The Answer: Who is Joon Pahk?

S. Joon Pahk '00 teaches science to undergrads at Harvard, so it's fair to guess that he's a pretty smart guy.

Everyone who tuned in to Jeopardy! for the past two nights saw definite evidence of Pahk's smarts. After making it through the competitive audition process for the show, Pahk emerged victorious in two rounds of Jeopardy! this week, already earning $79,000 over the two episodes. He will continue his run tonight.

Pahk, who described himself in one online interview as a "polymath," writes crossword puzzles in addition to teaching physics. His cruciverbal challenges have appeared in The New York Times and other publications. Most of us can't even solve a New York Times crossword puzzle, let alone write one. With that in mind, perhaps it's no great leap to understand his success on Jeopardy!

You can watch Pahk's two Jeopardy! appearances in two parts each here, here, here, and here, or tune in tonight to see how he fares on his third day.