Way to Go: Elliot Schiff, West Hempstead

Elliot Schiff had a most selective summer destination.

Schiff, who lives in West Hempstead and is a senior at Yeshiva University High School for Boys in Manhattan, was one of 37 high schoolers worldwide to participate in the SciTech program at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Israel this summer.

SciTech gives students a chance to perform research in a broad range of fields alongside Israel's top scientific researchers, while also experiencing dorm living.

"The scientific portion of the program was fascinating and exciting, and the social part was just as enriching -- if not more so," Schiff said. "It was special to interact with kids from different parts of the world and to learn about their ways of life."

Schiff and two other students worked on biomedical engineering research aimed at identifying the weakening rate of cardiac muscle cells during the muscle contraction process. They isolated a microscopic cardiac fiber from a rat's heart, attached it to a testing apparatus and experimented by attaching adrenaline to the fiber.

"It is possible to be excited about science and at the same time be a regular kid," Schiff said.