Ardent Orange County Science & Engineering Fair Winners

The Orange County Science and Engineering Fair (OCSEF) is an annual event organized to encourage students to learn about science, and to consider a career in science or engineering. Students not only have the opportunity to learn and implement the scientific method and engineering design principles, but also the the social skills of communication and collaboration and the confidence to be successful in the 21st century.

🎉2023 OCSEF Winners 🎉

JUNIOR DIVISION (STUDENTS IN GRADES 6-8)

Braden Y, 3rd Place, Mathematics and Software

Haley D, Honorable Mention, Botany

Isabelle T, 1st Place, Botany Applications

Jacob C, 3rd Place, Energy Conversion/Alternative Energy

Kayla R, 1st Place, Microbiology and Cell Biology

Meghana W, 1st Place, Microbiology and Cell Biology

Ritvin R, Honorable Mention, Energy Conversion/Alternative Energy

Ruilin Z, Honorable Mention, Physiology/Medical Biology

Sailee C, 1st Place, Behavioral Sciences

Shouryan M, 2nd Place, Environmental Science/Environmental Engineering

Timothy C, 2nd Place, Physics/Astronomy

SENIOR DIVISION (STUDENTS IN GRADES 9-12)

Abishek V, Honorable Mention, Mathematics and Software

Adela S, Honorable Mention, Environmental Science/Environmental Engineering

Andrew R, 2nd Place, Physics/Astronomy

Benjamin S, 2nd Place, Energy Conversion / Alternative Energy

Christine L, 3rd Place, Applied Mechanics/Structures & Mechanisms/Manufacturing

Cloris S, 1st Place, Behavioral Sciences

Derek K, 1st Place, Applied Mechanics/Structures & Mechanisms/Manufacturing

Elaine C, 2nd Place, Physics/Astronomy

Hailey V, 1st Place, Physiology/Medical Biology

Harriet L, Honorable Mention, Physiology/Medical Biology

Jay A, 3rd Place, Biochemistry/Molecular Biology

Justin L, Honorable Mention, Mathematics and Software

Marissa H, 1st Place, Behavioral Sciences

Matthew C, 1st Place, Physiology/Medical Biology

Ruhi S, 3rd Place, Biochemistry/Molecular Biology

Zoe T, 1st Place, Physics/Astronomy

SPECIAL AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

Adela S, Energy Coalition

Hailey V, The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Chapman Awards

Jacob C, Energy Coalition

Jay A, American Chemical Society

Matthew C, Harald Biessmann Memorial Award

Meghana W, The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Chapman Awards

Ritvin R, Office of Naval Research

Sam S, American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), SoCal Section

Shouryan M, The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Chapman Awards

Zoe T, American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics

Zoe T, The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Chapman Awards

2022 OCSEF Winners

​Junior Division (Grades 6-8)	​Senior Division (Grades 9-12)
​Amber L: Reducing Reactive Oxygen Species Through Nanotechnology Honorable Mention in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology	​Adela S: The Effect of Neem Oil and Eucalyptus Oil on Plant Growth 1st Place in Botany Applications Special Award: Arnold & Mabel Beckman Chapman Award
​Audrey and Marissa H: Analyzing Asian Hate Through Social Media Data 1st Place in Behavioral Sciences	​Mari I: Predicting Alzheimer’s Disease Using Electroencephalography and Machine Learning 2nd Place in Cognitive Science Special Award: American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), Southern California Section
​Braden Y: What Combination of Video Characteristics Will Maximize Viewership? 3rd Place in Behavioral Sciences	Ming Q: Modeling the Action Potentials of Heart Cells with Brugada Syndrome Honorable Mention in Physiology/Medical Biology Special Award: American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), Southern California Section
​Gene Y: “Zing” Through Zinc: Zinc supplements augment growth in Brassica oleracea Honorable Mention in Botany	Samantha L: Protection and Prevention: How UVR Affects Yeast Colony Growth 2nd Place in Microbiology and Cell Biology
​Jacob C: Frequency Dependent Sound Absorption 3rd Place in Physics/Astronomy	Sophia D: Musical Computers: A Study to Build on Music Recognition Software 3rd Place in Mathematics and Software
​Kayla R: The True Color of Caffeine: The Effect of Caffeine on Cognitive Interference 1st Place in Cognitive Science
​Lakshmi C: Honey Encryption: A Nightmare for Cyber Criminals 2nd Place in Mathematics and Software
​Luke S: Specialized Training on Arm Stress and Pitching Performance 2nd Place in Cognitive Science
Mahima W: Cavities, Here I Come! The Antibacterial Activity of the extract from Plectranthus amboinicus (Indian Borage) vs from Azadirachta indica (Neem) on the dental caries causing bacteria Streptococcus mutans 1st Place in Pharmacology/Toxicology
​Mark M: Monitoring Health of Elderly Using Machine Learning Anomaly Detection 1st Place in Physiology/Medical Biology
Nikita K: Can Microsatellite Distribution Be Used to Classify Beta-Coronaviruses? 2nd Place in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology
Rhea S: Silent But Deadly: SmartM Detector to Reduce Food Waste 2nd Place in Electricity and Electronics Special Award: Energy Coalition Special Award: Los Angeles Society of Petroleum Engineers
Sailee C: How Much Plastic Are You Drinking? Detecting Microplastics in Drinking Water 2nd Place in Environmental Science/Environmental Engineering Special Award: Orange County Water District
Zoe T: Using Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate the Identification of Novel Treatment Targets for SARS-CoV-2 2nd Place in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology

