Chinese Science Academy opens first foreign center of excellence in Israel
"This significant collaboration, amounting to several million yuan, ultimately aims to create opportunities for new jobs," said Fixler.
By EYTAN HALONProf. Yuliang Zhao (L) and Prof. Dror Fixler (R) sign an agreement to establish a Chinese Academy of Sciences center of excellence at Bar-Ilan University(photo credit: THIAN MAY)
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced Tuesday that it will establish its first center of excellence outside China at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, constructing a nanotechnology research laboratory specializing in nano-medicine and printing two-dimensional materials.Established in 1949, the CAS is China's national academy for the natural sciences and is responsible for 104 research institutes, and five universities and supporting organizations.The laboratory, which will work together with researchers from other Israeli institutions, will focus on research in the fields of nano-medicine and two-dimensional material engineering, especially the production of graphene. The material, the strongest known to man, can be used to print foldable screens that are only one-tenth of a nanometer wide.The agreement between the CAS and Bar-Ilan University was signed at Beijing's National Center for Nanoscience and Technology by Prof. Yuliang Zhao, the director of the center, and Prof. Dror Fixler, head of the Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials at Bar-Ilan University."This significant collaboration, amounting to several million yuan, ultimately aims to create opportunities for new jobs," said Fixler. "This is an initiative that will lead to the economic growth of both China and Israel."The primary task of the laboratory will be to increase collaboration between Israeli and Chinese researchers, who will be joined by industrial partners from both countries.By integrating industry into the final stages of research, the laboratory aims to translate its findings into available consumer products.
