Three Valley teens are part of a group of 21 students from across the country who have been accepted to attend a summer science program at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, a center of scientific research and graduate study.

The Dr. Bessie F. Lawrence International Summer Science Institute (ISSI) is a four-week, intensive science exploration that 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, mathematics or computer sciences. Senior Weizmann Institute scientists give supplemental lectures and participants are invited to join departmental talks and visit the campus’ state-of-the-art science facilities.

Talia Khan, daughter of Temple Solel members Lisa and Ali Khan of Phoenix, is a Pardes Jewish Day School alumna and attended Xavier College Preparatory for high school. She was the recipient of the Ben & Catherine Ivy Scholarship at TGen, where she had the opportunity to gain firsthand experience doing scientific research. She will continue her science studies in the fall as a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge.

Ben Walker, son of Temple Chai members Nanci and Sanford Walker, is graduating from Paradise Valley High School, from the school’s bioscience strand of its magnet program CREST (Center for Research in Engineering, Science and Technology) and will attend Arizona State University’s Barrett Honors College in the fall, with plans to major in molecular biosciences and biotechnology. He has completed an internship at Integrated Pathology Services in the West Valley and placed top 10 at the national level in biomedical debate for HOSA-Future Health Professionals.

Karen Guo, the daughter of Yuejin Guo and Zezhong Fu, attends Desert Vista High School and plans to attend Caltech in Pasadena in the fall.