A note from our director

It’s been an amazing year full of exciting developments and achievements.

In the international arena: Two research collaboration agreements were signed with nano institutes. One with the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) in Portugal, following an initial meeting in May at a conference hosted by BINA, and a second meeting in Portugal in September. Four joint research groups were selected among the 11 groups who submitted applications. The teams will receive research grants co-funded by both institutes. As part of our efforts to include students in the Institute’s activities, a few students travelled with us to Portugal and to other events abroad.

The second is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for academic cooperation, signed in August with the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. There will be two rounds for submitting suggested topics for collaborative research, the first was by October 15.

In addition, there is a pending draft for a collaborative research agreement with the University of California (UCLA), as well as with Paris Descartes University, and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

BINA has received a higher rating in the Shanghai Academic Ranking and is now ranked between 200 and 220–a testament to the Institute’s ongoing efforts to achieve excellence.

We have rewarded individuals from BINA’s staff by increasing compensation for performance merit. In addition, we continue to provide professional enrichment and training for Institute personnel, and are in the process of expanding the team. Over the entire summer, the clean rooms in our Equipment Center operated in full capacity.

BINA has initiated an academic excellence program for rewarding 60 high-achieving students, who meet periodically with world-class researchers and industry leaders, and enjoy perks such as cultural and entertainment events.

In the past year, there have been several other success stories: BINA was formally recognized as an independent research center, rather than a branch of one of BIU’s faculties; We received several grants for purchasing scientific research equipment, and additional applications for research grants as an independent institute are still pending.

I wish you all a successful academic year!

Prof. Dror Fixler

BINA Director