Women of Innovation

Congratulations to Dr. Amy Cornell on winning a 2021 Connecticut Women of Innovation award! A science and STEAM teacher and robotics coach at The Country School. For the past six years Dr. Cornell, also a former NASA scientist, has been working with Detect to develop a fast, accurate, at-home COVID test. Dr. Cornell was honored in the Secondary Academic Innovation and Leadership category for her commitment to creating and fostering STEM programs in curriculum development, supporting student research and/or teacher-student collaborations, and consistently demonstrating STEM leadership and innovation.

During the award ceremony, in addition to receiving recognition from the Connecticut Technology Council, which administers the Women of Innovation Award, Dr. Cornell was honored by two of her colleagues: her fellow science and STEAM teacher/robotics coach, Stephanie Johnson, who introduced the award and Dr. Jonathan Rothberg, founder of Detect and several other health technology companies, who announced the winner. Dr. Rothberg, a recipient of a National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama, said it was especially rewarding for him to announce Dr. Cornell as a winner of a Women of Innovation award. "Amy is not only a colleague but also my daughter Gabby's science teacher," he said. "Congratulations, Amy, we are all so lucky to learn from and work with you."

The faculty, administration, and staff at The Country School echo Dr. Rothberg's message. Thank you, Dr. Cornell, for all you do to inspire our students and - in the words of our mission statement - empower them to serve the common good.