THE UNITED STATES-ISRAEL BINATIONAL

SCIENCE FOUNDATION

WHO WE ARE

SIGNED 27 SEPT. 1972

TREATY

Lieutenant General Yitzhak Rabin

Ambassador of Israel

The Honorable Joseph J. Sisco

U.S. Secretary of State

Mr. Shimon PeresPresident of the State of Israel

From its inception, the promotion of scientific research has been one of Israel's major goals […]. The partnership struck between the scientific communities of the United States and Israel has served to boost a fertile cooperation between the best researchers in both our countries.

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

WHAT WE DO

COLLABORATE

Compound: Group of elements bonded together.

Role of BSF: Promotes science diplomacy & collaboration between U.S. & Israel by supporting collaborative research.

INCUBATE

Incubator: Provides necessary conditions for growth and development. 

Role of BSF: Identifies and supports scientific excellence from its infancy.

CATALYZE

Catalyst: Lowers amount of energy needed for reaction to occur. Adding catalysts can cause chain reaction.  

Role of BSF: Sets scientific discovery in motion and accelerates the path to discovery.  

HOW WE DO IT

ENDOWMENT

GENERATES OVER

$15 MILLION

EACH YEARFOR GRANTS

DISCOVERY GRANTS

Even Years• Health and Life Sciences• Psychology and Behavioral Sciences• Biomedical Engineering

Odd Years• Physics/Mathematics/Chemistry• Computer Sciences• Earth, Energy, Ecology and Environmental Sciences• Chemistry and Material Sciences• Economics and Sociology

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

OTHER GRANT PROGRAMS

ONGOING BSF GRANT PROGRAMS INCLUDE:

• Start-up research grants• Workshop grants• Post Doctoral Fellowships• Young Scientist Awards• Travel grants • Energy research grants

PI Credentials

Scientific/Technological MeritBreadth/Depth

of Collaboration

Potential Scientific/Socio-economic Impact

and MetricsExisting Infrastructure

for Successful Discovery

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Impact, Originality and Innovation

EVALUATION PROCESS

1 U.S./Israeli Scientific Advisors generate peer review panels from both countries

2 Panel members generate review summary and recommendations

3 BSF Board finalizes number of grants to be awarded

IMPACT

SCOPE

$500 MILLIONin grants awarded

More than 500 PROJECTS

supported

Israeli scientists have collaborated on projects with

U.S. scientists from 45 STATES

SCIENTISTS

More than7,000 SCIENTISTS

supported

40 NOBELlaureates

SUCCESS STORIES

• Cancer Diagnostics• Used Positron Emitting Tomography (PET) to identify

functional disorders, including cancer

• Stem Cell Therapy to Reduce Brain Defects• Used stem cells to replace defective brain cells

• Life Outside Our Solar System• Developed infrared optical fibers that will be used by NASA

to identify habitable extra-solar planets

• Alzheimer’s Disease• Developed neuropeptide-based drugs that are now in

clinical trials.

SUCCESS STORIES

• Superior Solid Lubricants• Discovered nanotubes and nanoparticles that paved way for

development of solid lubricants with large-scale applications

• Defenses Against Chemical Warfare and Insecticide Poisoning• Developed strategies for alleviating consequences of

chemical stresses such as chemical warfare

• Anti-Cancer Drug Development• Discovered that heparanase, a unique human enzyme,

played a key role in cancer progression

• Era of Exoplanets• Discovered planet that led to new era in astrophysics

EXOPLANETS

David Latham, Ph.D. Senior Astronomer,

Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Prof. Tsevi MazehProfessor of Physics

and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University

Collaboration began in 1984

Each PI uniquely contributes to collaboration

Latham: instrumentation and equipment

Mazeh: maps and theoretical algorithms

EXOPLANETS

Discovery of unexpected planet in unexpected orbit

38 high-impact, peer review journal publications, including Nature Magazine

1989

EXOPLANETS

The era of quantitative studies of exoplanetary astrophysics was born.

David Latham in New Astronomy Reviews 56 (2012) 16–18.

EXOPLANETS

2000

Kepler project launched in 2009

Kepler investigated a 0.25% area of solar system with celestial coordinates.Image Credit: NASA 2009

NASA accepted proposal from Latham and Mazah. Kepler project launched to identify exoplanets.

$640 million project that identified over 1,000 exoplanets.

In May 2013, NASA launched TESS to searchfor additional exoplanets

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)

$200 million program that created 800 high-level NASA jobs

House Subcommittees on Space and Research & Technology hosted hearing

TESS satellite Photo credit: TESS team 2011

NEW DIRECTIONS

NSF/BSF COLLABORATION

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent U.S. government agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote science and engineering through research programs and education projects.

NSF/BSF COLLABORATIONComputationalNeuroscience

Chemistry

Biology/ Integrative Organismal Systems

Computer Science

Israel is 1 of 4 countries to participate in initiative

Israel joined NSF’s International

Collaboration in Chemistry (ICC)

Israel is NSF’s 1st global partner

in field.

Grants for U.S. scientists to travel to Israel

ENERGY

Supports research in alternative energy, renewable energy and

energy efficiency

Collaboration between the Israeli Ministry of Infrastructure and the U.S. Department of Energy

$200,000 grant for a period of up to three years

TRANSFORMATIVE SCIENCE

Up to 2 awards annually

Research proposals with potential to generate new scientific paradigm or new fields of science

$300,000 grant for a period up to three years