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Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
THE INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED RESEARCH

Mail address PO Box 1025, Beer-Sheeva 84 110
Telephone +972 (7) 461-971, -972 Fax +972 (7) 271-612

Nature Academic
Mission Research, development
Scope of interest Development of crops for arid zones, irrigation with saline water, algae production and biotechnology, use of alternative energy sources for agriculture and industry, industrial utilization of Negev desert chemical resources, water treatment (desalinization, purification, wastewater recycling), analytical and Other service for Negev industries, food technology

Research program
Locations Beer-Sheva, Omer, Sde Teiman, Lehavim, Ashkelon, Ramat Negev, Habesor, Arava Valley
Subjects New crops, saline water irrigation, algae production and utilization, geothermal energy and waste heat, chemicals from the desert, coal and oil shale, microencapsulation technology, enzymatic reactions, agricultural engineering
Status Ongoing
Findings Saline water irrigation, domestication of jojoba, new ornamental crops of desert origin, soil warming with geothermal water, fodder shrubs for arid rangelands, exotic fruits and nuts for deserts, salt-tolerant fodder and melons, medicinal crops for deserts, longshelf-life tomatoes, desert landscaping and afforestation, water desalinization, new systems for algae production in deserts, chemicals from algae, industrial uses of clays, kaolin, sand, phosphates, magnesium, bromines, and potassium, instant dairy products, microencapsulation of insecticides, utilization of low-grade energy for refrigeration, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers

Internal Organization
Chief official Professor Dov Pasternak, Director and Head, Institute for Agriculture and Applied Biology
Divisions Agriculture and Applied Biology, Chemistry and Chemical Technology
Professional staff 50
Total staff 85

Facilities
Office 15 laboratories, greenhouses, administration building, 100 hectares of experimental fields, nurseries

History
Established in 1956 as Negev Institute for Arid Zone Research; in 1973 joined Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and changed to present name

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
THE JACOB BLAUSTEIN INSTITUTE FOR DESERT RESEARCH

Mail address Sede Boqer Campus, 85990
Telephone +972 (7) 565-010, -080 Fax +972 (7) 554-306, -058
Telex 5280 DIRBG IL
E-mail [email protected] (Professor Amos Richmond, Director)

Nature Academic
Mission Research, instruction
Financial support Government (50%), research funding agencies (30%), own dedicated funds (12%), gifts and donations (8%)
Working languages Hebrew, English
Scope of interest Ecology, solar energy, environmental physics, water resources, desert meteorology, remote sensing, desert agrobiology, desert animal husbandry, ecophysiology and introduction of desert plants, controlled environment desert agriculture, microalgal biotechnology, aquaculture, environmental applied microbiology, social studies, desert architecture

Research program
Locations Sede Boqer, Avdat, Wadi Mashash, Revivim, Tel-Sheva, Shivta, Mitzpe-Ramon, Hatzeva
Subjects See Scope of interest; specific topics include deserts as model ecosystems for advancing ecological knowledge; physical aspects of environmental research: solar energy use, thermodynamics, nonlinear processes and diffusion processes; flow and infiltration processes of water; development of secondary effluent filtration process for unlimited agricultural reuse; use of porous cement emitters; impact of climate change on the hydrological cycle; subsurface drip irrigation; restoration of aquifers; atmospheric processes - diagnostic studies and mathematical modeling; remote sensing; plant adaptation; irrigation and soil fertility; runoff agriculture; plant tissue culture
Status Ongoing
Findings Rainwater harvesting for desert agriculture; introduction and use of desert plants; meteorological modeling of desert mixed layer; solutions to hydrological problems and soil salinization; dust prediction; identification of salt-tolerant plants; breeding of freshwater fish in brackish water; development of desert closed greenhouse; development of building materials made of fly-ash and local materials; tubular reactor for mass production of microalgae outdoors; solution of environmental microbiological problems; solar energy measuring devices

Internal Organization
Chief official Professor Amos Richmond, Director
Divisions (1) Mitrani Center for Desert Ecology, (2) Center for Energy & Environmental Physics, (3) National Solar Energy Research Center, (4) Water Resources Research Center, (5) Desert Agrobiology Center, (6) Desert Biosystems, (7) Ecophysiology and Introduction of Desert Plants, (8) Environmental Applied Microbiology, (9) Social Studies Center, (10) Desert Architecture
Division heads (1) Professor Uriel Safriel (E-mail name: uriel), (2) Professor Yair Zarmi (Email name: zarmi), (3) Professor David Faiman (E-mail name: faiman), (4) Prof. Arie Issar (E-mail name: issar), (5) Prof. Jiftach Ben-Asher (E-mail name: benasher), (6) Prof. Amos Richmond (E-mail contact: ruthgol) (7) Prof. Yitzhack Gutterman (E-mail name: gutterma), (8) Prof. Aharon Abeliovich (E-mail name: aharon), (9) Prof. Gideon Kressel (E-mail contact: margo), (10) Dr. Yair Etzion (E-mail name: etzion); (E-Mail address for all: <name> @bgumail .bgu.ac. il )
Professional staff 60 researchers
Total staff 150 employees and 70 graduate students

