After beating a regional powerhouse, ISU students are set to compete at the national Food Science College Bowl.

A team of six ISU students, part of the Food Sciences and Human Nutrition program, will travel to Chicago to compete in the Institute of Food Technologies (IFT) National Food Science College Bowl on July 14.

Getting to the national competition required the team to win the IFT North Central Regional competition, held April 5 at Kansas State University.

At the regional competition Iowa State topped the University of Minnesota, winner of last year’s national college bowl and frequent winner of the regional competition since 1985, said Elizabeth Lenihan, graduate student in food sciences and human nutrition.

“In the region, they’re the top competition,” Lenihan said.

This is the second time in recent years the ISU team has qualified to compete at the national level.

Two years ago, they won the regional contest and placed third at nationals.

Dr. Anthony Pometto, professor of food science and human nutrition and co-coach of the team, said competition is fierce.

“It’s a very competitive game,” he said. “Often the questions are only half asked before the buzzer is hit.”

The buzzer is hit by students during the competition, Jeopardy style, in order to answer a question. In the contest, student teams are quizzed on general and specific knowledge relating to food science and human nutrition.

Pometto is very positive about the chances of this year’s team.

“This team is the most balanced team I’ve ever worked with. We’ll be very, very competitive this year,” he said.

The students on the team echoed some of his sentiments.

“We all rely on one another to have knowledge in specific areas,” Lenihan said. “I’m more of a chemistry person,” she said.

Although a team from Iowa State has been competing for more than 15 years, it is only recently they have become so competitive, said Dr. Mark Love, professor of human sciences and nutrition and co-coach of the team. Their rise, he said, seems to be a combination of several factors.

“[It’s a combination of] harder work, better and brighter students and improvements in the curriculum,” Love said.

More realistic practice sessions also seemed to have helped, Pometto said. Adding a buzzer to their training has improved the students’ reflexes, he said.

“Our students get a chance to hit the buzzer,” he said. “[The contest is a] combination of knowledge and reflexes.”

Competing brings benefits to the students beyond the contest itself, including better job prospects when they leave Iowa State, Pometto said.

“If a company knows they went to nationals to compete it really says something to the company,” Pometto said. “It’s one of the top things I’d tell them to get involved with.”