Legendary plant biochemist Eric Conn (1923-2017) in his office in Briggs Hall during his earlier years.You won't want to miss this. It promises to be a memorable event.
Sixty UC Davis undergraduate students, divided into 12 teams with such names as "Green Team," "Amigo Acids" and "Attack on Titration," will compete in the first-ever EricConnBiochemistry Quizzes, which will get underway on Zoom at 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 20.
“This will be a fun activity and one that memorializes the legendary plant biochemist Eric Conn (1923-2017), renowned in his field,” said organizer and coordinatorWalterLeal, UC Davis distinguished professor of molecular and cellular biology and a former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology.
Conn, a UC Davis emeritus professor of molecular and cellular biology, "was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and his leadership at UC Davis helped establish the academic spirit of the College of Biological Sciences as it exists today," Lealsaid. "He strongly believed that a university professor should excel in both research and teaching.”
The public can register to view the event by logging in athttps://tinyurl.com/y33eyc4v. It may become an annual event.
Initially, 40 students registered to compete—five per team—but the response was so overwhelming that Leal added four more teams. The first eight teams to register will compete on camera, while the other four teams will play “off tube.”
“I created the word in reference to the old TV set (a tube) to say that they will not be on camera,” Leal quipped. “These teams will play simultaneously with the teams playing on camera. We will have a scorekeeper, Radek Abarca, who will keep track of their response in real-time.”
The initial teams sport such names as Green Team, Amigo Acids, Proline Pros, Drop the Base, Krebs Cyclists, Gibbs Team, Attack on Titration, and Ironic Bonds. The other teams are named A, B, C and D.
“Team A will play along with the Proline Pros, and Team D will play along with Drop the Base,” Leal said. “Next, Team B will play along with the Krebs Cyclists,” and Team C will play with the Gibbs Team.”
The first 40 students to register introduce themselves, their majors and their hometowns in videos posted onLeal'sTwitter account, @wsleal2014.
Thefirst gamepits the Green Team vs. the Amigo Acids and includesAlmasKhan, ChristopherYun, MaxFallejo, Kathryn Vallejo, Alvin Kim,CaidonIwuagwu, JeffreyToman,KarsenCulverhouse, Matthew Kim, andSudevNamboordiri. OnLeal'svideo, each also names his or her favorite amino acid.
In the second game, it's the Proline Pros vs. Drop the Base. Participants are Alyse Lodigiani, AnthonyWeidner,AaditiGaikwad,BaninAlofi, JenniferKang, RachelLevan,AnishWadhwa,Ian Guzman,VirajDeshpandeand Yu-ukiOnda.
Thethird gamestars the Krebs Cyclists vs. the Gibbs Team. Participants are Joseph Morrison,Addison Ali, Alan SantanaCortezMolina,ShiwaniKC, Frances Gross, Natalie Six,Yasamin“Yasi”Parsa, BrandonMatsumoto, TinaLuuandEshaUrs.
In thefourth game,the Attack on Titration will clash with the Ironic Bonds. Participants areCharlizeMitra, Kelly Kim, MayaMysore,LizethMacias, SuzanneQuiroz,Natanie“Tonie” Leech,JiayingLiu, Catherine Rodriguez, Lauren Hartwell and Kelly Brandt.
Participating students are from as far away as the City of Pune (India), Yokohama (Japan), Nanjing (China), and as close as the City of Davis. Other students hail fromCupertino, Los Angeles, Redwood City, Santa Monica, Palmdale, Irvine, Redding, Sacramento, Fairfield, Cupertino, San Jose, San Diego, San Ramon, Elk Grove, San Lorenzo, Lincoln, El Centro, Santa Rosa, Oakland, Roseville, Tracy, and Martinez in California, and Long Island in New York, among the many other municipalities.
“Each team of five players will be given three questions,”Lealsaid. “They will have one minute to confer while we hear stories about EricConn; see videos from staff, faculty and alumni and UC Davis friends; and watch public service messages on health topics such asCOVID-19 and diabetes.”
College of Biological Sciences (CBS) faculty will ask questions via video.EmeritiProfessors ClarkLagariasand Charles Gasser will judge the competition. The schedule also includesCBSProfessor JudyCallisdelivering a brief remembrance ofConn, andCBSDean MarkWineyoffering a message of encouragement to the students.
In her video, Dr. Allison Brashear, dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, addresses theCOVID-19 pandemic and vaccines. Also planned:footagesof favorite campus sites that students miss the most, and “even accounts of how departments were named in the old days,”Lealsaid. Plant pathologist GeorgeBruening, professor emeritus, Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, will be among the faculty featured in the clips.
Conn, a member of the UC Davis faculty for 43 years, was the third recipient of the UC Davis Prize for Teaching and Scholarly Achievement. Described as an excellent teacher and researcher,Connreceived the Academic Senate's Distinguished Teaching Award in 1974 and the Academic Senate's highest honor, the Faculty Research Lecturer Award, in 1977. He won the UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement in 1989. Seehttps://youtu.be/TdwJkcjQvbw.
