January 27, 2001

For immediate release

Contact:  Steve Karsjen, Science Bowl coordinator, 515.294.5643
                 515.382.2671 (H)

Cedar Falls finishes second, Hempstead of Dubuque takes third

AMES, Iowa – Ames High School today won the regional Science Bowl sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University, marking the school’s fifth title in the 11-year history of the event.

"It was an extremely nerve racking experience," said Ames coach Kirk Daddow. "There were four teams that could have won it, luckily we were the one that did."

Cedar Falls High School of Cedar Falls took second place in the Ames Lab/ISU Science Bowl, while Hempstead High School of Dubuque took third. Forty-two Iowa high schools participated in the daylong competition, held in ISU’s Memorial Union. Each school was represented by a team of up to five students who answered questions from a broad range of science and math topics during the fast-paced event.

Ames High School now advances to DOE’s National Science bowl on May 4-7 in Washington, D.C. The Ames Lab/ISU Science Bowl is one of more than 60 regional Department of Energy competitions throughout the nation.

Cedar Falls was ahead of Ames by 52 points at the end of the first half of the championship round of the competition. "I told the rest of the team not to panic," said Dexter Chan, Ames’ team captain. "We only needed to answer four questions (each question is worth four points) and four bonus questions (each bonus question is worth 10 points) to win, and we did it."

"I think we’ll just rest for awhile," said an exhausted coach Daddow when describing his team’s strategy for preparing for the National Science Bowl. "After that, we’ll begin going over questions from other competitions we’ve been in and then start back in practicing two or three times per week."

The competing students answered questions dealing with astronomy, biology, physics, chemistry, computer science, earth science, general science and current events in the scientific and technical community. The 16 teams that fared best in the morning rounds advanced to a double-elimination competition in the afternoon.

Approximately 90 faculty and staff members from Ames Laboratory and ISU served as moderators, judges, timekeepers and scorekeepers during the event. In addition to Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University, sponsors include Pella Rollscreen, Rockwell, Barilla America, Inc. and Baymont Inn and Suites.

Since the inception of the DOE Science bowl in 1991, more than 60,000 students have participated in the regional and national competitions.

Ames Laboratory is operated for the Department of Energy by Iowa State University. The Lab conducts research into various areas of national concern, including energy resources, high-speed computer design, environmental cleanup and restoration, and the synthesis and study of new materials.

###

Last updated: 2/06/2001

Home | Comments | Search | Disclaimer