Ramat Gan, Israel— The Ramon Foundation, in cooperation with Bar Ilan University, is developing a new educational center for space, technology and science, to be named for Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. Former NASA astronaut Dr. Garrett Reisman and NASA Ames Research Center Chief Scientist Jacob Cohen recently met in Ramat Gan with senior officials from the Ramon Foundation and BIU, top Israeli educators, academic scholars, and aerospace experts to discuss the venture.

The “Ramon Campus” will feature a scientific and educational center to promote science education and encourage the emergence of groundbreaking ideas among youth and adults. It will be established near Modi’in, about 22 miles southeast of Tel Aviv.

Once Israeli Minister of Science and Technology, Bar-Ilan University President Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz worked closely with the Israel Space Agency and befriended the Ramon family. At the meeting in Ramat Gan he said, “Our life is a chain that cannot be disconnected. The Sages say that righteous people never pass away because their influence continues to be felt. This can be said of the late Ilan Ramon, who is a source of inspiration to children, scientists, and industry alike. Ilan’s wife Rona carries the torch, expressing this continuity through a variety of activities linked to the field of space exploration.”