Orange County Register

Chapman food science students (bottom row, from left) Latha Murugesan, Emily Doti, Natasha Fazel and Danae Lucas and (top) Shannon Ruelle and James Stallings. Photo by Gary Robbins, The Register

David took on Goliath on Monday night in Anaheim and tossed him into a dessert cup, metaphorically speaking.

Food science students from Chapman University in Orange, which has fewer than 6,000 students, defeated a combined team from Washington State University and the University of Idaho  (about 36,000 students) in a difficult and bizarre College Bowl trivia contest sponsored by the Institute of Food Technologists Student Association.

Chapman didn’t win the whole enchilada; the team came in fourth out of eight from across the nation. But team members stumbled only after taking down WSU/UI, which has a combined food science program.

Before a panel of frequently confused and fickle judges, the schools  competed in a contest that posed such questions as: Which ion mediates smooth muscle contraction (calcium), and from what phrase was the word canola derived (Canadian oil, low acid).

Chapman competitor Emily Doti, niece of Chapman President James Doti

During the first 90 minutes of the contest, the judges had to reverse themselves three times when they were challenged by competitors. Turns out that the students had the right answer and the judges didn’t.

And at least two questions were tossed out because the moderator allegedly couldn’t hear due to audience noise. Actually, the moderator didn’t ask questions clearly and students were confused by the queries.

The only real dazzle was provided by students, notably Danae Lucas, a 23-year-old Chapman student from Huntington Beach who ticked off seven correct answers against WSU/UI. Lucas, a grad student, also challenged a judge when she was told she’d given a wrong answer. The judge overturned his decision.

“I’m kind of dork,” a smiling Lucas said after her stellar performance.

Her teammate, Emily Doti, told us by e-mail shortly before midnight:

“Alas, we did not finish in first place. We finished in fourth, just behind Texas A&M. In our final match we lost by four points (or one question). The final question was,

Q: What are the common microorganisms that that cause spoilage in meat?

A: Pseudomonas.”

The night’s top winners:

1st place: North Carolina State
2nd place: Iowa State
3rd place: Texas A&M

By the way, if you think the aforementioned questions were easy, try answering some of the study questions the students dealt with. The answers are at the bottom of this post.

• 1. Name three microorganisms discovered by Robert Koch
• 2. What is the predominant flavor component of clove?
• 3. What is the RDI of iron?

Did you miss …

• Cal Poly Pomona cancels class, affecting O.C. students
• UCI freezes faculty hiring as budget cut soars to $55 million
• 31,500 student spots could be eliminated at O.C. community colleges
• How state budget crisis might affect O.C. college students
• UCI endowment — a key source of scholarships — plunges $45 million
• As O.C. public colleges shrink, Chapman grows
• UCI legend pushes back against Parkinson’s disease
• UC Irvine asks Obama for $150 million in stimulus money

Quiz answers:

• 1: Bacillus anthracis, microbacterium tuberculosis, vibrio cholera
• 2: Eugenol (along with 2-heptanone)
• 3: 18 milligrams

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