Facilities
Office Administration 500 m², laboratories 5,000 m², shop and repair 400 m², warehouse & maintenance 500 m², Library 200 m², student housing 1,500 m²; laboratories in microbiology, biotechnology of algae, water resources, agrobiology, aquaculture and remote sensing; experimental field space for experiments in ecology, solar energy and runoff farming
Library Special Library on desertification and related Subjects, with 15,000 books, 200 journals, special reports collection, map collection
Computer catalog Yes, using ALEPH
Remote access Available
Formal networks ALEPH (Israeli national computer network)
Subcenters The Ramon Science Center (Mitzpe Ramon), geology and conservation ecology; the Arava Research Station (Hatzeva), behavioral ecology and conservation; Avdat Experimental Station, runoff agriculture; Wadi Mashash Experimental Station, runoff agriculture
Local networks Yes, most of them
Exchange Facilities Under the auspices of the Jacob Blaustein International Center for Desert Studies, several research Exchange programs are available, as are some 50 scholarships per year

Publications
Serials Institute Scientific Activities Report (published once every two years; last report published for 1991-92)
Other Combatting Desertification and Improving the Quality of Life: The Israeli Case
Publications list Available

History
Established in 1973, with operations commencing in 1975; obtained present name in 1980

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research
MITRANI CENTER FOR DESERT ECOLOGY

Mail address Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer campus 84990
Telephone +972 (7) 565-073 Fax +972 (7) 555-058
E-mail [email protected]

Sponsoring agency Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Nature Academic
Mission Research
Financial support Competitive, endowment, government
Working languages Hebrew, English
Scope of interest Desertification, global climate change, plant and animal community organization, foraging ecology, physiological ecology, ecological monitoring

Research program
Locations Negev Desert, Israel
Subjects Desertification and global climate change
Status Ongoing
Findings Microphytic biological soil crust dynamics are a major controller of desertification processes

Internal Organization
Chief official Professor Uriel N. Safriel, Head (E-mail: [email protected])
Professional staff 6
Total staff 25

Facilities
Office 7 laboratories, 15 offices, 6 field research Sites
Library About 1,000 volumes
Computer catalog Yes
Exchange Facilities Arranged through the Blaustain International Center for Desert Studies, Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research

Publications
Publications list Available

History
Established in 1978

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Mitrani Center for Desert Ecology
JNF CENTER FOR RESTORATION ECOLOGY AND DESERTIFICATION RESEARCH

Mail address Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, 84993
Telephone +972 (7) 565-073 Fax +972 (7) 565-756

Sponsoring agency Jewish National Fund; Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Nature Nongovernment organization, academic
Mission Research
Working languages Hebrew, English
Scope of interest Restoration ecology, desertification control, landscape ecology, remote sensing, GIS, biodiversity research, ecological sustainability

Research program
Locations Sede Boqer, Ofakim, Lehavim
Subjects Desertification, ecological responses to global climate change
Status Ongoing

Internal Organization
Chief official Mr. David Nahmias, Chairman, JNF, Jerusalem; Professor Uriel N. Safriel, Executive Director, Mitrani Center for Desert Ecology
Professional staff 3
Total staff 4

Facilities
Office One office, one laboratory
Subcenters Three field long-term research Sites
Exchange Facilities Via the Blaustein International Center in the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research

History
Established in March 1994

DEVELOPMENT STUDY CENTER

Mail address PO Box 2355, Rehovot 76122
Telephone +972 (8) 474-111 Fax +972 (8) 475-884 Telex STUCK 381378

Nature Independent, public, nonprofit
Mission Research, training
Working languages English, Spanish, Hebrew
Scope of interest Regional development, tourism

Internal Organization
Chief official Professor Raanan Weitz, Head
Divisions (1) Research, (2) Training
Division heads (1) Dr. Aliza Fleischer, (2) Mrs. Julia Margulies
Professional staff 21
Total staff 40

Facilities
Library 40,000 items, plus 8,000 item special collection on rural development projects; special collection on tourism
Computer searches Available
Local databases Tourism
Formal networks Bitnet

Publications
Serials Problems of Regional Development series, Working Papers series, Occasional Papers series
Publications list Available

History
Established in 1963 as an independent academic institution engaged in research, training, and planning related to promotion of regional development in Israel and the developing world; previous name Settlement Study Centre

Hebrew University of Jerusalem
ARID ECOSYSTEMS RESEARCH CENTRE

Mail address Institute of Earth Sciences, Givat Ram Campus, Jerusalem 91904
Telephone +972(2)584-353 Fax +972(2)662-581
E-mail [email protected] (Simon Berkowicz)

