Alexander Guttenplan is a student of natural sciences at Emmanuel College, Cambridge

Emmanuel College, Cambridge

Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...

, known as the captain of the team that won University Challenge

University Challenge

University Challenge is a British quiz programme that has aired since 1962. The format is based on the American show College Bowl, which ran on NBC radio from 1953 to 1957, and on NBC television from 1959 to 1970....

in 2010, scoring 315 points to 100 against St. John's College, Oxford in the final. His performance in this has been compared with that of Gail Trimble

Gail Trimble

Gail Christiana Trimble , is a Senior Faculty Member in Classics at Trinity College, Oxford. . While a postgraduate student of Latin literature at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in 2009, she gained attention by a series of exceptional performances on the BBC television quiz programme University...

. He also 'got the better' of presenter Jeremy Paxman

Jeremy Paxman

Jeremy Dickson Paxman is a British journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. He is noted for a forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating politicians...

, in an exchange which became an internet sensation. He has hundreds of fans who call themselves Guttenfans, "Guys want to be him, girls want to be with him!". He also took part in a special edition of Only Connect

Only Connect

Only Connect is a quiz show programme first shown on BBC Four on 15 September 2008, presented by Victoria Coren. In the series, teams compete in a tournament of finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues. Radio Timess listings usually describe it as "a game of patience and lateral...

, leading a team from University Challenge against the champions of the first series of Only Connect, the Crossworders.

Guttenplan is from a Jewish and Greek family. His father is of U.S. Jewish origin, and mother from Greece: both are writers, D. D. Guttenplan and Maria Margaronis. He has two siblings, Zoe and Theo. He was educated at the Hall School Hampstead, Westminster School

Westminster School

The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...

 and his hobbies include ceilidh

Céilidh

In modern usage, a céilidh or ceilidh is a traditional Gaelic social gathering, which usually involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing. It originated in Ireland, but is now common throughout the Irish and Scottish diasporas...

, sailing

Sailing

Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...

, rowing

Rowing (sport)

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

 and science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

. He was chairman of the Cambridge University Science Fiction Society.