A quartet of undergraduate students from The University of Texas at Dallas defended their title at the 2024 Brain Bowl, a quiz show-style contest, on April 30 at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio.
The Comets defeated opponents from UT San Antonio and Oberlin College and Conservatory in Ohio to win the competition for a fifth time. Philosophy senior Aamna Khan, neuroscience seniors Brett A. Lasater and Alina Dam, and neuroscience graduate Mahnoor Fatima BS’24 represented UT Dallas. Lasater and National Merit Scholars Khan and Dam are Hobson Wildenthal Honors College students in Collegium V.
Dr. Rukhsana Sultana, associate professor of instruction in neuroscience in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, again coached the UT Dallas team. She said it was exciting to see her students demonstrating their knowledge by competing with intercollegiate peers.
“This achievement not only highlights our students’ academic prowess, but also the importance of both a supportive and collaborative learning environment,” she said. “Through rigorous preparation and problem-solving, students developed essential teamwork and critical-thinking skills that are crucial for future success.”
Brain Bowl questions covered a range of topics, including neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, brain and behavior, neurochemistry, and drugs and the brain. The contest consisted of three rounds of questions of increasing complexity and then a final wager-based challenge question.
“Brain Bowl is an outlet to demonstrate a mastery of neuroscience. I think anyone who actively prepares and participates is going to greatly enhance their understanding of neuroscience — that’s probably the biggest benefit,” Lasater said. “As a cherry on top, it also looks great on a resume, especially if you leave with the trophy.”
Sultana met with the team for two hours each Saturday to practice and created homework assignments to write about a dozen questions on a weekly topic. Neuroscience graduates Aryan Verma BS’24 and George Kidane BS’24, team members in 2023, shared experiences and tips with the new team on the first day of practice.
“As the team’s mentor, witnessing their growth was incredibly fulfilling,” Sultana said. “We look forward to building on this success, empowering our students to excel academically and professionally in neuroscience and beyond.”
Khan credited Sultana for the team’s successful showing.
“We couldn’t have done it without the help of Dr. Sultana,” she said. “She was present for all of our review sessions and kept us motivated throughout our preparation. She also gave us confidence that we had prepared enough not just for the first three rounds but enough to answer the challenge round question correctly.”
Debate, Speech Teams Compete on National Stage
The University of Texas at Dallas debate and speech and forensics teams competed in national championship tournaments this spring.
The debate team qualified for the National Debate Tournament for the 22nd consecutive year. Only 78 teams qualify for the tournament each year.
“The National Debate Tournament is the longest running and the most prestigious of the national tournaments for debate,” said Scott Herndon, director of debate at UTD.
Two pairs of Comet competitors — history junior Adrian Sendejas and healthcare management senior Mahintha Karthik, and business administration senior Ari Karchmer and economics junior Rahul Penumetcha — both finished 4-4 at the event, held at Emory University in April. While they did not advance beyond the preliminary rounds, the students debated well and will return to the team next academic year, Herndon said.
Another team comprising political science senior Storm Lasseter and molecular biology graduate Hasan Mubarak BS’24 finished in the top 16 at the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) national tournament at California State University, Fullerton in March.
Mubarak was named to the CEDA All-American Debate Team; Lasseter was recognized in the top 20 individual speakers; and UTD finished second in its region for overall points.
Meanwhile, a UTD-record five members of the speech and forensics team competed in the National Speech Tournament, which was held at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in April.
International political economy senior Margaret Belford, information technology and systems senior Alexander De Jesus-Colon, computer science senior Sneha Elangovan, history and neuroscience graduate Arlin Khan BS’24, and biology senior Pranav Kumar represented UTD. Belford and De Jesus-Colon qualified for three events each, another first for UTD.
Dr. John C. Gooch, the team’s coach and associate professor of rhetoric and communication studies, hopes the speech and forensics squad, which began at UTD only six years ago, continues to grow.
“I feel proud of these students, and I can’t stress that enough,” he said. “They are a wonderful group with whom to work.”
Accolades is an occasional News Center feature that highlights recent accomplishments of The University of Texas at Dallas faculty, students and staff. To submit items for consideration, contact your school’s communications manager.