US government agencies have invested $10 million annually in recent years in anti-terrorism research at Hebrew University. The new unit will also deal with chemical and biological terrorism.
The Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University has set up an anti-terror technology unit.
Yissum president and CEO Avi Barak said yesterday that he planned to make the unit one of world’s leading developers of innovative technologies and products in anti-terrorism warfare, especially against chemical and biological terrorism. The unit will amalgamate research in the field, such as detection of water and air pollution, diagnostics, inoculation and drugs, forensics, and computer security capabilities.
Barak added that Yissum had been cultivating connections with government agencies in Israel and around the world for a number of years, and was recruiting strategic partners, mostly in the US. He also said that US government agencies had invested about $10 million annually in recent years in supporting research, and in acquiring technologies based on the know-how of Hebrew University researchers in the field of anti-terrorism warfare. The size of the investment indicates great interest on the part of government agencies in preliminary development and the creative ideas of Hebrew University researchers. Research already carried out includes the development of a chip that integrates biological technologies microelectronic capabilities in order to identify water pollution (Prof. Shimshon Balkin from Hebrew University and Prof. Yosi Shacham from Tel Aviv University, financed by the US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), identification of those suspected of weapons possession (former head of forensics for the Israel Police Dr. Joseph Almog and Prof. Daniel Mandler, with the support of the US Department of Homeland Security), and anti-biological terrorism company Atox-Bio (founded by Prof. Raymond Kaempfer).
Barak said that US agencies had provided tens of millions of dollars in grants for infrastructure and applied research.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on April 22, 2004