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Extraordinary Science Achievements of Israel
With a population of about 7 million, Israel has been internationally acclaimed throughout the years, in particular for its extraordinary achievements in agriculture, irrigation, and various high-tech industries and electronic start-ups.
In the past two decades, industrial output has made international-level strides in the fields of medical electronics, agro-technology, telecommunications, fine chemicals, computer hardware and software as well as diamond cutting and polishing.
The fastest growth rates are to be found in the high-tech sectors, which are skill and capital intensive and require sophisticated production techniques as well as considerable investment in R&D (research and development, on which 4.8 percent of Israel's GDP are spent - by far the highest rate in the world). The quality of this R&D in Israel is ranked, according to the U.N. experts, among the highest in the world. A successful contribution to all these is available thanks to academic research institutes which provide much of the basic R&D and venture capital funds.
High-technology industries are Israel's fastest-growing businesses, with emphasis on computers, software, telecommunications, biotechnology, and medical electronics.
Professional Personnel
Israel's large reservoir of qualified personnel is primarily responsible for its scientific and technological attainments. As the many highly trained scientists, engineers, and technicians among the hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the former Soviet Union gradually entered the labor force, the percentage of qualified personnel rose dramatically and they will significantly affect Israel's scientific and technological achievements for decades to come.
Research and Development (R&D)
R&D in Israel is carried out primarily at seven universities, dozens of government and public research institutes, and hundreds of civilian and military enterprises. Significant research is also performed at medical centers and by a number of public service firms, in fields such as telecommunications, power production, and water resources management.
The large number of patents taken out by Israel's universities is one measure of the effectiveness of the relationship between the universities and industry.
Israel publishes a disproportionate percentage (about 1 percent) of the world's scientific publications, and in many fields, such as chemistry and computer sciences, they have a particularly high impact on the world scientific community.
Relative to the size of its labor force, Israel has a significantly larger number of publishing authors in the natural sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medicine than other countries, and an exceptionally high share of the country's publications are co-authored by Israeli scientists and those of other countries.
Israel is also an important center for international scientific conferences, hosting many such gatherings annually.
Israel has made significant theoretical and practical contributions to the biotechnology revolution and has developed an advanced infrastructure of medical and paramedical research as well as bioengineering capabilities. Biotechnology, biomedical, and clinical research account for over half of all scientific publications. The country's industrial sector has increased its activities in the medical field to capitalize on its extensive knowledge base.
Optics, electro-optics, and lasers have been growing rapidly as industrial fields. Israel is a world leader in fiber-optics, electro-optic inspection systems for printed circuit boards, thermal imaging night-vision systems, and electro-optics-based robotic manufacturing systems.
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