CVUSD Scholars Achieve Top Awards in 2026 Ventura County Science Fair

On Friday, March 27th, the winners of the 2026 Ventura County Science Fair were announced at an awards ceremony at the Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE) in Camarillo. Awards were presented in a variety of scientific categories, including microbiology, engineering, and chemistry.

Forty-nine projects created by CVUSD scholars from Thousand Oaks High School (28), Los Cerritos Middle School (8), Sequoia Middle School (8), Newbury Park High School (3), Westlake High School (1), and Sycamore Canyon School (1), were winners across a variety of special awards and categories. Click here to see the complete list of Ventura County Science Fair winners - including our CVUSD scholars’ winning project titles and categories.

The winning entries were selected by about 80 local science, engineering, and education professionals who volunteered their time as judges.

The Science Fair was held on March 20 at the VCOE conference center in Camarillo. Nearly 500 students from middle and high schools throughout Ventura County submitted more than 300 projects for this year’s Science Fair. Students prepared displays explaining their experiments and then gave oral presentations to the judges who evaluated their work. 

Highest Scorers are Headed to the State Science Fair

CVUSD students from Thousand Oaks High School and Westlake High School comprise 14 of the 35 highest-scoring entrants in the Ventura County Science Fair, and will advance to the California Science & Engineering Fair, which will be held at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks on April 11 and 12. This is the second year in a row that the California Science & Engineering Fair will be held in Ventura County.

Congratulations to the following CVUSD scholars on this phenomenal achievement:

• Ana Cifuentes, Thousand Oaks High School
• Ariana Joel, Thousand Oaks High School
• Changwoo Lee, Westlake High School
• Dany Shalhoub, Thousand Oaks High School
• David Li, Thousand Oaks High School
• Harmony Pandey, Thousand Oaks High School
• Isabella Bass, Thousand Oaks High School
• Josiah Kay, Thousand Oaks High School
• Josie Miller, Thousand Oaks High School
• Kayden Bergstrom, Thousand Oaks High School
• Mia Escalante, Thousand Oaks High School
• Michael Teo, Thousand Oaks High School
• Olivia Johnson, Thousand Oaks High School
• Safwan Ali, Westlake High School

International Science and Engineering Fair

For the fourth consecutive year, a The Center for Advanced Studies and Research at Thousand Oaks High School student has earned the honor of being the one Ventura County Science Fair participant selected to compete in the prestigious International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), which will take place in Phoenix, Arizona, from May 9 to 15. A huge congratulations to Olivia Johnson, 12th grade Lancer, for achieving this honor with her project, titled: Investigating the Synergistic Effect of Ivermectin and C-Phycocyanin on Cell Viability and Clonogenic Capacity in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.
 

More about the Ventura County Science Fair

Presented annually by the Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE), the Ventura County Science Fair is designed to promote and reward the achievements of our students in various scientific fields. With categories from animal sciences to physics, the event develops skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to help students lay the groundwork for future success.

The Science Fair brings together students, teachers, and scientists from around Ventura County to give students an awareness of the importance of science in their lives and to cultivate their interest in science careers. The Science Fair enhances students’ scientific knowledge and research skills, reinforces science content standards for California public schools, and recognizes outstanding student achievement. It also motivates students to undertake and complete scientific inquiries in their unique areas of interest.