UC Davis takes second place at 41st Annual IFT College Bowl
Student team competes in academic food science quiz competition
What do cereal mascots and atomic absorption spectroscopy have in common? Both are fair game in the annual College Bowl Competition hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists Student Association, or IFTSA. Started in 1985, College Bowl is a team-based quiz competition about food science spanning universities throughout the United States and Canada.
In July, a team of five proudly represented UC Davis at the national finals in Chicago, Illinois.
The spark of an idea
Elen Huang moved to Davis in 2025 to pursue her graduate degree in food science. She previously competed at College Bowl as an undergraduate and noticed that UC Davis did not have an active team, after waning interest over the past few years. She knew what an incredible experience and opportunity College Bowl provided students and was determined to bring it back.
In November, she met Angela Weber, a second-year graduate student in food science, who shared a similar vision of building a competitive team and reigniting student interest in College Bowl. Angela had also competed as an undergrad, serving as a team captain for UC Davis in 2022.
Both Elen and Angela aimed to build a collaborative team, make connections with fellow food science enthusiasts, and foster a positive group learning experience. At the time, they had no idea how far they would go.
Building the team
The co-captains started from scratch and recruited students at food science events on campus. Any undergraduate or graduate student interested in food science can join. They built their team with Crystal Mai, a third-year food science major; Karina Miao, a first-year food science major; and Jesselyn Zhang, a second-year nutrition major.
In December, they began practicing weekly and also on their own. Without a faculty advisor or coach, the teammates embraced a collaborative, peer-mentorship structure to curate knowledge together. It was challenging to carve out the time between busy schedules, but they wanted to build a space that would enrich the food science community at UC Davis
What is College Bowl?
College Bowl is an intense but fun trivia-based tournament testing student knowledge on topics including food chemistry and analysis, microbiology, sensory science, nutrition, packaging, laws and regulations, and other industry-related topics.
No single team member needs to know all the answers. The strongest teams have diverse knowledge and bring different strengths to the competition, making it a true team effort. For example, co-captains Elen and Angela have more years of academic classes, but Crystal, Karina and Jesselyn are stronger in culinology, muscle biology and fun trivia.
While memorization is great for an exam, their repetitive practice and connecting facts with bigger theories helped everyone learn at a deeper level. Over time, they grew closer as a team and taught each other knowledge beyond their everyday studies.
Both Elen and Angela attributed practice sessions with elevating their understanding of a wider breadth of food science topics, refreshing core knowledge, and even impacting how they approach their research projects.
The first test
In March, they had their first chance to compete. Regionals were held at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. The team of five traveled thanks to L.A.W. Support Fund for Food Science Student Experience, established by UC Davis alumna Jackie Beckley and husband Leslie Herzog, in honor of Jackie’s mother Laurie Ann Wisnoski.
They competed against seven other teams from across the Pacific Northwest region, including California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and British Columbia and Alberta in Canada. It was a tiring day with multiple rounds, each lasting around 30 minutes. After only three months as a team, they were surprised but elated that they not only did well, but came in first, becoming the Pacific Northwest Champion and qualifying to compete at the national finals in July.
Heading to the finals
Nationals takes place each summer at the annual event and expo, IFT FIRST. Each of the eight regional university champions across the United States and Canada came together to compete. Some of the rapid-fire questions are straightforward and must be answered within 5 seconds, while more challenging bonus questions allow 15 seconds.
The team navigated a grueling schedule of around five 30-minute bouts, progressing to the final against the University of Illinois. Some of the questions throughout the rounds were difficult, and some were surprising, including:
Q: Name three FDA-approved anti-caking agents.
A: Silicon dioxide, magnesium silicate, calcium silicate
Q: In what two US states is it illegal to hold an ice cream cone in your back pocket?
A: Kentucky and Georgia
Q: What are the four specific reagents used in Gram staining?
A: Alcohol, iodine, crystal violet, safranin
Q: What do the acronyms AAS, ICP-AES, and HPLC related to food analysis stand for?
A: Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy, High-Performance Liquid Chromatography
At the end of the final round, the UC Davis team came in second. An amazing feat for a newly formed team that had been practicing for only seven months!
“For us, our goal was to just have fun,” Elen shared. “This was our first time competing at the national level, so being there was an accomplishment in itself. Winning 2nd place in the nation was just a bonus. What makes it truly special is the community that IFTSA cultivates. Our team networked with talented students from universities across the nation and beyond.”
What’s next?
When asked what comes next, Angela said, “Getting more students interested! We’ve proven that UC Davis can advance to the finals. We’re hoping to provide future teams with stability and continuity. This year was a test trial, but it’s just the beginning.”
Elen and Angela will continue to be involved with the College Bowl team and hope to expand participation in other product development competitions hosted by IFTSA. They encourage any interested students to email Elen Huang.
If you would like to help support student involvement in College Bowl and other extracurricular learning experiences, please give a gift to the L.A.W. Support Fund for Food Science Student Experience.