2021 OCSEF Winners

JUNIOR DIVISION (STUDENTS IN GRADES 6-8)

Nacham A, 3rd Place, Microbiology & Cell Biology Matthew C, 1st Place, Botany Application Clara C, 2nd Place, Cognitive Science Alexandra I, 3rd Place, Physical Product Science Elena J, 2nd Place, Behavioral Sciences Nikita K, 3rd Place, Cognitive Science Shaurya M, 2nd Place, Mathematics & Software Phoebe M, 1st Place, Cognitive Science Cloris S, 2nd Place, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Melody Y, 1st Place, Electricity & Electronics

SENIOR DIVISION (STUDENTS IN GRADES 9-12)

Sabreen A, 2nd Place, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Anthony F, 3rd Place, Environmental Science Shrey G, 3rd Place, Physiology & Medical Biology Daichi H, Honorable Mention, Fluid & Aerodynamics Katherine H, 2nd Place, Electricity & Electronics Alex H, 3rd Place, Mathematics & Software Min K, 2nd Place, Mathematics & Software Tane K, 3rd Place, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Alex L, 2nd Place, Fluids & Aerodynamics Eric L, 2nd Place, Microbiology & Cell Biology Pranav M, 2nd Place, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Raghav M, 3rd Place, Biological Product Sciences Nithin P, 1st Place, Physiology & Medical Biology Ming Q, Honorable Mention, Mathematics & Software Dylan S, 1st Place, Mathematics & Software Lauren V, 2nd Place, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Andy X, Honorable Mention, Behavioral Sciences Langdan Z, 3rd Place, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

SPECIAL AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

Anthony F, CWEA, OC Water District, National Water Research Institute Katherine H, SPIE The International Society for Optics & Photonics David K, Harald Biessman Memorial Award Alex L, American Institute of Aerodynamics & Astronautics Chloe L, American Association for Clinical Chemistry Cloris S, American Association for Clinical Chemistry Melody Y, The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Chapman Award Langdan Z, Harald Biessman Memorial Award

2020 OCSEF Winners

Junior Division (Grades 6-8)	​Senior Division (Grades 9-12)
​Aryush, 6th Grade Orange County Water District Award	​Anshul Special Award, American Inst. of Aero/Astro
​Christine, 7th Grade 2nd Place, Microbiology and Cell Biology Broadcom MASTERS Qualifier	​Dylan, 9th Grade 1st Place, Math & Software
​Haaris, 7th Grade 1st Place, Microbiology and Cell Biology	​Katherine, 9th Grade Honorable Mention, Electricity & Electronics Broadcom MASTERS Qualifier
​Raghav, 8th Grade 1st Place, Biological Product Science	​Nithin, 10th Grade 1st Place, Electricity and Electronics
Ryan, 7th Grade 2nd Place, Electricity & Electronics Office of Naval Research Special Award	Sabreen, 10th Grade 1st Place, Biochemistry/Molecular Biology NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing
​Taeho, 7th Grade Honorable Mention, Energy Conversion