SC teams compete in Energy Department science bowl

AIKEN, S.C. (AP) — America’s next generation of scientists and engineers are putting their knowledge to the test

Teams from across South Carolina are competing in Aiken on Saturday in a round of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl. They’re vying for a chance to attend the final competition in Washington.

The competition is using the same format as the game show “Jeopardy.”

The U.S. Department of Energy manages the Savannah River Site near Aiken.

The 310-square-mile site once produced plutonium and tritium for atomic bombs. Work there is now focused mostly on research and cleaning up areas of the site contaminated during weapons production and sealing off former reactor sites with concrete.