An industry of ideas

Dr. Yitzchak Shariv returned to the Weizmann Institute as CEO of the "Yade" company responsible for promoting commercial applications based on the results of the research of the Institute's scientists 

 
 
There are meetings and events that direct life in unexpected directions. One such meeting was Dr. Yitzhak Shariv's meeting with the Weizmann Institute of Science. The young Shariv was preparing to go study abroad, but in the period of time he had left until the planned trip, he came to the Weizmann Institute and participated in the studio named after Prof. Amos de Schlit. Peeked and struck. Since then, in any case, his life has been connected in one way or another to the Weizmann Institute.

He enrolled in physics studies at the institute's Feinberg seminary, and upon graduation - under the guidance of Prof. Asher Prizm - joined the "Al-Mol" company that develops electron multipliers designed for electron microscopes, based on patents by Prof. Ze'ev Weger and Prof. Ron Naaman from the institute. After seven years of working at Al-Mul, Dr. Shariv is currently returning to the Institute, as CEO of the "Yada" company responsible for promoting commercial applications based on the results of the Institute's scientists' research.

Dr. Shariv: "The institute had and still has a supportive atmosphere that stimulates creativity, alongside a high and challenging academic and research level, which is exactly what I was looking for. Between the work in the laboratories and the various lectures, I found great interest in meeting students from the various faculties. It was a wonderful experience. I remember at least two such meetings that led to interdisciplinary scientific collaborations." One meeting that took place at the institute, which he does not often talk about, is the one that led him and his wife, Michal, under the canopy.

In 1993, upon graduation from the Institute, Shariv left the Frisbee games on the lawn in front of the Wicks Library, and began working for the "Al-Mul" company. The company, founded by Prof. Ali Hefetz from the Institute's Physics Faculty, develops and manufactures electron multipliers, which are used as detectors for electron microscopes. These facilities increase the current coming from the model that is being observed under the microscope - a current consisting of a small number of electrons that are very difficult to identify and measure. The electron multipliers, as they are called, provide an increased flow of electrons that is easy to translate into an image.

Dr. Shariv joined the company as a physicist in the development department, and was responsible for finding uses for the company's developments. When the CEO of the company, Prof. Ali Hefetz, retired to return to the institute, Shariv was offered the position of CEO.

Shariv: "Sometimes I still go into the lab and help with the development processes, but the truth is that today, I could contribute more in the field of management." Returning to the Institute as CEO of "Yade" is not a journey into the unknown for Dr. Shariv. "I knew 'Yade' back in my days as a student at the institute. They patented inventions I came up with during my PhD thesis. I continued to work with them also in my role as CEO of 'Al-Mul', which operates on the basis of an agreement with 'Yeda' and pays royalties to it."

Naturally, one could expect that the CEO of "Yada" would strive to see the institute's scientists bring more and more patents to his desk. But Dr. Shariv sees things in a broader and more long-term perspective: "In my opinion, the Weizmann Institute should continue to focus on pure science. A scientist should not direct his research areas precisely in directions that may yield immediate commercial applications. A scientist should be driven by the power of interest and curiosity. But experience shows that basic research sometimes - unexpectedly - yields different possibilities and applications. When this happens, we, the people of the 'Yada' company, should be around and help the institute and the scientists to properly take advantage of the opportunities.

"The 'Yida' company undertakes the job of promoting the applications, thereby enabling the scientist to continue his research work without hindrance. If and when this operation of plowing and sowing ends in harvest, the harvest will be divided between the scientist and the institute. Thus, fruits from one study can finance and enable the existence of other studies.

"My scientific background will help me understand scientific ideas, and my experience in the industry will help me evaluate the practical and commercial potential inherent in them, and the distance between the idea and its commercial realization