizons for outstanding young scientists.
Dr. Marcia McNutt, President of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, said, “The US National Academy of Sciences is grateful to the Blavatnik Family Foundation for expanding opportunities to build collaborations between U.S. and Israeli researchers working on forefront scientific problems. International connections have become increasingly important for any world-class scientist.”
Participants in the cooperation accord signing ceremony (photo: Israel Academy)
Prof. Nili Cohen, President of The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities (photo: Israel Academy)
The NAS was established under President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 to recognize excellence in science and to advise the American government on matters of science and technology. It currently has around 2,330 members and 470 foreign associates, including 190 Nobel laureates. Its journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (est. 1914), is among the world’s most prestigious scientific publications.
Currently five NAS members work in Israel, in addition to fifteen Israeli researchers who are NAS foreign associates, twelve of whom work in Israel and three in the U.S.
The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities was established in 1959, with Prof. Martin Buber as its first president. Since then, it has been active in promoting science in Israel, developing scientific relations between Israel and other countries and international organizations, and advising the government on matters relating to research and science policy.
The first national conference under the new agreement—the Blavatnik U.S.–Israel Scientific Forum—will take place in Jerusalem on September 16–17, 2019, on the topic of computer science.
From left: Prof. Nili Cohen, President of The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and Dr.
Marcia McNutt, President of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (photo: Israel Academy)
From left: Prof. Nili Cohen, President of The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and Dr.
Marcia McNutt, President of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (photo: Israel Academy)