Irvine Student Pursues Advanced Scientific Work in Israel
Debra Linfield of Irvine conducted research with world-renowned scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, from July 25 to August 20. She was among 20 U.S. high school students who participated in SciTech, an innovative three-week program for outstanding high school juniors and seniors from Israel and abroad who have demonstrated an exceptional interest and ability in science and technology.
Taught in English, the live-in program on the Technion campus gives these students – who, this summer, hailed from five different countries – access to Israel’s top scientists and educators, who serve as program mentors in research in a broad range of fields within engineering and science. The program exposes participants to the entire research process, from laboratory experiments and simulations to papers, presentations, and publications. Under the guidance of graduate student Sivan Shoshani of the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Linfield, a student at Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School in Irvine, “devised a two-symbol, two-state molecular computing device … intended to be expressed in plant cells, as a first step towards in vivo computation in eukaryotic cells.”
A total of 38 students from Israel, the United Kingdom, Canada, Serbia, and the United States came together to participate in this summer’s program, now in its 17th year. Candidates must complete applications that include school recommendations. Final admission decisions are made by the mentor of each Technion project to ensure that each applicant will be a full contributing member of a research team.
The Hebrew Academy Wins $500,000 in Kohl’s Competition!
After an almost two-month campaign that ended Friday, September 10, just before midnight, Jewish schools took up 12 of the top 20 spots in the Kohl’s Cares for Kids contest. All but one of those institutions are run by or affiliated with Chabad-Lubavitch institutions. Each of the finalists will receive $500,000.
The Hebrew Academy and Bais Chaya Mushka, each as one of the top schools, took advantage of their geographical proximity to campaign together, especially in the final weeks of the contest. Administrators sent parents and other volunteers armed with laptops to busy streets, shopping malls and outside restaurants during lunch and dinner to drum up support.
“We rallied the forces in all the different communities in a 30-mile radius,” said Rabbi Yitzchak Newman, director of Hebrew Academy, the only Jewish day school to be twice awarded with the prestigious U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon for academic excellence.
The three schools also lined up support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Jewish Federation and Family Services of Orange County, Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles, and the local Bureau of Jewish Education.