Teen wins contest for second year in a row

THE ART OF SCIENCE—The image of a man holding the world above his head as he surfs on a wave of solar panels will be the official poster of the 52nd annual Ventura County Science Fair next spring. The artist, Westlake High School freshman, Cohgerg Ng, 14, won the science fair poster contest for the second time. For the second year in a row, 14-year-old Cohberg Ng of Thousand Oaks is the winner of the Ventura County Science Fair poster contest.

The Westlake High School freshman’s artwork, inspired by the 2006 Science Fair’s theme, “Science Makes the World Go ‘Round,” was judged the best by a panel of local science teachers from among more than 160 entries countywide.

Ng’s image of a young man holding the earth over his head as he surfs on a wave of solar panels will be featured in posters, fliers and packets publicizing the 52nd annual Ventura County Science Fair that is scheduled for April 4 to 6 at Seaside Park, Ventura.

As an eighth-grader at Colina Intermediate School in Thousand Oaks, Ng won the 2005 poster contest for the fair, whose theme was “The Joy of Science.”

Like his parents Paul and Noreen, Cohberg has exhibited a passion for science. His father is an epidemiologist who studies infectious diseases and his mother is an operational researcher.

Last July, Cohberg was one of only two eighth-grade graduates statewide to attend the California State Summer School in Mathematics and Science at UC Davis, a rigorous, month-long residential program for talented and motivated high school students, who enroll in courses designed to introduce them to subjects not traditionally offered in high school. Cohberg took classes in robotics and computer science.

“It was a wonderful experience,” he said. “It was very challenging but it gave me the opportunity to explore new things. That’s why I love science. It’s such a broad field; there are always new things to explore.”