Buffalo Grove teen does computer research in Israel

Itamar Allali of Buffalo Grove, a senior at Adlai E. Stevenson High School, in Lincolnshire, spent the summer in Israel with teens of many different nationalities but never felt more at home. The common denominator, he says, was a shared love of science.

Itamar, 17, was among 44 teens worldwide to participate in SciTech, a three-week international science and technology research camp at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa. Participants hailed from nine U.S. states as well as Israel, Europe and Canada.

“We all come from different places, but through our shared interest in science we have had the chance to meet and discover how similar we all are,” says Itamar, whose family is from Israel. “It’s the first time I have felt like I am around people who are just like me.”

Now in its 20th year, SciTech provides teens the chance to carry out research in a broad range of fields alongside accomplished Israeli researchers while experiencing life in Israel. Weekends, he and his SciTech friends visited Jerusalem, the Galilee and other sites in Israel. Weekdays, he was hard at work in the Technion laboratory, researching a way to cool electronics when they heat up. Most computers have a built-in fan; but as technology progresses, computer chips get smaller and hotter and the fans no longer work, he explains. Itamar and his team attached a metal device called a heat sink to a microchip, and ran water through the device to cool the chip.

“I have for a while now thought about going into academic research as a profession. Being at the Technion and being able to taste that life, has really helped me realize that it is for me,” he says.

Itamar became intrigued with science when he took a Physics class in 10th grade, but is very much a well-rounded student with varied interests. He is a member of his school’s Talented Young Mathematician team, which competes against other schools in math contests. He is also part of “a very small but very awesome Intramural Racquetball Club,” he says; heads the French Honor Society school chapter, and loves to paint.

SciTech was founded by the late Harry J. Stern of Sands Point N.Y., a supporter of the Technion and the American Technion Society. Admission to the program is selective. Student research culminates in an oral presentation and written report for publication.

Ÿ Send Your news to nbrcalendar@dailyherald.com.