Since its inception, the BSF has awarded over $700 million to over 5,000 research projects of the highest quality. Many of these have led to important scientific, medical and technological breakthroughs.
The U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) promotes scientific relations between the U.S. and Israel by supporting collaborative research projects in a wide area of basic and applied scientific fields, for peaceful and non-profit purposes.
Founded in 1972 by an agreement between the United States and Israel, the BSF is an independent body, directed by a board of governors consisting of five American and five Israeli members. Its base of operation is in Israel.
Announcements
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November 13, 2019Submission deadline for campuses in southern Israel EXTENDED
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November 4, 2019Deadline for Travel Grants extended
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September 25, 2019New NSF-BSF Presentation
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September 3, 2019Website is open for the submission of applications for 2019 BSF Research Grants
Our Funding Opportunities
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NSF-BSF Joint Research Grants
More about NSF-BSF Joint Research Grants -
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Start-Up Research Grants
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Prof. Rahamimoff Travel Grants
More about Prof. Rahamimoff Travel GrantsSubmission Date
November 25, 2019
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November 24, 2019Deadline for NSF-BSF program in Plasma Physics (NSF deadline is Nov. 18)
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November 25, 2019Deadline for submission of applications to the Prof. Rahamimoff Travel Grants program 2019 (2nd round)
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November 26, 2019Deadline for NSF-BSF program in Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (NSF deadline is Nov. 20)
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December 1, 2019Deadline for NSF-BSF program in Computational Neuroscience (NSF deadline is Nov. 25)
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December 3, 2019Deadline for NSF-BSF programs in Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics – Experiment and Theory; Gravitational Physics – Experiment and Theory; Integrative Activities in Physics; LIGO Research Support (NSF deadline is Nov. 27)
- 46 Nobel Prize laureates
- 07 Winners of the Turing Award
- 63 Recipients of the Wolf Prize
- 08 Recipients of the Fields Medal
- 23 Winners of the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award
Scientific Achievements
BSF support has paved the way for numerous scientific, medical and technological breakthroughs with wide-ranging practical applications.
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Nobel-winning discovery of critical cell function
The 2004 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to Profs. Avram Hershko and Aaron Ciechanover (Technion), together with Prof. Irwin Rose (UC Irvine), for…Read More -
Pioneering Advances in Computer Science and Robotics
BSF-supported research in computer science has spurred pioneering advances in computational geometry, which lies at the heart of diverse areas such as robotics and…Read More -
Cancer Diagnostics
The BSF played a key role in the worldwide use of PET (Positron Emitting Tomography) to identify functional disorders, indicating cancer. The development of…Read More -
All Scientific Achievements
Dr. Sherry Tamone (Univ Alaska) with her student and a graduate student of Prof. Amir Sagi (Ben Gurion Univ.) Tom Levy at their study area in Alaska 
Discussing the results are Profs. Phil Baran (Scripps Research Institute) and Doron Shabat (Tel Aviv Univ.) 
In the lab of Prof. Jerri Bartholomew (Oregon State Univ.) , her student Stephen Atkinson with Prof. Tamar Lotan (Univ of Haifa) 
Computer scientists Dr. Jonathan Berant (Univ. Tel Aviv) and Dr. Vivek Srikumar (Univ. Utah) with students 
Dr. Onn Crouvi (Geological Survey of Israel) with students studying regional modelling of calcic soils on site in Southern Israel 
Hydrologists Profs. Yokochi Reika (Univ. Chicago), Peter Mueller (Aragone National Lab.), Yossi Yechieli (Israel Geological Survey), Eilon Adar (Ben-Gurion Univ.) and their students at the end of a intense two weeks sampling campaign at the shores of the Dead Sea (Ein Kedem hot spring) [pictured by Dr. A. Burg, Israel Geological Survey] Resume slideshow Pause slideshow
Enjoying art are mathematicians Profs. Vladimir Berkovich (Weizmann Inst.) and Mattias Jonsson (Univ. of Michigan)
Facts & Figures
Facts & Figures
Magazine Top Stories
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Fall Edition 2019Letter from Executive Director – Yair RotsteinYair Rotstein, Executive Director of the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation As we prepare to welcome the Jewish New Year, I look forward to the immediate future at BSF with great anticipation – and some mixed… Read More
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Fall Edition 2019NSF-BSF Partnership ExpandsNSF-BSF partnership adds three program areas Nicholas Anderson, NSF’s program director for physical and dynamic meteorology, and Anjuli Bamzai, Director of NSF’s Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences in front of a mural at… Read More
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Fall Edition 2019Why Sleep is NecessaryWhy do we sleep? BSF supported research has an answer From left, Alex Keene and Lior Appelbaum in Appelbaum’s lab at Bar Ilan University. Sleep. It’s something we all do, something we all need –… Read More
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Fall Edition 2019Winners of Prestigious Math Prize Team UpBSF grant brings together award-winning mathematicians and a rising Israeli star Akshay Venkatesh As two respected figures in the mathematics world, Elon Lindenstrauss and Akshay Venkatesh have known and collaborated with one another for many… Read More
The support of the United States – Israel Binational Science Foundation has not only been a valuable factor in the important scientific developments achieved at the present time, but will also prepare the next generation of U.S. and Israeli scientists for a leadership role in our global tomorrow.
Shimon Peres
The support of the BSF for over 23 years was essential for the discoveries that brought me the Nobel Prize. Thus, the BSF had a very important role in this achievement…..While I can survive without a BSF grant, this is not so with young Israeli scientists. This is very important for the future of Israeli science.
Avram Hershko
“I have known many Israeli and American scientists that have benefited enormously from these binational collaborations. In this way science in both countries has been greatly aided, but also the relationship between our two countries has been greatly strengthened.
David Gross
The deep friendship and strategic partnership between Israel and the United States is built on the pillars of shared values, one of which is the perpetual search for knowledge and the advancement of science and technology for the good of mankind. For more than three decades, the BSF has embodied that vision…As former ambassadors who have been deeply involved in U.S.-Israel relations for many years, we strongly affirm the critical importance of the Israeli-American scientific enterprise, which the BSF is doing so much to promote with extraordinary effectiveness.
Martin Indyk
My research was supported by the BSF for almost 30 years…This enabled my research group to collaborate with two of the most outstanding scientists in the field of chemistry…..An additional important aspect of the BSF is the social-cultural one….builds bridges between Israeli and American researchers…with several [U.S. partners] I have continued to collaborate long after BSF grants have expired…I have also used BSF travel grants to send to the USA other researchers in my group, allowing them to interact directly with American colleagues, including graduate students. I believe this is a very important part of the BSF program…
Yitzhak Apeloig
The BSF has had a major influence in my career, when I started a collaboration with Jacob Klein (Weizmann)…My often twice per year visits to the Weizmann Institute increased contacts with other groups there and at other Israeli universities…There is no doubt that the BSF has had a defining influence on my global research program.
