A new collaborative nanoscience venture between Tel Aviv University and Illinois-based Northwestern University will bring together researchers and students from the two institutions through a range of joint programs and grants, The Jerusalem Post reports.
The new partnership announced Wednesday, made possible due to a donation from Russian-Israeli billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich, will enable joint research and development projects, student exchange programs and research grants.
Under the agreement, two researchers from each university will receive post-doctoral fellowships supporting two years of research at partner institutions. A student exchange program will enable three graduate students from each institution to study at respective partner universities.
In addition, the partnership will offer two annual research grants supporting pilot projects with unique commercial potential. Winning projects will be selected by Tel Aviv University’s Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and Northwestern’s International Institute for Nanotechnology. Winning projects will benefit from funding to cover costs required to complete a proof of concept.
“The new agreement enables us to significantly broaden and strengthen our collaboration with Northwestern University, one of the world’s leading institutions in the field of nanotechnology,” said Prof. Yael Hanein, Head of Tel Aviv University’s Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.
“I have no doubt that strengthened cooperation between two leading research institutions will advance the development of life-changing and life-saving technologies for the benefit of humanity.”
A new building housing the university’s Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology is set to open in 2020, courtesy of a $30 million gift from Abramovich.
Northwestern exchange students will have the opportunity to study alongside Tel Aviv students in central Israel, which promises to be one of the leading nano research facilities in the Middle East once complete.
French architect Michel Rémon is behind the futuristic design of the three-story, 7,000 sq.m. building, which will house laboratories in the fields of core research, quantum effects, medical nanosystems and smart biotechnology. A visitor center will be open to the general public.