There is a new and exciting connection this year between Bar-Ilan University's Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials(BINA),  Israel and  National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) of Beijing, an institute under Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

During the summer of 2015, BINA members participated in the International China Nano conference in Beijing. The meeting brought in Profs Yuval Garini and Liu Minghua of the respective Nano centers to discuss the initial cooperation. This year saw the official signing of a memorandum of understanding, on April 5, at the NCNST in Beijing, witnessed by Israel’s Ambassador to China Matan Vilnai, the Director General of CAS’s International Cooperation Bureau Cao Jinghua, and the Vice President for Research of Bar-Ilan University Arie Zaban.

In addressing the gathering, Zaban said, "Bar-Ilan University's strategic vision is focused on the great challenges of the 21st century. And these challenges require international cooperation between scientists with innovative interdisciplinary approaches."

There was a two-day intensive workshop before the signing ceremony, where both sides presented their research work and cooperation proposals across a range of disciplines, including energy generation, drug deliveries, bio-nanotechnology, materials science, chemistry, physics, and  biophysics. The eight collaboration projects that are already underway were presented by the corresponding researchers in the centers.

In summing up the activity, Mr. Cao Jinghua, who has provided strong support for the cooperation, noted, "The key word in today's science applications is innovation."

Leaders from both teams have called for greater cooperation between other institutes and Liu added, "We’ve gone from just a symposiums alone to real person-to-person cooperation in projects and foresee exchanges of scholars and students very soon.”

Following up on this, Garini emphasized, "The real success of the cooperation will be seen in the creativity and dedication of the members of both institutes that run the research projects together with their students."

And, the Bar-Ilan delegates are already planning the next meeting at a scientific innovation conference to be held in Israel next April, which they will host for their Chinese collaborators.

The Nano technology center’s delegation to the meeting consisted of Prof. Dror Fixler, Prof. Uri Nir, Prof. Aharon Gedanken, Prof Yisk Mastai, Prof. Rachela Popovzer, Prof. Ehud Banin, Prof. David Zeitun, Prof Shimon Weiss, Dr. Adi Solomon, Dr. Danielle Gurevitch and Dr. Efrat Bodner, with logistics handled by Dr. Gurevitch, Director of Global Affairs, Asia Division of the Vice-President’s Office, and Dr. Bodner, Administrative Manager of BINA, the Nano Technology Center at Bar Ilan University, in concert with Chinese partners.