UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A team of Penn State graduate students recently secured first place in the national 2023 Entomology Games, marking the first time a school from the eastern division earned the honor.
The games are a quiz bowl-style competition where students must answer questions covering a range of topics including economic and applied entomology; interactions between insects and plants; biological control; behavior and ecology; morphology and physiology; biochemistry and toxicology; systematics and evolution; and medical, urban and veterinary entomology.
The Entomological Society of America’s 34th annual Entomology Games took place Nov. 5–7 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
“Our team had incredible synergy,” said Adam Scherr, the group’s team captain and a second-year master’s student studying entomology. “If one of us was unable to answer a question, another person picked it up quickly. It was a lot of fun, and I am really happy with how we performed.”
Nine Penn State students won additional awards in the presentation and poster competitions, including both Scherr and Anne Johnson, a fifth-year doctoral degree student studying entomology, whose posters covered ecology and invasive species, respectively. Penn State student presentations covered several topics including toxicology, climate change and medical entomology, which addresses issues related to disease.
The Penn State team consisted of members Scherr; Johnson; Alison Jennings, a first-year master’s student studying entomology; Valeria Lee, a first-year doctoral student studying entomology; Codey Mathis, a fourth-year doctoral student studying entomology; and Jamie Spychalla, a fourth-year doctoral student studying plant pathology.
Previously, the team won first place in the Entomology Games at the Entomological Society of America’s eastern branch conference in March, which qualified them to compete in the national games.
Beginning in late summer, the team prepared by answering practice questions and studying together once a week. During the month leading up to the national competition, they started practicing biweekly.
“We kept with the tradition we established before the eastern branch competition and quizzed each other with flash cards during the entire car ride to the national games,” Scherr said.
In addition to the formal topics, which are announced in advance of the games, the team was also quizzed on insect references in popular culture, entomological history and general trivia about the Entomological Society of America.
After passing the preliminary rounds on Nov. 5, the team prepared to compete in the finals, which were held Nov. 7.
“During the finals, we got up there and everything was flowing,” Mathis said. “I remember thinking that no matter what happened, I was proud to be on that stage during the finals and proud of all of the work that we put in.”
The group was supported by a crowd of other Penn State students who were also in attendance at the conference and competed in various presentation categories.
“Our student section at the Entomology Games was amazing,” Scherr said. “Our students filled in all the tables at the front of the auditorium, and they were easily the loudest group cheering and applauding during the competition. It was really special to hear them burst into cheers when we took home the first-place victory. It made me proud to be a Penn Stater.”