Since its inception in 1992, more than 400,000 students from across the United States and Canada have participated in ExploraVision. We caught up with some of our most notable winners over the past several years to learn how they’re continuing to innovate the world around them. Past winners will be regularly added to this section.
Click each question below to reveal our past winners’ answers.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created PAL: The Friend of the Future.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: Following high school graduation in 2002, I attended Georgia Tech and studied Biomedical Engineering. I worked for a few years at a healthcare consulting firm in Atlanta before returning to grad school at Johns Hopkins University for my Master of Public Health. I now lead research and strategic planning projects at Hager Sharp, a communications and social marketing firm dedicated to creating campaigns for organizations committed to improving health, advancing education, transforming our communities, and making meaningful change in the world.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: Participating in ExploraVision was such a formative experience in grade school and certainly played a role in shaping how I thought about problem solving and applying STEM in various real-world scenarios. I would advise teachers to encourage even those students who don’t think STEM is “for them” to apply what skills and strengths they do have to their team, since the four members of our very successful team have gone on to do amazing things applying what we learned (not just in STEM careers): an artist; a start-up co-founder, a public health professional, and a PhD mathematician!
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created The Information Personalized Cane System: An Aid for the Visually Impaired.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I’ve found a niche using emerging technology for creative problem solving. After receiving a degree in Human Factors Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, I co-founded a digital product shop called Coalesce in New York City. We craft digital strategy, architecture, design and development for agencies, startups and brands. I also host an event series called Product Council where early-stage and experienced startups present and discuss their UX/UI challenges in front of an audience of peers and colleagues.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: I attended public school in rural Mississippi and was introduced to the ExploraVision program by my fourth-grade teacher, Amy Prisock. Our team of four was the first group in our entire school system to participate in ExploraVision and our initial success spawned a culture of learning and exploration in our school, as well as creative programming for other schools across the city. Students in all grades—especially those vying to get into Amy’s class the year after our trip to the national competition—had a new-found urge to create and make, and we carried that curious nature with us through to graduation.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Prosthetics: Rebuilding the Body in the Future.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I attended Harvard College and received an AB in biology in 1997 and an MD from Harvard Medical School in 2002. I subsequently completed Residency in Diagnostic Radiology at BIDMC in Boston in 2007. After an Abdominal Imaging Fellowship also at BIDMC, I joined the faculty at the medical center where I have practiced as an abdominal radiologist and have served as the Director of Genitourinary Imaging and Ultrasound.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: ExploraVision was one of the most positive forces that encouraged me to study science and medicine. It’s a fantastic way to help kids experience the excitement of innovation and really develop their sense of possibility. It is also a wonderful team building experience. If you are lucky enough to be part of a winning team, it will be the experience of a lifetime! But even if you do not win, I believe that this project will be remembered as a highlight of the year both by you and your students.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created a modern take on wheelchairs.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I received an undergraduate degree in archaeology from Cornell University, followed by a few years of working in the field of dendrochronology (dating method based on tree-ring chronologies). Afterward, I received two masters degrees back-to-back—the first in biological anthropology from the George Washington University, and the second as a Pathologist’s Assistant from Duke University. I have been working as a Pathologist’s Assistant in Seattle at CellNetix Pathology & Laboratories. My role as a PA is to aid in the investigation and diagnoses of human diseases.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: Encourage your students to actively participate, and to not be afraid to explore their creativity! I was unsure of our project when we first came up with the idea, but it was our teacher who patiently guided and supported us. I honestly do not know if we would have gotten so far in the project without her assistance.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created PAL: The Friend of the Future.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I attended Georgia Tech, where I completed a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering in 2006. I then headed north to MIT, where I discovered an interest in robotics and autonomy. I earned a Masters in Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2008 and a Ph.D. in Autonomous Systems in 2014. After completing my education, I moved to California and became a software engineer on the Google Self-Driving Car Project, Waymo, where I currently serve as a technical lead and manager.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: ExploraVision is a wonderful way for students to discover a curiosity for how the world around them works. I would encourage students to think critically about the technology they use everyday, and ask LOTS of questions! The more they understand about how something works, the more they can think about how it could be done differently or better—an important skill for an education and career in STEM.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created The Artificial Vision Restoration System (AVReS) – Eye Of The Future.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I attended undergrad at MIT, where I majored in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics. After graduation, I went straight to graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, where I finished my Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. I’ve always been drawn to the mathematical end of things, so I completed a special concentration there in communication, computation, and statistics.
