OC Tech on Target; Sage Hill’s Science Scholar; Early Picks

Anyone who doubts that science and technology are all over the place—or that Orange County is all over tech—can check our Chris Casacchia’s front-page piece on the CES show in Las Vegas. No shortage of OC companies providing ever-stronger links between tech and everyday consumer products and habits. Casacchia pounded the show floor to come up with an overview that illustrates how the unique blend of industry here seems to be an ideal fit for the trend … The blend and trend should be good for another generation here, thanks to OCers such as Claire Goul, who still has some hurdles to clear but also has some family history going for her as one of 300 national semifinalists for the Intel Science Talent Search, a pre-eminent precollege competition overseen by the Washington, D.C.-based Society for Science & the Public. The teen can already lay claim to being the first representative in the competition from Sage Hill School in Newport Coast, where an accelerated biology class inspired her “Phasor-Fluorescence Lifetime Analysis of Cancer Cell Metabolism During Cell Cycle Progression.” About $1 million in scholarships will go to this year’s finalists, who also will take a trip to the White House. That’s where Goul’s grandfather—Newport Coast hedge funder and erstwhile MIT whiz kid Ed Thorp—found himself back in 1949 when he met President Harry Truman as a finalist in the same competition … Another investment in the future tracks back to OC, thanks to the Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering for Rising Stars) program that’s presented by the Society for Science & the Public and sponsored by the Irvine-based chipmaker and the family of its cofounder Henry Samueli. Broadcom offers various awards—topped by the $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize—for sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders in a bid to “encourage the nation’s young scientists, engineers and innovators” …. Some early picks for 2015: Best mixed media art work (counting plant life and sunlight): “Grace” by Terry Thornsley, funded by the city of Laguna Beach as part of its Art in Public Places program. It’s in front of the lifeguard station near the stairway that leads from the boardwalk to the Inn at Laguna Beach … Best cowboy: Tony Moiso, as seen on the January page of Rancho Mission Viejo’s annual calendar … Best exposure: the play that Carl Chang, founder and chief executive of Rancho Santa Margarita-based pizzeria chain Pieology, got recently in the Wall Street Journal, which asked several restaurant industry folks about McDonald’s latest plan to win back young customers from “fast casual” success stories. Chang advised the granddaddy of fast food to get back to basics and revel in its traditional standing rather than trying to compete on the newcomers’ terms. “There’s an opportunity for McDonald’s to execute at a higher level and dominate the niche they’ve long held,” said Chang, whose outfit has about 50 locations compared with 35,000 or so for McDonald’s … Early calendar pick: The World Affairs Council of Orange County’s Jan. 21 dinner, with Paul Bremer, former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, slated for a talk titled “America, Still the Indispensable Nation: A Reflection on America’s Global Role Post-Iraq and Afghanistan.” Call (949) 253-5751 or visit worldaffairscouncil.org for more information.