Ten teams representing biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics recently competed in the third annual "Geek Week."

 Four teams represented the Biology Department: Lab Gnomes; Romping Ribozymes; Bio Buytes; and Water Fleas.  Four teams also represented the Chemistry Department: Bad Acids; Slow Reaction; Semi-quantitative; and Titrating Titans.  Physics was represented by the Canadian Friction team, and Mathletes represented the Mathematics and Computer Science Department.

 "Geek Week" gives students a chance to build their own team of three to six students from the same major and compete with their peers in the four areas of science.  The winning teams has the bragging rights to say they are the "geekiest of all."

 The opening event was the "Physics Egg Drop," created by Pat Dudas, a senior physics major from Edinburg,  This event was won by the Lab Gnomes.

The second event, "Organ Identification," created by Laurel Swope and Bill Penwell, was also won by the Lab Gnomes. 

The third event was a challenge 24 tournament put together by Lauren Beichner and Lindsay Lutes of the Math Department; the final match of this tournament included the Mathletes from the Math Department defeating the Romping Ribozymes from the Biology Department.

The final event of Geek Week was "Hide and Seek," created by Aaron Bruck and Valerie Kokai of the Chemistry Department.  This event was won by the Lab Gnomes, making them the first place team, followed by Romping Ribozymes, and Bio Butyes and Mathletes tied for third place.
 
 A new feature, "Beat the Geeks," was added this year, which had science professors pitted against each other in a battle of trivia and wits.  The winners representing the Chemistry Department were Dr. Peter Smith and Dr. Helen Boylan.  The event ended with an awards luncheon, where the students announced their vote for the "Geek Professor of the Year:" Dr. Peter Smith.

 Contact Aaron Bruck at bruckad@westminstere.edu for more information.

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