The University of Georgia’s Food Science College Bowl Team is officially the best in the nation.
The team, made up of graduate and undergraduate students in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), won the Institute of Food Technologists Student Association’s (IFTSA) National College Bowl Championship.
The IFTSA College Bowl is an intercollegiate, quiz-bowl-style competition where food science students from across the U.S. and Canada demonstrate their technical knowledge of food science concepts and facts. This year’s championship was held in Chicago on July 17 at the IFT’s Annual Meeting.
This is the first time that the UGA college bowl team has won the IFTSA National College Bowl Championship since 2010.
“All year, this team has been very serious in their preparation for the national finals. It’s extremely gratifying for me to see that all of their hard work has finally paid off,” said Ron Pegg, CAES food science and technology professor and college bowl coach.
The UGA team was selected to go the national contest after winning the Southeastern IFTSA college bowl competition, where they bested college bowl teams from Alabama A&M, Auburn, Clemson and Mississippi State universities and the University of Florida. To win the national title, UGA beat the college bowl team from Purdue University in the final round of the championship.
The UGA Food Science College Bowl Team includes Anuj Purohit, Natalie Oswell, Daniel Seeler, Ginny Childs, Sarah Willett and Brittany Magdovitz.
Pegg and George Cavender, CAES food science and technology assistant professor, serve as the team’s coaches. Cavender was part of the UGA team that won the IFTSA National College Bowl Championship in 2010.
While it’s always nice to win, the IFTSA’s College Bowl Competition is intended to promote networking between food science students at different universities while providing a forum for friendly competition.
The CAES Office of Academic Affairs, CAES Department of Food Science and Technology, UGA Food Science Club and IFTSA support the UGA Food Science College Bowl Team.
For more information about opportunities in the CAES Department of Food Science and Technology, visit students.caes.uga.edu/undergraduate/majors/food-science.html.
