Ken Bloom Quick Facts (2026)
- Full Name: Kenneth Arthur Bloom
- Age: 55 (as of 2026)
- Profession: Physics Professor
- Hometown: South Orange, New Jersey, United States
- Known For: Contestant on Jeopardy!
- Show Appearance: May 28, 2026
Who Is Ken Bloom?
Bloom is a physics professor from Lincoln, Nebraska. He is an experimental particle physicist with interests in top-quark physics, weak interactions, and the Higgs boson.
Besides, he has made a new name for himself as a contestant on the 42nd season of Jeopardy! in an episode airing in May 2026.
Details On Ken Bloom’s Jeopardy Appearance
Bloom’s Jeopardy debut episode airs on 28 May 2026. On Friday’s episode, he will meet two more contestants fighting for the champion’s spot, including a returning champion from a previous episode.
Chris D’Angelo will again appear as a returning champion on Thursday’s episode. A content manager from Washington, D.C., he registered his sixth win on the 27 May episode with a final score of $27,201.
Ken Bloom will face off against a returning six-day champion, Chris D’Angelo, and another new contestant, Ariel Epstein, on her Jeopardy debut on the 28 May episode this season. (Source: Jeopardy’s Official Website)
D’Angelo has amassed total winnings of $124,201 and earned a spot in the upcoming Tournament of Champions. The other new contestant to appear on the episode will be Ariel Epstein, an executive research director from Belle Mead, New Jersey.
Ken Bloom Wiki, Age & Education
Bloom has reached the age of 55 now. He was born Kenneth Arthur Bloom in the year 1970.
A native of South Orange, New Jersey, he spent his early life with his family there. He pursued his high school education at Columbia High School.
Kent then earned a Bachelor of Arts in Physics from the University of Chicago in 1992. Likewise, he went to Cornell University and earned a Master of Science in Physics in the year 1995.
From the same college, he earned a Ph.D. in Physics in 1997.
Who Are Ken Bloom’s Parents?
Ken’s parents are Estelle Bloom and Dr. Joel N. Bloom. His father retired as a radiologist at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark.
Furthermore, his mother retired as a programmer analyst in Parsippany, N.J., for the Metavante Corporation, a financial data and processing company based in Milwaukee.
Joel died because of respiratory failure on 23 September 2008.
What Is Bloom’s Job?
Ken now serves as Willa Cather Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He took the position in August 2023.
There, he has also served as a Professor and Associate Professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He has done research in particle physics for more than thirty years, ever since I was a college student, and it’s an honor to be able to work in a field with such grand questions and on an international scale.
Besides, he is the NSF PI and Deputy Manager of the U.S. CMS Operations Program, which is responsible for the U.S. contributions to the operations of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.
Bloom was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Michigan, where he worked for more than six years. Earlier, he was an Associate Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University.
Ken Bloom Wife: Is He Married?
Bloom is a married man. He has been married to his wife Sarah Kelen, for nearly two decades.
The couple exchanged the wedding vows in a Jewish ceremony on July 16, 2006. Their wedding was held at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun/The South Street Temple in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Sarah is a Professor of English and the English Department Chair at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln. She graduated with highest honors from the University of California, Berkeley, and received a Ph.D. in English from Columbia.
Latest News and Updates (2026)
As of 2026, Ken is teaching a short course on math skills targeted at students who are preparing for the first semester of the calculus-based introductory physics sequence, and overseeing the weekly seminar for first-year graduate students.
Likewise, he is making his Jeopardy debut as a contestant on 25 May 2026.
Interesting Facts About Ken Bloom
- Ken has received a Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation.
- He has served as Faculty Associate to the Chancellor for Budget Model Implementation at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
- He was the captain of the physics team in high school.
- His father holds a master’s degree and a doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University.
FAQs
Who is Ken Bloom from Jeopardy?
Ken is a physics professor and a contestant in the 42nd season of Jeopardy!
When will Ken Bloom appear on Jeopardy?
He will make his debut appearance on May 28, 2026.
What is Ken Bloom’s age?
Ken is 55 years old as of 2026.
Where is Ken Bloom from?
He is originally from South Orange, New Jersey, United States.
What does Ken Bloom do for a living?
He works as a professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Who is Ken Bloom married to?
Bloom is married to his wife Sarah Kelen.
References and Sources
https://physics.unl.edu/person/ken-bloom/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-bloom-565a8945/
