The 56th Annual Santa Barbara County Science Fair

The 56th Annual Santa Barbara County Science Fair was held on Friday, March 4, 2011 in UCSB’s Corwin Pavilion. This year’s Fair brought together over 140 students from across Santa Barbara County competing for over $4,000 in prizes as well as advancement to the California State Science Fair.

This year’s winners included:

●   Elizabeth Garfinkle (Garden Street Academy) - Best in Fair (Senior High) and Best in Division (Senior Life    Sciences): Is it a new species?

●   Ami Thakrar (La Colina Junior High) - Best in Fair (Junior High) and Best in Division (Junior Behavioral Sciences): Picture This!

●   Ethan Brier (Goleta Valley Junior High) - Best in Division   (Junior Mechanical Sciences): How to Maximize the Ability of a Solar Thermal Fluid Heater

●   Talia Cohen (Goleta Valley Junior High) - Best in Division (Junior EnvironmentalSciences): Is Your Dirt Healthy? The Effect of Additives on the Microbial Balance in Soil

●   Michael Feldman (Dos Pueblos High School) - Best in Division (Senior Physical Sciences): Simulating Effects of Bond Vibrations on Heat Capacity of a Gas

●   Diana Pasternak (La Colina Junior High) - Best in Division (Junior Microbiological Sciences): Evaluation of Different Antibodies for HER-2 Neu Status in Breast Cancer

●   Mark Raphael (La Colina Junior High) - Best in Division (Junior Biological   Sciences): The Leading Causes of Lung Cancer in Non-Smokers

 ●   John Ryan (La Colina Junior High) - Best in Division (Junior Physical Sciences):   The Science of Blood Splatter Analysis

In addition to the divisional and special awards, 24 of the top projects are qualified to compete in the California State Science Fair to be held in Los Angeles on May 2-3.

The Santa Barbara County Science Fair is organized by a volunteer committee and supported by local organizations including generous donations from the Institute for Energy Efficiency, Raytheon, and the Santa Barbara Science and Engineering Council.

For more information, please contact Shea Lovan at president [at] sbsciencefair [dot] org.