Dedication of the Dr. Barry Sherman Institute for Medicinal Chemistry with Alex Sherman (daughter), Jeff Cohen, Prof. Daniel Zaifman and Susan Stern.

November 2019 saw some 60 Canadians on the Weizmann Institute of Science campus for the 71st annual International Board Meeting (IBM) and second annual Weizmann Canada mission. 

This year’s IBM was an opportunity for long-time supporters to honour and bid farewell to the current senior management team and welcome the new team. It was also a time for special celebrations including the following 2019 Canadian highlights: 

• A gala tribute and dedication of the Dr. Barry Sherman Institute for Medicinal Chemistry, 
• Honoring the Beck family for their long–standing support,  
• A luncheon thanking Nathalie and Laurent Amar for spearheading the quantum foundry project for the new Centre for Advanced and Intelligent Materials, which will see the construction of clean rooms 100 times cleaner than a hospital operating room, and, 
• A celebration for the many new Canadian inscriptions on the donor wall. 

This year’s IBM also included a commemoration of the Weizmann Institute’s 70th anniversary.  

Simultaneously, a group of approximately 20 Canadians participated in certain events of the IBM, in addition to travelling through Israel with Weizmann scientists as part of the Canadian Mission. Each day, the scientists shared their science and offered insights into their lives in Israel and at the Weizmann. 

The mission participants traveled to wineries, walked through historic Jaffa, experienced an Israel Defense Forces security school, visited the Ein Hod Artists’ Village, Old Akko, Rosh Hanikra and capped it off with a dinner in the forest with Chef Tal.  

A private day on campus included visiting scientists’ labs, playing in the Clore Garden of Science, visiting the quantum foundry and getting to know other exceptional researchers at the Institute. 

Whether new to the Weizmann family or a long–standing donor, the 2019 IBM and Canadian Mission offered everyone a memorable experience that served to deepen their understanding and engagement.