I worked on a variety of topics in grad school, which made me want to continue doing basic research. Much like ExploraVision, basic engineering research involves thinking about what problems we might want to solve in the future and how we can advance the knowledge or technology that we have now to tackle those problems. I then went south to the University of California, San Diego, where I was a postdoctoral researcher, and from there to a research assistant professor position at the Toyota Technological Institute in Chicago, which is a philanthropically endowed academic computer science institute located on the University of Chicago campus.
I most recently joined Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, as a tenure-track assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering. My research is still about communication, computation, and statistics. I try to develop models to understand how communication and exchanging information in social networks can enable learning, how uncertainty can impact the reliability of communication, how statistical analyses can be done safely on sensitive data like medical records, and to efficiently discover hidden structures in complex data sets.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: ExploraVision teaches students all the ingredients of becoming a successful researcher: how to find an important problem in the world, identify a promising approach for solving it, think through the steps to make that happen, and most importantly, communicate the need, approach, and benefits to others. Science and engineering are social processes, and communication is a crucial part of that. ExploraVision is not just for future scientists or inventors; one of my teammates is in business/finance and the other is a clinical psychologist. I think that ExploraVision is a great way to get students excited about the possibilities of technology so they can integrate that process of communication with learning about the technology.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Laser Tunnel Vision.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I received my BS in Human/Medical Genetics from Dartmouth College and medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. I am the CEO of Marquis Plastic Surgery in Miami, FL where I serve as a board certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon. I engage the next generation of physicians as a Clinical Voluntary Professor of Plastic Surgery.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created The Artificial Vision Restoration System (AVReS) – Eye of the Future.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I am a currently a practicing clinical psychologist and educator in upstate New York. I completed my graduate training at Rutgers University and my pre- and postdoctoral fellowships at Yale University School of Medicine, followed by a residency in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). After a period of time working at the VA, primarily treating combat veterans with PTSD, I went into full-time private practice. I also maintain an appointment at the Albany Medical College Department of Psychiatry, and routinely work as a consultant for a variety of organizations. I have continued to maintain my role as a science and healthcare educator, working as content expert for the “Crash Course” YouTube series.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: We were tremendously lucky to have a brilliant and gifted science educator, Dave Stone, guiding us through the process. Quite frankly, my advice for teachers interested in adding ExploraVision to their classroom is to contact Mr. Stone directly. Under his guidance, our school’s teams have been consistently awarded ExploraVision achievements, with four national competition winners and eight division regional winners since 1997. Decades later, I still consider Mr. Stone one of the greatest science educators I have ever encountered.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Holographic Laser-Light Traffic Control System.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I completed my neurology residency at Brown University and went on to a Movement Disorders and Parkinson’s disease sub-specialty fellowship at the University of Florida where I was able to participate and publish several peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. Shortly thereafter, I moved onto a private practice neurology group in Fort Myers, FL specializing in advanced Parkinson’s disease. In 2014, I helped found a telemedicine company, TeleSpecialists, which brings experts in emergency neurology, psychiatry and critical care medicine to hospitals around the country and world. The company has expanded exponentially and is now the one of the largest providers of emergency teleneurology in the world. I currently sit on their board as the Chief Medical Officer and continue to work towards the goal of expanding patient access to specialty physicians even in the most remote locations around our country.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: The ExploraVision competition was my first real experience with technology as a middle schooler. It gave me confidence that big things can come to little people. I frequently look back to that experience for inspiration and am so proud. I would advise teachers to remind their students that little things now lead to bigger things later.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Magnetic Medicine Buckyball Therapy in the 21st Century.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: The last 20 years have been filled with more and more learning. I studied toward simultaneous Arts and Science undergrad degrees at two different universities—Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Columbia University. I then received an MA in Assyiology from Yale University and an MS in Immunology from Western University. Finally, I received my MD from University of Western Ontario before specializing in Pediatrics at BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver. I have been fortunate to be able to travel the world, study across the continent, explore my scientific mind as well as my artistic mind, and form fantastic relationships.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: I appreciated that my coach was an excited, vibrant teacher who was willing to put in work outside the classroom to give us extra opportunities. I have seen ExploraVision work well as in-class project, too.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created SMAART: Shape Memory Alloys in Airplanes Reduce Turbulence.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I spent nine years after high school continuing my education—beginning with an undergraduate degree in Engineering Physics at University of Michigan, followed by a PhD in Applied Physics at Stanford University. Throughout my formal education, I found that ExploraVision developed an incredible toolbox for answering important question and effectively communicating results.
