AU professor wins second match on 'Jeopardy!'

Auburn, Al.

Dr. Sunny Stalter-Pace, an Auburn University assistant professor of English, won a close match on “Jeopardy!” Friday for her second straight victory.

Stalter-Pace missed the final clue but had wagered only $1,000, which allowed her to keep the lead over her two opponents.

She incorrectly wrote “Who is Tesla?” to the final clue: “In 1823, this Scot obtained a patent for a process that made silk, paper & ‘other substances impervious to water and air.’ The inventor in question was Charles Macintosh.

“I was disappointed that I couldn’t even think of a Scottish inventor to put down,” Stalter-Pace said in a telephone interview after the show aired.

She said she put down Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), an engineer and pioneer in electromagnetism, because her husband likes him.

Her two-day winning total is $36,200.

“I had bet pretty conservatively, because I knew that the guy who was second would just barely pass me (if he got the answer correct),” she said.

Stalter-Pace said her second game of “Jeopardy!” was easier because she had gotten used to the buzzer, but she said the questions were more difficult.

She will be back for a third day on Monday. The show airs at 6 p.m. on CBS, including local affiliate WRBL News 3 in Columbus.

The shows were shot this summer, but she is not allowed to talk about episodes that have not aired.