The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot has been ranked third among the world's academic institutions by the renowned British scientific journal, Nature.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria came in first and second place in the ranking, respectively.
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This year's ranking was different since it took into account the number of "quality" articles published by an academic institution in leading journals in the natural sciences in regard to its overall output.
According to the founder of the Nature Index, David Swinbanks, "The inclusion this year of a normalized ranking alongside the standard Nature Index annual tables is especially interesting because the ranking draws to light some smaller institutes that are proportionally outstripping research powerhouses and would otherwise remain buried much lower down in the standard rankings. The smallest institutions in the top 10 have some common features: ambition, as disclosed by mission statements about striving to be the best in the world, interdisciplinarity, with the strong embrace of collaboration across fields, and in several cases, the backing of Nobel laureates."
Weizmann Institute President Daniel Zajfman said, "We have known for a long time that size is irrelevant when it comes to excellence in science. For the Weizmann Institute of Science, striving to be the best involves attracting the best scientists and letting them follow their curiosity. Interdisciplinarity and collaboration across fields and across countries are simply part of our DNA, and we are proud of that fact. The Nature Indexnormalized ranking truly showcases the quality of top research, showing you don't have to be big to be on the cutting edge of global science."
