Photo Provided From left, “Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek poses with Tyler Morrison, 24, of Vienna, who taped a segment of the show in January that will air March 30. Morrison is a doctoral candidate in particle physics.

PARKERSBURG — A Vienna man was a contestant on “Jeopardy” in a segment to be aired March 30.

Tyler Morrison, 24, a doctoral candidate in particle physics at Brown University, is the son of Tommy and Debbie Morrison of Vienna and is home while on a break in the doctoral program.

Morrison is a fan of the show. Morrison and his friends in college would watch the show every evening and compete against each other.

“I liked watching ‘Jeopardy’ for years,” he said.

Last fall, he took an online test for the show. Fifty questions are posed with 15 seconds to answer each, he said.

“They never really tell you how well you do,” Morrison said.

Producers select prospective contestants from a pool of those with the most correct answers, usually in the 40-and-more range, Morrison said.

“I was one of the ones who was randomly selected,” he said.

He was invited for a personal interview with others in Boston. The interviews determine how personable the person is, how they would do on TV and how they react to questions, Morrison said.

“To make sure you don’t freeze up when people are talking to you,” he said.

Another test is administered to make sure no one cheated on the online exam, Morrison said.

Generally any invitation to compete on the show comes about 18 months later, he said. In his case, representatives of the show called about two weeks later and asked if he can go to California and tape a show in January, Morrison said.

“I was excited to hear that,” he said.

Morrison, with his parents and college friend Jonathan Miller of Minnesota accompanying him, went to California for the taping. In the meantime, he was given a pen to mimic the clicker contestants use to practice with while watching the TV show.

“That’s really an important aspect of the game,” he said.

While ringing in is an important part of competing, knowing the correct answer, which has to be in the form of a question, is too, Morrison said. The other contestants were quite capable, he said.

“Everyone there knew their stuff,” Morrison said.

Morrison said he was comfortable with most categories, except sports. He’s not much interested in sports.

“Sports really threw me for a loop,” Morrison said.

But how did he do?

“I’m not allowed to give any information about the outcome of the show,” Morrison said.

Morrison also met and spoke with the host of “Jeopardy,” Alex Trebek. Trebek during breaks would speak to the contestants and the audience, he said.

“He is an interesting and funny guy,” Morrison said.

Trebek, 77, the host of the show since 1984, fell last year and underwent brain surgery in December to treat a subdural hematoma, blod clots on the brain. He returned in mid-January when Morrison was there.

“That was first week back on the job,” Morrison said.

Everyone associated with the show was friendly, he said.

“They really wanted to make you feel comfortable and at ease,” Morrison said.