Liang, 15 led Harker's team to victory in the Regional Science Bowl competition, held Feb. 28 at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The team will advance to the national championships, set for April 29-May 3 in Washington, DC.

The federal Department of Energy developed the National Science Bowl in 1991 to encourage high school students to excel in math and science and to pursue careers in these fields.

Liang is the only student on Harker's team who's not sure if he'll take a science-related career path. "I don't know what I want to do in the future," he said.

Liang was on the team last year, when Harker was eliminated in the first round of regional competition. A couple weeks after this year's science bowl, the Harker students were at a loss to explain their victory in the final round over Albany High School, whose team has won multiple regional competitions in the past.

"I guess we just learned more," said Lev Pisarsky, 17.

Science bowl competitors must answer questions in various areas of science and math. The questions are submitted by scientists from the Department of Energy and other federal agencies, as well as university staff. Pisarsky said the subjects they cover are "pretty random."

"Some are just a test of how fast you can buzz in, whereas some test your knowledge," he added.

In last month's competition, Pisarsky managed to answer one multiple-choice question correctly before he had even heard it read. He said the team devoted a couple of its Friday-afternoon practice sessions to increasing its collective speed in hitting the buzzer.

Team coach Robbie Korin, who teaches science at the private San Jose high school, said being quick to buzz in was instrumental in Harker's science bowl win.

"These students are fearless," Korin added. "They're not afraid to be wrong, and that's the key. it's a very bright, confident group who are willing to push the buzzer. Some kids are book-smart, but they hesitate to hit the buzzer."

Some Harker team members honed their game-show skills by making regular appearances on Quiz Kids, a show produced by KRON-TV that tests students' general knowledge.

"Quiz Kids has much more to do with speed and early anticipation, whereas the science bowl requires scientific knowledge," Pisarsky said.

Harker used its combined speed and knowledge to beat out 15 other science bowl teams in the regional competition. At the national level, they'll face teams from 65 other high schools.