One of the winners of Jerusalem College of Technology’s (JCT) sixth annual Physics Olympiad Ayelet Hashahar Barel of Rishon Letzion; Eti Stern, head of JCT’s Tal Campus for women; Yocheved Berstel, girls’ physics high school teacher in Rishon Letzion; and rector of JCT’s Lev Academic Center Professor Kenneth Hochberg. Photo: JCT.

JNS.org – The talents of religious scientists of the future were on display last week as more than 100 Israeli yeshivah students participated in Jerusalem College of Technology’s sixth annual Physics Olympiad.

Held in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Religious Services and Ministry of Education, the event marked the latest initiative by the college to empower religious students in Israel and abroad with high-level science and technology skills.

Participants in the competition were 11th and 12th graders studying for Israeli matriculation exams.

As part of the competition, male students at the Lev Campus and women at the Tal Campus solved university-level physics challenges. They also toured the campuses and physics laboratories, while hearing a variety of lectures and engaging in interactive games.

At the end of the day, the college announced the winners of scholarships towards studies at its Lev Academic Center.

Winners of the girls’ competition were Hadas Fiksler of Bnei Brak, Miri Abutl of Shlabim and Ayelet Hashachar Barel of Rishon Letzion. In the boys’ competition, the winners were Liav Shlechdarov, Daniel Markovitz and Michael Piper, all of Netanya.

“As an academic institution that advocates excellence, we conduct the competition to encourage religious students to pursue a high-level science education and to develop new ways of thinking and learning, and to aspire for greatness,” said Olympiad director Evgeny Frishman. “Physics plays an important role in developing a number of important professions within the State of Israel’s economy. Our goal is that all who took part will understand the importance of physics not only in the scientific world, but to their country.”