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National Science Bowl ®

National Science Bowl

The winning team from University High School in Irvine, California, took home the trophy in the L.A. regional round of the National Science Bowl on Jan. 25, 2020, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This is the third consecutive year they've won the regional competition. From left to right, Coach David Knight, James Chen, Nyle Wong, Nicholas Ouyang, Alissa Kopylova and Robert Ni.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The National Science Bowl® is a nationwide academic competition that tests students' knowledge in all areas of science. Competing teams from diverse backgrounds are composed of four students, one alternate and a teacher who serves as an advisor and coach. Coordinated by the Department of Energy, this tournament challenges high school students with questions about chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics and astronomy, as well as other areas, such as Earth and computer science.

Please note that all 2021 regional competitions will be held virtually.

The 2021 Los Angeles Regional Science Bowl, hosted virtually by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), will be held on Saturday, March 20, 2021,

Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis, determined by the date and timestamp of when your registration was submitted. To register your team, be sure first to locate the regional that is designated for your school.  Please note: Registrations are based on the location of your school. Please be sure to select the regional that is designated for your school’s state, county, city, or district.

Locations for the regional competitions can be found by viewing the following links:

High School Regional Competition Locations

Once you have located the regional for your school you may register by clicking here.

Each competing team consists of 4 or 5 student members, and all team members must attend the same school. Teams will not play head-to-head matches in the virtual regional competitions. Instead, teams are competing against all of the other teams in the competition. Each competition will have at least two preliminary rounds, in which each individual team will be read the same set of questions during each round. The teams with the highest combined point totals from all preliminary rounds will advance to the Elimination Tournament. The number of teams advancing to the Elimination Tournament will be decided by each Regional Coordinator.  Due to the unusual circumstances of a virtual competition, teams must agree to the following:

  • Each student must be available via computer with web camera or smartphone for a Zoom meeting (which will be password protected with hidden meeting IDs)
  • In addition, another device with a camera must also be on the Zoom call via the Zoom app, to show the student’s workspace and surrounding area during the competition, to help the officials ensure the students and coaches are not breaking any rules. If multiple students are in one location, additional cameras for each student may be required to ensure the workspace of each student can be monitored.
  • Each coach and co-coach may also be in the Zoom meeting. For each coach, another device with a camera must also be on the Zoom call via the Zoom app, to show the coach’s entire person from the side. Any other adults in the same room with the students should also have a camera facing them.

Further information on the U.S. Department of Energy 2021 National Science Bowl can be found on the following website: https://science.osti.gov/wdts/nsb

› Sample questions

Science Spotlight

Peter Hung - Science Bowl and Ocean Science Bowl, 2002, 2003, 2004 Arcadia High School

Current Position:
Member of the Technical Staff at the Aerospace Corporation

Peter Hung

He received his BS in Physics, and MS and PhD in Applied Physics from the California Institute of Technology where his work focused on a new paradigm for mass spectrometry using nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). By tracking the vibrational speed of nano-structures one thousand times smaller than the width of our hair, individual atoms and molecules can be quantified and identified. He currently works at the Aerospace Corporation, a nonprofit that runs a Federally Funded Research and Development Center dealing with national security space missions. By using his expertise in nano-systems, he helps the Aerospace Corporation provide guidance and advice to military, civil, and commercial customers to ensure the success of complex, technology-based programs.

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