Rube Goldberg Machine Contest
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Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is sponsored by the Theta Tau Educational Foundation with financial support from Dell Computer and other sponsors. Local contests are held at various universities throughout the country, and local winners are eligible to compete in the national contest. The national contest is administered by Phi Chapter of Theta Tau and held at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
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[edit] 2008 Contest
The 2008 national contest had the task of building a hamburger with a meat patty, two vegetables and two condiments in 20 or more steps.
The winner for 2008 was the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers (PSPE) Rube Goldberg Team from Purdue University. This was their third win in the past four years[1]. The team included 17 members from different fields of engineering and aviation and was lead by Captain, Drew Wischer and by Assisant Captains, Zach Umperovitch and Greg Bauman.
Texas A&M took 2nd at the competition and University at Buffalo placed 3rd.
Other teams that competed included Ferris State University (2007 champions), Big Rapids, Mich.; Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich.; Penn State University Brandywine, Media, Pa., and the University of Texas-Austin.
[edit] 2007 Contest
The 2007 national contest had the task of juicing an orange into a pitcher and pouring the pitcher into a cup of aliens in 20 or more steps which was won by a team from Ferris State University, located in Big Rapids, MI.
[edit] 1990 Contest
The 1990 national contest had the task of screwing the lid on a Ball canning jar in 20 or more steps. The National championship team was from Purdue University and included: Matt Garberino, Todd Henry, Phil Santos, Dave Kovaleski, Jerry ??.
[edit] History
The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest originated at Purdue University in 1949 as a competition between Theta Tau and Triangle held annually until 1956. Phi Chapter revived the contest in 1983 as a competition open to all Purdue students. Since 1988, the Theta Tau Rube Goldberg Machine Contest has been a national competition held at Purdue University in March each year with participation by winning entries from local competitions sponsored by Theta Tau Chapters across the nation. The national contest has gained much coverage by the press and television media. Past winners of the contest have made appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman.
