Millbrook teen in Israel

MILLBROOK — At the age of 19, Millbrook resident Wesley Cornell has already been exposed to more science than many college biology majors. Wesley was chosen to attend the 43rd annual Dr. Bessie Lawrence International Summer Science Institute (ISSI), which is located at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. ISSI accepts 80 students, 19 from the United States, with other students from countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Denmark, Spain, Brazil and Kazakhstan. Wesley discovered ISSI through a friend who was involved in the program and was chosen from 70 Americans who applied this year. The program brings young people to Israel to work with world-renowned scientists and graduate students. For four weeks, Wesley and the others on the trip participated in hands-on research in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science.“It was a very unique experience, and it was incredible to be surrounded by so many gifted young scientists from around the world,” said Wesley. “The Weizmann Institute has a very impressive physical campus along with the scientists it is able to attract. Because of the diversity of research going on at the Institute I had the opportunity to learn about subjects that I otherwise would not have had the chance to learn about.”Wesley said that the most interesting part of the trip was traveling around Israel, north to Galilee, east to Jerusalem and south to Eilat and the Negev.“In the labs we learned about the scientific and technological advances occurring in Israel,” said Wesley. “These trips were the medium through which we learned about Israel’s history, peoples and environment.”Wesley’s interest in science started when he was in middle school. He attended Indian Mountain School in nearby Lakeville, Conn., and remembers beginning to get interested in the sciences in his seventh-grade earth science class. “I expanded this interest by volunteering at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, where I have worked for four summers,” said Wesley.Wesley recently graduated from The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville. This fall he will attend Cornell University as a Hunter R. Rawlings III Presidential Research Scholar.“At Cornell, I intend to continue my Lyme disease research that I started while volunteering at the Cary Institute,” said Wesley. “I hope to publish some of my work as an undergraduate.”