Introduction

The Israeli chapter of the Controlled Release Society (ICRS) (registered as The Israeli Society for Controlled Delivery of Bioactive Materials) is a not-for-profit national organization, with offices in Jerusalem and Karmiel.

Background

ICRS was conceived in 1996 as the Israeli local chapter of Controlled Release Society (CRS), a multinational organization that is devoted to the advancement of the science and technology of controlled release.
ICRS is a multi-disciplinary society dedicated to the science and technology of controlled release and delivery of drugs, biological and agrochemical agents and food, and promoting education by releasing science to deliver a better future.
The science of controlled release represents the research discipline based on the understanding the interactions between the active molecule, the delivery system and the biological or environmental barriers. ICRS serves 250 members from Israel, half of the membership representing industry and the other half, academia. Volunteers from academia and industry perform the various executive and administrative functions and tasks.

Mission

The mission of ICRS is to advance the science and technology of controlled release systems for the temporal delivery of substances for agricultural, veterinary, cosmetic, medicinal and household applications

Activities

* Organization of Scientific meetings with participation of scientists from academia and industry

* One important task of ICRS is to support and encourage active participation of young scientist in local and international scientific meetings

* Sponsorship of workshops

* Publication of the ICRS Newsletter

* Relationships with other societies within and outside Israel.

Awards

ICRS has established two awards:

-Best Student Poster Award.
This award is dedicated for graduate students and recognizes outstanding research in the controlled release area. The best works are selected at the Annual Society Meetings. The first prize winner is awarded with a travel grant and registration to the following CRS meeting. The second prize winner is awarded with a travel grant and the third prize winners receive a cash prize.

-ICRS Award for Achievements in Drug Delivery.
This new Award (from 2007) recognizes Israeli scientists who made outstanding contributions in the drug delivery field.