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Los Cerritos Middle, Thousand Oaks High & Westlake High Students Earn Top Awards in Ventura County Science Fair

Five hundred entries, 120 volunteers, 30 school advisors and limitless creativity were all part of the 68th annual Ventura County Science Fair that was held on March 24th in Camarillo. It was the first time the Ventura County Office of Education hosted event took place in person since 2019. 

Awards were presented in 13 scientific categories including microbiology, engineering and chemistry. The winning entries were chosen by 120 local science, engineering and education professionals who volunteered their time to serve as judges. 

Students from Los Cerritos Middle School, Thousand Oaks High School and Westlake High School were amongst the top award recipients:

  • Special Award - California Natural Resources Group

    • Thousand Oaks High School: Baptiste, Rohith and Dominic for Project: Constructing an Autonomous Solar Panel Cleaning Robot to Increase Energy Projection

  • Special Award - American Petroleum Institute, California Coast Chapter

    • Los Cerritos Middle School: Aidan for Project: The Smallest Steamboat

  • Biochemistry 3rd Place High School Winner

    • Thousand Oaks High School: Ramon for Project: The Effect of Varying Concentrations of Isonicotinamide on Extending the Chronological Lifespan of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Yeast

  • Botany 1st Place Middle School Winner

    • Los Cerritos Middle School: Mira for Project: The Role of Plants in Reducing Wind Erosion

  • Chemistry 1st Place Middle School Winner

    • Los Cerritos Middle School: Mikaela for Project: Analyzing the Impact of Overcooking

  • Earth Space and Environmental Sciences 1st Place Middle School Winner

    • Los Cerritos Middle School: Layla for Project: Small in Size, Huge in Impact: Plastics and Microplastics in our California Beaches

  • Engineering 3rd Place Middle School Winner

    • Los Cerritos Middle School: Evan for Project: Solar Planes: Is Solar-Powered Flight the Future of Aviation?

  • Engineering 1st Place and 2nd Place High School Winners

    • Thousand Oaks High School - First Place: Baptiste, Rohith and Dominic for Project: Constructing an Autonomous Solar Panel Cleaning Robot to Increase Energy Projection

    • Thousand Oaks High School - Second Place: Ben for Project: Effect of Chat GPT on Student Education in the Conejo Valley

  • Human Behavioral and Social Science 1st and 2nd Place High School Winners

    • Thousand Oaks High School - First Place: Emily for Project: The Feasibility and Public Perception of Implementing AED Drones Into EMS Systems

      • **Emily was selected as the 2023 Regeneron ISEF Science Fair Participant for Ventura County. This means she and her project will have the opportunity to compete at the prestigious International Science and Engineering Fair, which will take place in Dallas in May. 

    • Thousand Oaks High School - Second Place: Evan for Project: The Efficiency of Virtual Reality Skill Learning and Transfer to Real Life

  • Human Biology / Medicine & Health Sciences 1st Place High School Winner:

    • Westlake High School: Max for Project: Identifying Extracellular Action Potentials from Brain Organoids on Multi-Electrode Arrays in Real-Time to Study the Electrophysiology of Neurons

  • Mathematics, Computer Science and Electronics 1st Place Middle School Winner

    • Los Cerritos Middle: Safwan for Project: Utilizing Java Program to Accurately Identify the Instrument and Pitch of Musical Samples

  • Mathematics, Computer Science and Electronics 1st Place High School Winner

    • Thousand Oaks High School: Ian and Brycan for Project: Using an Emotion Detection Algorithm to Help Output Advice Focused on Improving Student Emotional Health

  • Microbiology 2nd Place High School Winner

    • Thousand Oaks High School: Carter, Ryan and Roman for Project: Effects of the Toxicity of Oxybenzone on Sea Urchin Sperm, To Measure Effects on Reproductive Potential

  • Product Science 1st Place Middle School Winner

    • Los Cerritos Middle: Nandhitha for Project: The Topping Top Coat (Product)


Click here to view the complete list of winners. The top-scoring middle and high school projects will now head to the California Science and Engineering Fair.

About the Ventura County Science Fair
With categories from animal sciences to physics, the Ventura County Science Fair is designed to promote and reward the achievements of our students in various scientific fields. By developing skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, students are laying the groundwork for their 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 special areas of interest.