My research career crossed many branches of science from Chemistry to Materials Physics to Optics. But a common theme has been using x-rays to better understand the structure and function of the atoms that make up the world around us. I’ve been very fortunate to spend the majority of the last eighteen years on the frontier of x-ray science. I’ve studied magnets using holograms formed with x-rays to generate images so small they would be dwarfed by a human hair. Recently, I’ve used flashes of x-rays as short as a millionth of a nanosecond to capture these magnets in the “act” of flipping their poles. But just like my ExploraVision project, I’ve done all of this in teams—often much larger than four members.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: My advice to teachers is to see ExploraVision as an opportunity to apply the skills learned across subjects. More than any subject I studied in high school, ExploraVision developed a skill set that I use everyday in my life as a scientist. It helped me to understand that regardless of what I discover, it is only available to others if I communicate it effectively—primary through writing. It also taught me that working with others requires communication and compromise, but can produce something much greater than the sum of the capabilities of the individual team members.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created The Bath Butler.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I graduated with highest honors from University of California, Santa Barbara in 2015 with a double major in Psychology and English. Afterward, I worked for the university as an Academic Advisor for undergraduates in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences. I am now working in Human Resources for HME, an electronics manufacturing company.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: ExploraVision provides students with learning experiences that students will not get through traditional classroom activities. It’s a unique opportunity for K-12 students to take ownership of an idea from start to finish throughout the entirety of an academic year. These skills certainly carried over into the rest of my academic career.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Antiquake: Securing Society Through the Science of Nitinol.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I attended University of Oregon, where I received my BS in Applied Physics. I then worked in internet marketing at non-profit, and with the US military as a weather forecaster before completing post-baccalaureate work in 2012. I was accepted to the Chemical Physics PhD program at UC Davis in 2015 and am now a second-year graduate student there, teaching and researching in a lab that focuses on magnetic resonance.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: I would recommend that teachers not only engage their gifted students, but the ones that understand the value of teamwork and will be committed to completing a long-term project. Those students will be more likely to succeed and get more growth out of the experience.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Neuro Enhancing Restoring Offline Nerves (N.E.U.R.O.N.).
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: Since participating in the ExploraVision science competition in 8th grade, I continued to pursue my interests in the sciences. I attended the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities for high school where I was actively involved in Academic SuperBowl and Chemistry Olympiad. I had the opportunity to spend my high school summers performing chemistry research at a local university.
I matriculated into the combined 7-year BS/MD Physician-Scientist Program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Albany Medical College in New York. Throughout undergraduate and medical school I participated in biomedical research including several summers working in a neuroscience lab studying rat models of Parkinson’s disease. This project culminated in several presentations at scientific meetings around the country.
I am now an internal medical resident at Emory University in Atlanta with the hopes of pursuing a Cardiology fellowship. My goal is to remain in academic medicine as a clinician-researcher.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: Do not underestimate the value that your mentorship can provide to your students. My middle school science teacher, Mrs. Schenkel, ignited my passion for science by encouraging yearly participation in the science fair and ExploraVision. Whenever you have students that show in interest in STEM, actively foster their interest by providing extra-curricular opportunities such as ExploraVision.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Allerscan.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I participated in ExploraVision in 1999 as a fourth grader, and have had a busy life since then! During my senior year of high school I took dual credit classes at a local community college, and was able to complete my Associate of Arts degree in Visual Communication in 2008.
After graduating I moved to Phoenix, Arizona where I worked for a major technology company, as a mobile device technician. I then moved onto a career in healthcare IT with a local healthcare system and helped the hospital launch its electronic medical records system.
While working full time, I returned to school to pursue my bachelor’s degree and graduated in 2014 with a degree in Life Sciences from Arizona State University. I discovered my passion for healthcare, and specifically optometry while at the university. While working as an optometric technician, I gained hands-on experience in the field of optometry.
My Life Sciences degree was put to use when I worked in the histology department of an oncology lab. Every day, I worked with tissue samples of patients with a cancer diagnosis, and performed tests which helped pathologists determine the proper treatment plan for them. I am currently pursing my dream of becoming a doctor of optometry and am a second year optometry student with an anticipated graduation date of May 2019.
Q: Can you describe your ExploraVision experience?
