ExploraVision 2011 Winners Selected

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 05/16/11

The Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision Awards Program has selected eight winners for the 2011 science and technology competition.

ExploraVision is a science and technology competition that asks students in kindergarten through 12th grade to work in teams of two to four to design technologies that could work in 20 years. Students research a technology, imagine how it might change, and explain the breakthroughs that would need to happen over the next two decades to make their idea possible.

First and second-place winners are selected in each of four age groups: grades 10-12, 7-9, 4-6, and K-3. Students on the first-place teams each receive a $10,000 United States Series EE Savings Bond. Students on the second-place teams each receive $5,000 bonds. Students on all eight teams will win an expenses-paid trip with their families, mentors, and coaches to Washington, DC for a gala awards weekend June 16-18.

This year's competition was the 19th, and included more than 4,300 entries, representing 13,387 students in the United States and Canada.

Shane Moore, Agastya Mondal, Poojitha Shivaprasad, and Morgan Gruenewald of Hopewell Valley Central High School in Pennington, NJ won the grades 10 through 12 first-place spot for their research on a bionic auditory prosthesis. They were coached by Leif Segen and mentored by David Angwenyi.

David Kurkovskiy, Norine Chan, and Alison Reed of Stuyvesant High School in New York, NY won the grades 10 through 12 second-place prize for their work on a kidney bio-printer. They were coached by Samantha Daves and mentored by Anne Manwell.

The first-place prize for grades 7 through 9 went to Hugh Savoldelli, James Savoldelli, James Hayman, and Jeffrey Weiner of Horace Mann School in Bronx, NY for their research on a subway smart system. They were coached by Jodi Hill and mentored by Fabio Savoldelli.

Samantha Tarnopol and Claudia Cooper of West Hills Middle School in West Bloomfield, MI received second-place in grades 7 through 9 for the research on an intra-trachea breathing system. They were coached by Amy Attard and mentored by Russ Purdy.

The first-place project for grades 4 through 6 was called the HEADS UP! Helmet. The team members were Abby Porter and Jovia Ho of Tolbert Elementary School, Sydney Dayyani of Belmont Ridge Middle School, and Jack Dudley of the Virginia Virtual Academy. They were mentored by Brenda Conwell-Dudley.

Sophie Heiman, Alexandra Fryman, Philip Danziger, and Thomas Venezia of Plainview Old Bethpage Middle School in Plainview, NY received second-place in grades 4 through 6 for their work on the BlindSight contact lens. They were coached by Paula Engel.

First place in grades kindergarten through 3 went to Davin Hickman-Chow and Pablo Vidal of the Discovery Montessori School in Edinburg, TX for their work on intelligent streets. They were coached by Veronica Martinez and mentored by Karen Lozano.

Eyra Gualtieri, Catie Tomasello, and Achyudhan Kutuva of Countryside Montessori Charter School in Land o Lakes, FL won second place in grades kindergarten through 3 for their solar T.R.E.E. project. They were coached by Bridgett Nicholson and mentored by Heather Tomasello.

"It is both exciting and rewarding to see students of all ages using the tools of science to answer questions, solve problems and envision the future," said Francis Eberle, executive director of the NSTA. "We are extremely proud of all of the student winners and are also grateful for their teachers, mentors and coaches who have encouraged, supported and guided them through the process."

Information on this year's winning projects is available here. For more information about ExploraVision or to enter the 2012 competition, visit exploravision.org.