Local Student Returns from International Science Program

Local student and budding scientist Justin Koritzinsky was one of only 19 American students chosen to attend the prestigious summer science program at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, one of the world’s foremost centers of scientific research and graduate study.

Justin, a college-bound Bethesda resident, graduated from Walt Whitman High School and applied for the ISSI program under the recommendation of Dr. Miriam Rafailovich, who he worked under while participating in The Garcia Center’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at Stony Brook University. 

ISSI, a four-week, intensive science exploration, affords students the opportunity to work in small groups with world-renowned scientists and graduate students, conducting actual, ongoing research.  Participants select a subject area in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics or computer sciences.   Senior Weizmann Institute scientists give supplemental lectures, and participants are invited to join departmental talks and visit the campus’s state-of-the-art science facilities.

“The most valuable thing that I learned at the Weizmann this summer was that groundbreaking discoveries come from research that genuinely interests the researchers,” he commented about his experience.

“The Weizmann Institute exposed me to the field of psychophysics, and even more importantly taught me a new way to approach science--one that is more collaborative and open-minded,” Justin added.  “The Weizmann Institute is a place of curiosity-driven scientific innovation, where everyone’s opinion is valued, whether they be tenured professors, post-docs, graduate students or rising university students such as myself. I never imagined how close I could become with so many people in just one month.”