Nature Academic
Mission Research
Financial support Trust fund, with matching support from the Hebrew University
Working languages Common language is English, but also Hebrew and German
Scope of interest Interdisciplinary activities involving soil ecology; soil moisture; salinity; rainfall and wind regime including local topographic effects; hillslope runoff; water harvesting; plant ecology including seed production, germination, establishment, pollination, and ecophysiology; animal ecology; dust input

Research program
Locations Northern Negev Desert
Subjects See Scope of interest
Status Ongoing
Findings Rainfall-runoff relationships as applied to tree-planting on rocky hillslopes; use of "directional" rain gauges to assess effective rainfall on slopes and to infer locally perturbed windflow and wind direction over low-level topography; habitat selection on slopes by animals

Internal Organization
Chief official Professor Dan Cohen, Director (E-mail: [email protected])
Professional staff 5
Total staff 5

Facilities
Office Administrative office, equipment room, small soils lab
Library Small collection consists of reports, student theses, project summaries and journal Publications
Subcenters Four long-term experimental stations at Nizzana, Sede Boker, Avdat and Hatzeva in the northern Negev Desert
Exchange Facilities Primarily short-term scientist/student exchanges with Germany

Publications
Reports, student theses, project summaries, journal Publications
Publications list Available

History
Established in 1987

Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Agriculture
CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN ARID AND SEMI-ARID LANDS

Mail PO Box 12, Rehovot
Telephone +972 (8) 481-105 Fax +972 (8) 468-265 Telex 381331 HUGR IL

Nature Academic
Mission Research
Scope of interest Agronomy, soils, forestry, horticulture, livestock

Research program
Locations Negev Desert, Jordan Valley, Arava Valley, sand dunes
Subjects Plant root response to salinity and drought, melon and tomato under brackish water irrigation, cell membrane properties of sensitive and salt-tolerant species, distribution of wild cereals, high-protein wheat and nitrogen demand, genetic development of arid land soils, rainwater harvesting systems for livestock, soil water balance improvement, development of reliable irrigation indicators, soil solarization for pathogen control, vegetation and range surveys, drought management, desertification control, sociocultural factors and introduction of drip irrigation, cotton yields improvement, increasing fruit tree productivity, desert ecology, evaluation of grazing systems to increase meat production, evaluation of transfer of agricultural technology, livestock nutrition, poultry management
Status Ongoing Findings Fertigation of sand dunes and calcareous soils

History
University founded in 1918, inaugurated in 1925

NATIONAL BUILDING RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Mail address Technion, Haifa 32000
Telephone +972 (4) 292-242, -243 Fax +972 (4) 324-534

Sponsoring agency Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and Ministry of Construction, Israel
Nature Academic
Mission Research
Financial support Government, public and private
Working languages Hebrew
Scope of interest Construction, climatology

Research program
Subjects Concreting in hot climate, durability of reinforced concrete in hot climate, polymeric materials performance

Internal Organization
Chief official Prof. A. Bentur, Head
Divisions Structures, Materials, Construction Management, Performance
Professional staff 40
Total staff 80

Facilities
Office 2,500 m² Of laboratories, 4,500 m² total space
Library Academic research Library concentrating on building materials and technology, construction management and economics; 14,000 books and 1,200 periodicals (bound volumes)
Computer catalog Yes, using ALEPH (Hebrew University, Jerusalem)
Remote access Available
Formal networks Internet

History
Established in 1950 as Building Research Station; obtained present name in 1988

Tel Aviv University, Faculty of Exact Sciences
DEPARTMENT OF GEOPHYSICS AND PLANETARY SCIENCES

Mail address University Campus, Ramat Aviv 69978, Tel Aviv
Telephone +972 (3) 640-8633 Fax +972 (3) 640-9282
E-mail avihu@ jupiterl.tau.ac.il (Professor Avihu Ginzburg)

Nature Academic
Mission Research, instruction
Scope of interest Desert aerosols, remote sensing, natural resources, geophysical studies of the Earth's crust

Research program
Locations Negev Desert, Dead Sea
Subjects Desert dust and effects on transMission of electromagnetic radiation, geological research into structure of crust and upper mantle, radio and stable isotope studies of ground and surface waters
Status Ongoing
Findings Groundwaters are relatively old and some are not related to precipitation cycles

Internal Organization
Chief official Chairman
Divisions Groups in geophysics, geology, atmospheric science, planetary science
Professional staff 18
Total staff 50, including graduate students

Facilities
Office Laboratories for electronics, cloud and aerosol physics, planetary science, geology and geophysics, atmospheric optics; machine shop
Library Large campus Library for physics, chemistry, mathematics, geophysics, atmospheric sciences, planetary sciences
Exchange Facilities Office space available; distinguished scientists often invited by Sackler Institute for Advanced Study

Publications
Serials Yearly research report

History
Previous name was Department of Environmental Science; name changed in 1976