A: The competition taught me to think about what is possible and to pursue the things that make life better for society. It is my goal to provide the gift of sight to those in need through both my training as an optometrist, my passion for learning, and the love of technology, which I gained while participating in ExploraVision.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: My experience with ExploraVision opened my eyes to the potential impact science and technology can have on peoples’ lives. I believe that ExploraVision is a wonderful way to reach your students and ignite their interest in science and technology. With so much emphasis on literacy and writing, at the elementary level, science sometimes gets pushed aside. The inquiry method of this project taught me how to question, hypothesize, think, research, investigate and test my theory. It also taught me how to work cooperatively with others to reach a common goal and most importantly, think outside of the box.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Visible-Light Photocatalysis.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: After high school, I pursued the theoretical sciences at MIT, with a focus on math and physics. Soon after, though, I realized I had much more of a passion for day-to-day impact on the community and people around me, rather than long-term theoretical study. After I graduated with a degree in business, I was accepted into the Harvard Graduate School of Education to get a master’s degree in educational policy and to help me develop more ideas to bring unique education through businesses to communities. Currently, I incubate businesses with a focus on creating pivotal and memorable experiences such as Boxaroo and Project Radix.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: Do it! There needs to be more ideation and diversity in STEM (and inter-disciplinary, cross-curricular) education in middle and high school. ExploraVision helps encourage kids to broaden their imaginations, develop their unique ideas, and pursue the impossible—but at the same time be cognizant of translating their dreams into reality.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created CVC: Synthesized Plant Power.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I completed my Bachelor’s degree in engineering science and Master’s degree in industrial engineering at the University of Toronto, then worked for 3 years in user experience. In 2016, I completed my PhD in communication research at Stanford University. Currently I am an Assistant professor at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: Goal setting for students is helpful. Participating in contests and competitions can help fuel students’ interest in the sciences and help them to pursue a career in the sciences.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Asthma Sensor Monitoring System: Saving Lives One Breath at a Time.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: In 2014, I earned my BS in Psychology, with a concentration in Neuroscience, from Yale University. Through my studies, I was introduced to the emerging field of neuromarketing. While I had background on the research side of the field, I did not have experience in business, so upon graduation I decided to work in marketing. I hope to return to school and further my education in neuroscience, particularly neuromarketing, with a more enriched and well-rounded background.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: ExploraVision encourages students to take their ideas, form them into solutions and shape them into realities for society. It’s an immeasurable experience that one cannot replicate in another way.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Eagle Eyes: Contacts of the Future.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: After participating in ExploraVision in elementary school I continued through middle school and enrolled in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program during high school. I left Alaska to attend the University of Pennsylvania where I initially planned to complete a pre-med program but instead decided to pursue two undergraduate degrees in an interdisciplinary biology/psychology major (Biological Basis of Behavior) and computer science. After graduation, I joined Microsoft as a software engineer and spent three years on a team focused on integrating social data into web search. For the past year and a half, I have been working as a software engineer/data scientist at TapFwd, a startup that provides consumer data to mobile advertisers. In addition to working, I’ve taken classes part-time at Stanford University to complete a graduate certificate program in analyzing and working with large datasets.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: Integrating ExploraVision as a part of the curriculum worked very well in my elementary school. Because the program is significant time investment, teachers should be sure to allow enough time for students to put enough effort to their projects.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Passenger Tire Waste Heat Recovery System.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I’ve been working toward an MD/PhD at the University of Chicago, leading to a career at the intersection of chemical biology and medicine. I credit ExploraVision with showing me how an understanding and application of physical principles can be used to address complex issues.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: Teachers will love how the competition encourages participants to attack the grand challenges of our time with creativity and enthusiasm, since courage and vision are at the root of scientific discovery!
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Nano Mist.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I graduated from Denison University with a BS in Psychology, where I conducted psychophysics research with the help of a professor and was published in the Journal of Vision. I later obtained an MBA with a specialization in Entrepreneurship from Seton Hill University. I own and operate the Robot Academy, a growing STEM education institution that teaches young students to use their imaginations to innovate with robotics.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: Help students to make contact with experts in whichever field they are researching. There are thousands of well-meaning scientists and innovators out there who are willing to help your students, but only if your students have sufficient courage to ask and sufficient humility to receive.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Scar-Aid: Chemical Mediator Bandage.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: As a Robertson Scholar, I’ve been able to pursue my interests at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University, and am currently double-majoring in B.S. Business Administration and Economics, with a minor in Entrepreneurship. I was also elected as a participant for the 2014 TOMODACHI Toshiba Science and Technology Leadership Academy and was very fortunate to return as a Teaching Assistant for the 2016 Academy – these experiences gave me the phenomenal opportunity to analyze the importance of taking political, economic, and social dimensions of the community into consideration. Since then, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have a variety of experiences! I’ve always been drawn to the idea of making a difference in the community, and currently serve as the CEO and Founder of Creating Awareness in Research and Education and a former Executive Director for Growth and Inspiration through Volunteering and Education, both non-profit organizations striving to address educational disparities across varying socioeconomic dimensions.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: Integrating ExploraVision to a classroom is incredibly important as it helps students explore applications of STEM across a variety of disciplines, ranging from information sciences to healthcare to business. The genuine sense of enthusiasm and interest in students when given the opportunity to build the future and solve problems brightens up a classroom, and also encourages students to keep their drive and desire to give back to the world.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created CONNECT: Creation of New Nerve-Ending Connection Technologies.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I earned my B.S. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University, and then moved to Boston to pursue a Ph.D. in Systems Biology at Harvard University. I am now in the fourth year of my Ph.D. program, and I use genomic approaches to study how viruses spread during outbreaks. I have had the opportunity to work on several exciting projects over the last few years, including analyzing data from the recent Ebola virus outbreak and answering similar questions about Zika virus.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: My high school chemistry teacher introduced ExploraVision as a class assignment, but gave us a lot of freedom in deciding our topic. Through our project we learned about the scientific process and how to research scientific findings — and, more importantly, we were really excited about our topic! I would definitely advise teachers to allow for that flexibility when possible.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created LANAPT (Ligand Attached Nanoshells Assisting Protothermal Therapy).
