Koffler accelerator

The Koffler particle accelerator of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, was built in 1976. The building became a symbol of the institute. In 2011, an astronomical observatory was opened on the top of the building.

The accelerator building, designed by architect Moshe Harel [he] in Formalist style, was completed in 1976. It has two towers, of 57 and 53 meters high, and an "egg-shaped structure", 22 by 14 meters in its widest points. It became a symbol of the Weizmann Institute of Science.^[1][2] It was designed to have "a close resemblance to the original van de Graaff accelerators".^[3] It is named after Murray Koffler, who was the first Chair of Weizmann Canada.^[4] Now it serves as a conference hall.

The original accelerator installed in 1977 was a 14UD pelletron tandem accelerator, built by National Electrostatics Corp.^[5][6][7]

The Martin S. Kraar Observatory on top of the accelerator building was opened in 2011.^[8] It is named after the philanthropist Martin S. Kraar.^[9] The observatory is remotely-operated.^[8] There are two telescopes there, the larger one is 41 cm, and the second one is 80 mm guide telescope, both connected to CCD cameras.^[10]

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  View from the conference room
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• Goldring, Gvirol; Hass, Michael; Paul, Michael (July 2004). "Laboratory Portrait: The Accelerator Laboratory at the Weizmann Institute". Nuclear Physics News. 14 (3): 5–13. doi:10.1080/10506890491034875. ISSN 1061-9127. Retrieved 15 January 2024.

31°54′29″N 34°48′44″E / 31.90805°N 34.81232°E / 31.90805; 34.81232