The Future of Israel - Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

From Modest Beginnings to a Vibrant StateFrom Curiosityto ExcellenceWritten by Proffesor Daniel Zajfman, President of theWeizmann Institute of Science© WEIZMANN INSTITUTE; KLUGER ZOLTAN, © GPO-ISRAEL NATIONAL PHOTO COLLECTIONExcellence is a concept that many espouse but few canreally define. When we meet up with excellence, werecognize it immediately, even as we struggle to pinpointthe quality that separates the excellent from the rest. Partof our difficulty is that excellence is revealed differentlyin different areas of human activity: An athlete who winsOlympic medals, an airline that provides outstandingservice and a scientist whose breakthrough discovery earnsa Nobel Prize – each is excellent in their own milieu. Butwhat do they have in common?Investigating the roots of this attribute we call “excellence,”we might discover that it’s really a way of life. The basictrait shared by all those who aspire to excellence is aninternal drive, a constant striving for perfection that is,in most cases, unattainable. In other words, excellence isa way of life that leaves those who choose it in a state ofperpetual dissatisfaction.The excellent sprinter competing in a 100-meter raceknows that a world record can be topped tomorrow. Themanagement of the excellent airline knows that its specialextras will soon become industry standards, forcing themto redouble their efforts to maintain their top position.The excellent scientist knows that every new discovery ortheory will shortly be replaced by even newer findings.My personal experience of excellence comes from theWeizmann Institute of Science and its contributionto the technological, economic and educational wellbeingof Israel, and so I will focus my remarks on thisarea. The Weizmann Institute of Science is a researchinstitute in which about 400 scientists, supported by astaff of some 2,200, conduct research in the exact andnatural sciences: mathematics, computer science, physics,chemistry, biochemistry and biology. The Institute, as anorganization, knows how to cultivate excellence: Two ofthe necessary ingredients are freedom and an open mind,and the Institute is adept at providing one and nurturingthe other. Along with providing the necessary scientificinfrastructure, it gives scientists the liberty to managetheir research independently, with no demands other thanthose of their own curiosity. In some sense, the excellenceof their research is directly linked to the extent to whichwe allow them the freedom to think outside the box.This freedom – usually referred to as “academic freedom”– stems from an understanding that the paths to scientificbreakthrough run through a setting in which scientistshave carte blanche to search for answers to the questionsthat gnaw at their minds. Experience teaches us thatengaging in a relentless attempt to satisfy their curiositycan bring scientists to the very frontiers of the known –thereby expanding the bounds of human knowledge. Thisis how they attain excellence.The Weizmann Institute strategy was developedover many years. It begins with the astute selectionof promising new scientists, a tactic that has led tooutstanding results throughout the Institute’s history.For example, in 1954, Institute scientists built thecountry’s first computer – in fact, one of the first inthe world. In those days,Israel was hard-pressedto feed its population, butthose scientists managedto gather together theresources needed tobuild the computer. Atthe Weizmann Institute,they gave us a computerrather than searching forimmediate solutions tothe woes of the day. TheInstitute scientists thenAbove: The Jubilee Plazaand Koffler Acceleratorof the Canada Centre ofNuclear Physics.bottom: Profesor ChaimWeizmann presentinga diploma during thegraduation ceremony.➤the next 60 years139