Successful partnerships are the key to developing Israel's research capabilities in nanotechnology. Recognizing this, the INNI has created a unique new 3-way donation matching program that is now the basis for funding Israel's major new nanotech university research centers.

The Triangle Donation Matching program, established in close coordination with Israel's universities and government, provides explicit matching funds from both the university and the government -- tripling the potential value of a benefactor's gift to an Israeli nanotech R&D center. To be eligible, donations must be earmarked to centers that comply with conditions of the fund matching program and most effectively support Israeli excellence in basic and applied nanotech research.

The Triangle Donation Matching program was first used in early 2005 to establish the Russell Berrie Institute for Research in Nanotechnology at Israel's Technion. A generous $26 million donation from the Russell Berrie Foundation was matched by both the Technion Institute and the government's Office of the Chief Scientist and Ministry of Finance, creating $78 million in total funding -- and making the new Berrie Institute one of the best-funded nanotech centers in the world.

In September 2006, the Triangle donation matching program was formally broadened to benefit other Israeli universities. Click here to read about the broadened effort.

Click here to contact the program principals.

Like other nanotech initiatives around the world, the INNI views water purification as one of the most important research areas for nanotechology, today and in the future.

Israel's expertise in water purification and water systems management is recognized around the world. Israeli water researchers are among those developing cutting-edge science solutions to this age-old problem, and an improved understanding of nanotechnology has become critical to their progress. Here also, collaboration is the key to success and to creating new applications that can be readily available in a short time.

Together with the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) in late 2005, the INNI established a new consortium of academic and government researchers to explore the use of nanotech for water treatment in a collaborative framework. Our leading partner in this effort is the Center of Advanced Materials for Purification of Water with Systems (WaterCAMPWS) located at the University of Illinois.

The consortium hosted its first bi-national Workshop in Washington DC in mid-March of 2006, attended by nearly 50 participants, among them 20 leading water researchers equally representing Israel and the U.S. The workshop brought these experts together to produce a list of priority projects that can result in nanotech-based applications in areas such as membranes and membrane processes, biofouling and disinfection, contaminants removal, and environmental monitoring and sensors.

Click here for information on the projects that were given highest priority by Workshop attendees for collaboration and funding.

Click here for more information on the latest Workshop, its agenda and participants.

Click here to receive the complete list of collaborative topics and workgroups defined by Workshop attendees in March 2006, or to contact consortium organizers with questions or comments.

The NFM is a consortium of Israeli companies and academic research groups, seeking new ways to fabricate and use nanoparticles in industrial processes and products.

The consortium’s goal is to become a leading platform for building a technological infrastructure in the field of nanomaterials, enabling related Israeli industries to improve existing products, develop new products and penetrate into new markets. The consortium promotes cooperation and information sharing among large established industrial companies, fast-growing technology start-ups and academic research groups as a key for the development of new capabilities crucial for future markets.

The NFM seeks to expand through cooperation with related research groups and industries around the world. Joint projects are actively sought.

Click here to visit the NFM Consortium's web site.

The Nataf program supports Israeli chemists, physicists, biologists and other researchers who have not worked previously in the area of water purification. It provides up to $25,000 yearly per researcher for the study of innovative uses for nanotechnology in the improvement of water purification technologies.

A key aim of Nataf is to create opportunities for new research in water purification, especially for young researchers and for those who have potentially disruptive applications that exploit nanotechnology.

Nataf (which means ‘droplet’ in Hebrew) is administered by the Chief Scientist’s MAGNET program in the Israeli Office of Trade and Industry. It currently supports up to 20 research projects and provides exceptionally fast proposal evaluation time.

Click here for instructions on how to apply for a Nataf grant (in Hebrew).

Click here for answers to your questions about the Nataf program.

Established in the Spring of 2005, Waterfronts brings together leaders from Israeli industry, academia and government in order to promote water technology and water business development as a national priority.

Success in water purification remains a strategic requirement for Israel. The development of new technologies based in nanoscience, biology and microelectronics provides Israel with an opportunity to become a global hub for innovation in water treatment. Waterfronts intends to foster new business paradigms for Israeli R&D and technology commercialization, including nanotechnology.

The INNI is a founder and a directing stakeholder of Waterfronts.

Click here for more information.