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OCSEF Announces 2024 Winners & Nominees for CA State Fair & Thermo Fisher JIC

The 69th Annual Orange County Science and Engineering Fair (OCSEF) celebrated its winners on Sunday, March 10 at Chapman University. Starting from August of last year, students were invited to submit their STEM projects for OCSEF 2024. This year, over 1,000 students from across Orange County participated, which was a 22% increase from last year

Woodbridge High School Student Katherine Hua’s AI-Powered Vision Aid Earns Recognition in Regeneron Science Talent Search

In a prestigious acknowledgment of scientific excellence, Katherine Hua, a 17-year-old student from Woodbridge High School, has been named among the top 300 scholars in the 2024 Regeneron Science Talent Search. The annual competition, founded in 1942, stands as the nation’s oldest and most esteemed science and math competition for high school seniors. The Regeneron

OCSEF Student Maya Gandhi Wins Thermo Fisher JIC Top Winners Award

Congratulations to our star student Maya Gandhi! Earlier this year Maya was announced among the 30 finalists in the 2023 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge — the nation’s premier STEM research competition for middle school students. Maya got to be flown to Washington, DC to participate in the Finals Week of the competition and

Ask A Scientist / Engineer

The OCSEF is providing an opportunity for students, grades 6-12, where you can ask questions and get guidance from a scientist or engineer about any aspect of your project.  The program is called  “Ask a Scientist/Engineer.” Register Here These are informal ONE hour events from 4 pm to 5 pm on selected Saturday’s.   OCSEF

OCSEF Student Maya Gandhi is a Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge Finalist

Society for Science has announced Maya Gandhi among the 30 finalists in the 2023 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge — the nation’s premier STEM research competition for middle school students. Maya, an 8th Grader at Fairmont Private School – Anaheim Hills Campus, entered the completion with her OCSEF project, titled “Optimizing Plant Microbial Fuel

Two New Videos Available on Picking a Topic for a STEM Project

Students and Educators  —  Check out the videos from the 2023 OCSEF summer workshops on picking a STEM topic for your science fair project.  Each video is about 40 minutes in length. “How to Choose a Science Project – Getting an Idea for a Topic!”  Explore a variety of science fair topics to identify topics that

Cultivating STEM leaders

The Orange County Science and Engineering Fair is sponsored by The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. Dr. Arnold Beckman’s interest in science began when he was 9 years old after he found a chemistry book in the family attic. Beckman ended up inventing the modern electronic pH meter and the Spectrophotomer, which, accrording to him,

An Interview with OCSEF’s Teacher of the Year for 2023: Travis Garwick

Travis Garwick, a STEM teacher at Warner Middle School, recently awarded Teacher of the Year at the 2023 Orange County Science and Engineering Fair (OCSEF). In an interview with Mr. Garwick, he shared his journey to becoming a teacher, his involvement with OCSEF, and his recommendation for students looking to create a successful project. Mr.

OCSEF Announces 2023 Winners!

The 68th Annual Orange County Science and Engineering Fair (OCSEF) celebrated its winners on Sunday, March 19 at Chapman University. After COVID-19 hit in 2020, this was the first time the award ceremony took place in person. Starting from August of last year, students were invited to submit their STEM projects for OCSEF 2023. By