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The research committee headed by the chief scientist at TMT: biotechnology and nanotechnology - preferred fields

Dr. Eli Ofer, the chief scientist: "There is room to give priority to the most innovative fields with great potential for industry and the Israeli economy"

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The research committee headed by the chief scientist at the Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr. Eli Ofer, decided at its last meeting to recognize the fields of biotechnology and nanotechnology as preferred fields.

Dr. Ofer says that the research committee acted within the process of approving the criteria according to which the rates of grants given to R&D programs are determined. The committee is authorized by law to determine grants at a rate of 20, 30, 40 or 50 percent. The criteria for determining the scope of the grant are the degree of innovation, technological risk, business risk, market size, etc. One of the criteria that affects the scope of support for the project is its belonging to a preferred field as defined by the research committee.

Dr. Ofer further states that, the committee chose the field of biotechnology after being convinced that in Israel the basic conditions exist for the extensive development of the bio industry, among other things due to the academic excellence, a high rate of applied research capable of combining different disciplines and due to the Israeli leadership in a number of subfields including research the stem cells, and the nervous system. Along with the huge potential there is great difficulty in developing products from the field. A difficulty that arises from the long period of time needed to complete the research and the huge investment involved in the research.

Nanotechnology is the science of characterizing, treating and controlling a single atom or molecule (billionths of a meter) in order to create a new product or impart new properties to existing products. The meaning of nanotechnology research is not another generation in the miniaturization process that we have witnessed in the last two decades, but the miniaturization of the cipher with completely new rules and phenomena.

Many countries in the world have been investing huge sums in recent years in an attempt to crack the wonders of nanotechnology. Dr. Ofer said that he hopes that the committee's decision, along with other actions, will help Israel stay in the race.

Until the current committee's decision, the committee would examine the projects submitted for review and judge them based on their quality and the level of innovation they present without giving special weight to the technological sector in which the project deals.

Dr. Ofer stated that he and the members of the committee came to the conclusion that there is room to give priority to the most innovative areas with great potential for industry and the Israeli economy. These areas have difficulty developing because of their initial nature, the high risk and the lack of resources, "this is exactly the situation that justifies special intervention by the government".

Dr. Ofer appointed a team of experts to recommend to him the ways to implement the committee's decision.

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