'What is pain?'

That was the right answer on the TV game show Jeopardy Thursday night, pushing a celebrated McMaster professor into the spotlight.

In an episode of College Jeopardy, under the category 'Doctors Within Borders,' players were given the answer: "Norm Buckley, anesthesia chair at Canada's McMaster University, studies this sensation, both acute and chronic."

Contestant Sarah Dubnik gave the correct response.

Buckley, director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care, professor and chair of the Department of Anesthesia of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, is known around the world for his research and clinical work that focuses on pain.

According to the McMaster daily news, the Jeopardy question came as a surprise to Buckley.

"It has certainly created a storm of interest amongst my surprised colleagues and amazed children and friends. My daughter, a grad student at McGill University, posted a screen capture on Facebook saying, 'With the possible exception of, like, a Nobel prize- MAYBE- there is literally nothing in the world that could make me prouder than this. My dad is a jeopardy clue!"

It was the second reference to McMaster in the same show.

Under 'Mr. Robot,' the answer was: "In 2015 a robot that had travelled 6,000 miles by this method was damaged beyond repair in Philadelphia."

The question? "What is hitchhiking?"

HitchBOT, a robot co-created by David Harris Smith, an assistant professor of the Department of Communication Studies and Multimedia, gained worldwide fame last year as the robot travelled across the globe.