Teachers are tops at challenge
By ALDRICH TAN/Enterprise correspondent, October 1, 2004

A group made up largely of Davis teachers captured the top prize Thursday at the Corporate Science Challenge, surprising themselves by defeating professional scientists.

More than 300 participants in 38 teams gathered in Freeborn Hall on the UC Davis campus to participate in the Explorit Science Center's 13th annual Corporate Science Challenge to raise funds for the center.

"Davis High School has good science teachers," said Jill Deikman, a member of the Monsanto-Calgene team that captured the Serious Scientists division but took second place overall to the teachers, who were on a team sponsored by Coldwell Banker-Doug Arnold Real Estate.

Also Thursday, Explorit director Suzanne Ullensvang announced the city's approval last month of the science center's planning application and land lease for its new building. The 7,248-square-foot building will be visible from Interstate 80.

"We will be able to have double the amount of space we currently have available," she said.

Ground will be broken in spring and the building should be complete by 2006, Ullensvang said.

Thursday's program began with Jonsson and Sons presenting a $50,000 check to Explorit for the new building. The research foundation issued a challenge to the Davis community to match it.

"The problems of the world aren't going to be solved by soldiers and armies," said Mark Jonsson, a member of the Explorit board of trustees since 1999. "They are going to be solved by scientists. We need to encourage young people to be excited about science."

As participants waited for the competition to begin, they bid on various items at the event's silent auction. Items included a portable planetarium and wine from local wineries. Auction coordinator and Explorit volunteer Jennifer Perkins called the auction a success.

"It's a great way for people to get items that they want and know that the money is going to a good cause," she said. "It's a win-win situation for everyone."

Cal State Sacramento team member Kathryn Stanton hovered over a hat autographed by former Sacramento Kings player Vlade Divac.

"I promised that hat to somebody," she said.

At 7:30 p.m., the silent auction ended and the Challenge began. A multimedia program created by Axiom and eMotion Video introduced six rounds of multiple-choice questions. Each team had 20 seconds to write down their answers and submit them to Explorit volunteers.

The questions increased in difficulty through six rounds and correct answers increased in increments of 50 points every round. The topics ranged from questions pertaining to the number 13 to the origins of objects. Event chairwoman Beth Gabor said former Explorit board member Evelyn Buddenhagen has spent the past year researching and writing the questions.

In between Rounds 2 and 4, auctioneer Brit McLin auctioned off four UC Davis employees as science experts with specialized knowledge in certain areas. Experts participated in their auctioned teams in the next two rounds and helped them answer questions.

This year's experts were Barry Klein, UC Davis vice chancellor of research; Ted Molinski, professor of chemistry; Alexandra Navrotsky, professor of chemical engineering and materials science; and Dawn Sumner, associate professor of geology. Experts went for as high as $900 this year.

"I hope I can give the teams that I'm auctioned off to some of the right answers," Sumner said after being sold to the Stephen Bick and Jill Slater team for $800.

At the end of the Challenge, Bob Bowen, promotions manager for the city of Davis and program emcee, distributed four awards. The first two awards were team spirit awards.

Granite Construction, equipped with noisemakers, was declared the most spirited team and received bottled Martian water from the UC Davis geology department. The best-dressed team was the Mars Corp., where team members wore wizard hats. It received Aggie Pack flex passes.

With a score of 5,150 points, the Monsanto-Calgene team won the Serious Scientists division. The team consisted of scientists Jon Oakes, Toni Voelker, Ken Gruys, Jill Deikman, Lori Lehman, AJ Nava, Ellen Evans and technical supporter Troy Quigg.

"We were synergistic and cooperative and relied on our own intuitions," Gruys said of his team.

Team Coldwell Banker won first place in the Just for Fun division and bested the Monsanto team with a score of 5,300 points. The team consisted of Coldwell Banker agent and teacher Rikki Davenport, Davis High School teachers Andan Bailey and Patrick McGrew, DHS counselor Jennifer Elmore, DHS Principal Mike Cawley, Emerson Junior High science teacher Gary Slizeski, and Delta College chemistry Professor Phil Reedy.

"I still can't believe that we beat the scientists," Reedy said. "Never in my wildest imagination did I think that we could pull this off."

Monsanto team member Jill Deikman was proud of the winning team.

"Our team has teenagers in Davis so they will be really excited to hear that their teachers won," she said.

Ullensvang hopes more participants will come next year.

"It is all about encouraging science education in our community," she said.