MADISON – High-flying Jets at James Clemens High School again have proven their technical aptitude by winning the regional title with Exploravision.

Toshiba Corporation and National Science Teachers Association sponsor Exploravision, a national scientific contest for youth in the United States and Canada.

Designed for students in grades K-12, the contest is open to all levels of interest, skill and ability levels. ExploraVision encourages participants to create and explore a vision of future technology by developing new ways to apply current science. Since 1992, more than 360,000 students have competed.

The James Clemens team, who are all freshmen, included Angela Ai, Bhavya Chalasani, Aasim Musani and Neil Sethi, along with Maanasi Limaye from Bob Jones High School. In addition, Nikhita Mudium, a James Clemens senior, served as mentor for the group.

Their project studied “Protein Revitalization for Narrowing Grafts.”

Leah McRae mentored this student team. At James Clemens, McRae teaches “Human Body Structures and Functions,” “Introduction to Biotechnology (Genetics),” “Human Body Systems” and “Medical Interventions.”

“Congratulations to these students and to their teachers and school staff who have supported and mentored them in their endeavors,” Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols said in email distribution.

Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision helps students develop the skills emphasized in the “Next Generation Science Standards,” including problem-solving, critical-thinking and collaboration skills. Students must imagine and produce a system or a technology with the potential to solve the problems of the future. (nsta.org)

Contestants also shared innovative proposals to help in overcoming major challenges facing the world today — from healthcare needs to sustainability efforts to energy efficiency. ExploraVision offers fun and engaging sessions that can inspire a lifelong love of science, technology and innovation for students and teachers.

Regional winners delved into projects that ranged from high-tech toothbrushes to a novel and more cost-effective rocket launches with reusable electromagnetic systems. The 23 winning teams will advance to ExploraVision’s national phase where participants vie for $10,000 U.S. Savings Bonds, Chromebooks and other prizes.

In an additional achievement, Maanasi Limaye from Bob Jones was accepted into the Research Science Institute or RSI, a highly selective summer research program. Hosts are Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Center for Excellence in Education.

RSI is considered one of the country’s most prestigious summer research programs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics or STEM. A pool of 3,000 prospective seniors vie for 80 slots in the six-week, all-expenses-paid program. Many RSI alumni have become Noble Laureates, Fields Medal recipients and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Alumni advise and mentor participants currently in the program.

For more information, visit exploravision.org/rules-requirements or tmcnet.com.