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I participated in a variety of projects in both research and industry, particularly in stretchable electronics for wearable devices. I spent two years in research, investigating stretchability of thin films for bio-integrated devices as well as materials and mechanisms for soft robotics. One project has led to a publication.
Outside of research, I’ve interned at Sandia National Labs, where I learned about computational methods for analyzing mechanical structures, as well as at Intel Corporation, where I had the opportunity to work on mechanical design and reliability for a virtual reality headset and other prototypes. Overall, my experiences have enabled me to pursue a career with the ultimate goal of seamlessly integrating robotic and electronic devices with humans.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: ExploraVision is a great way to introduce students to engineering and research. Up until high school, mentorship in the form of structure and planning from teachers and others is critical so as to prevent negative impressions of the scientific method. In high school, the form of mentorship ultimately morphs into helping students seek the resources they need to complete their projects, such as connecting them with graduate students or university resources.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created CHANGE: Counteracting HIV/AIDS through New Gene Enhancement.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: After I participated in ExploraVision in 10th grade, I went on to Princeton University (Class of 2015) where I studied Computer Science in the Engineering school. At Princeton, I created a social app called Friendsy to help connect students. After a successful pilot, we are now at 1,700 schools and have facilitated over one million connections between college students.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created Immunotargeted DNA Nanostructures.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: After managing a drug discovery laboratory at a local state university and participating in ExploraVision as a high school student, I realized that healthcare had been largely untouched by software innovations. Full of inspiration, I graduated from MIT in two years and then co-founded Remedy—an accessible, tech-forward medical practice.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: The ExploraVision competition is an extraordinary opportunity to inspire intellectual curiosity and creativity in your students. My most valuable advice would be to discover what makes your students tick. Help them find a topic they become completely obsessed with, and they will undoubtedly surprise you with how far they can go.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created S.M.A.R.T. Paint.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: I graduated from Yale University where I majored in history and played on the Yale Bulldogs football team. I started my career at EIU Canback, a management consulting firm based in Cambridge, MA that leverages predictive analytics to assist large clients with projects in emerging markets all over the world. In other words, we use math to help people figure out how developing countries will change in the coming years. I find myself asking the same questions that I did while I was working on my ExploraVision project: What does the world look like today? What did it once to look like? What will it look like tomorrow? And how can we prepare for these changes? In a way, ExploraVision laid the foundation for my business acumen well before I ever set foot in an office.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: The wonderful thing about the ExploraVision competition is that it asks its participants to dream big. However, the teachers (coaches) must also be prepared to answer the timeless question “when will I ever use this in the real world?” My own coach, Mr. Michael Lampert, knew how to strike this balance perfectly through encouragement and healthy skepticism.
Coaches should also communicate how advances in fields like artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and genome editing will need young pioneers. Overall, I believe most students can excel in STEM—all they need is a good teacher dedicated to their future success.
Q: What was your winning project?
A: My team created the PACS wrap.
Q: What have you been up to since you participated in ExploraVision?
A: ExploraVision showed me that even though I am still a high school student, I can tackle challenging problems and achieve amazing feats in science and engineering. As a result, I’ve been motivated to enroll in more STEM-related programs and competitions that previously would have seemed beyond my ability.
Q: Do you have any advice for teachers who want to add ExploraVision to their classroom?
A: While many students may be intrinsically interested in the STEM fields, they require a dynamic and supportive learning environment in order to further that interest. Instead of lecturing the class on Newton’s Laws, have the students work on a lab investigation that demonstrates pertinent physics concepts.