The 77th Annual Meeting of the Israel Chemical Society and the Exhibition took place on February 7-8, 2012, at the David Intercontinental Hotel, Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Over 750 participants were present, hailing from the academia and industry – including the pharmaceutical, chemical, petro-chemical, food, biochemical and biology industries. Experts from all fields were noted: water, engineering, quality managers and metrologists from major laboratories took park in this event.
Representatives from Israel and 15 other countries were in attendance. Nineteen (19) leading companies of analytical equipment participated in the conference’s exhibition, which serve as a bridge between technology developments and end users.

This year, the delegation from the University of California, Berkeley were our esteemed guests and their presence gave the entire event a unique atmosphere.

Click here to learn more about the delegation.

This year's fascinating scientific program consisted of 7 plenary lectures and 67 lecturers in 5 parallel sessions, delivered by leading international scientists, and 170 posters.

The conference opened  with welcome addresses by N. Gabriel Lemcoff, Conference Chairperson, Daniel Hershkowitz, Minister of Science, Ehud Keinan, President of the ICS, and Daniel M. Neumark, Chairman of the University of California – Berkeley, after which Prof. Dan Shechtman, Nobel Prize Winner  from the Technion, lectured on  “The discovery of quasi-periodic crystals”.

ICS prizes
During the conference the following awards were given:
2011 ICS Medal
Dan Shechtman, Technion, Nobel Prize Winner

2011 ICS Prize of Excellence
Prof. Aurbach received this year's prize for his seminal research on non-aqueous
electrochemistry, development of rechargeable magnesium batteries, and for the development of novel spectro-electrochemical tools for the study of reactive electrochemical systems.
Prof. Cahen received this year's prize for his seminal contributions to the chemistry and physics of photovoltaic materials and devices, such as solar cells, and for providing means for controlling their optical and electronic properties.

2011 ICS Prize for Outstanding Young Chemist
Prof. Ashraf Brik, Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

2011 ICS Prize for Excellent Graduate Students

• Zoya Okun, Technion
• Naomi Oppenheimar, Tel Aviv University
• Graham deRuiter, Weizmann Institute of Science
• Amit Sitt, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Manny Shalom, Bar Ilan University
• Liat Spasser, Ben-Gurion University
• Tamar Stein, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

2011 ICS Prize for Excellent Teachers

2011 ICS Prize for Green Chemical Industry
The award was given to ICL Group for its contribution to the environment through reducing and recycling industrial waste, reduction of energy and water use.

The prestigious poster awards, granted every year, were granted by the Organizing Committee to the outstanding posters in the general assembly of the Israel Chemical Society. For photos of the best poster award ceremony click here
A special session dedicated to industrial chemistry, with an open panel on co-existence and co-working of academia and industry, was held.
The remarkable success of the conference was primarily due to the participants who submitted their presentations, presented their equipment through one of the exhibition booths, or simply attended the conference. It was an exciting, interesting and fruitful meeting.

Gala Dinner
A festive gala dinner was held, bringing together top researches with the leading people behind the industry. During the dinner party several awards were granted, such as the Green Chemical Industry Award. The guest list included the conference's Organizing Committee,the executive board of the ICS, CEOs of leading companies, the Berkeley delegation, embassy representatives, students, and invited guests.

Renana Gershoni, a Ph.D student at the Technion, gave a smooth vocal performance accompanied by Amit Blum, also a student at the Technion, on the keyboards.

You can see the event here

MEETING FACTS:

Total participants: 804
Scientific Program: 7 plenary sessions, 67 lectures, more than 170 posters
Exhibition: 19 Vendors
Attendance: full, throughout the event

THE VENUE
Kfar Maccabiah Convention & Event Center is renowned for producing creative, impressive and flawless events.
Nestled upon acres of lush cultivated grounds, the center is ideally located only minutes from Tel Aviv and the Ben-Gurion International Airport.
The premises are equipped with beautiful event halls, elegant party grounds and over 22 seminar rooms. Kfar Maccabiah resort also operates a first- class hotel adjacent to the conference center.
Kfar Maccabiah Convention & Event Center- the right choice

EXHIBITION
The exhibition included nineteen (19) major companies and was most interesting, enabling networking in a relaxed atmosphere.

Click here for exhibition map