Orange County Branch Newsletter

July 2019

ASCE OC K-12 Outreach

Orange County Science and Engineering Fair

By Victor Aguirre | K-12 Co-Chair

On Saturday, March 21, ASCE OC Branch & YMF participated in the 64^th Annual Orange County Science and Engineering Fair (OCSEF) at the Anaheim Expo Center. Over 200+ middle and high school students from various regions of Orange County presented their projects and models to judges with STEM backgrounds.

ASCE OC members had the opportunity to volunteer as judges in the subjects of Earth Science, Physical Science, Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering and Zoology. Our judges were amazed in the vast variety of projects, presentations and ideas that would contribute to a safe and sustainable future.

The variety of projects ranged from potable and storm water treatment devices, robots that would clean the depths of rivers and oceans, biodegradable plastics, coding and artificial intelligence for predicting wildfires, sprinkler systems that would protect homes from wildfires and many more. Many of the students demonstrated passion and competence in their subjects of research and explained the means and methods of improving their projects for future engineering and science fairs.

We want to give a special thank you to the Director of Judging Stephen Hobbs for his invitation and coordination with us over the weeks prior to the event and Jennifer Marks for assisting us in the process of grading and judging the students’ projects. We also want to thank our ASCE OC members Jared Lindo, Guillermo “Memo” Medina, and Victor Aguirre for taking part as judges in an event that is meant to inspire the future leaders in STEM.

(L to R) ASCE OC members Jared Lindo, Guillermo “Memo” Medina, and Victor Aguirre participated as OCSEF judges!

---