The Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute was established in 2005 with funding from the Israeli government, the Russell Berrie philanthropic fund, and the Technion, with a total investment of $100 million!
The Technion was the first institution in Israel to establish a nanotechnology institute—a term that encompasses research and technologies dealing with systems whose typical size ranges from a few nanometers to tens of nanometers. The institute employs around 150 researchers and has approximately 300 students from 14 different faculties.