The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is a contest that seeks to be "a way of helping students transcend traditional ways of looking at problems", by using a challenge that "must be completed in as creative a way as possible".[1] It is named in honour of Rube Goldberg's vision of whimsical machines, and is sponsored by the Theta Tau Educational Foundation with financial support from Lockheed Martin, Priio, Omega Engineering, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, BAE Systems, Rockwell Collins and Alcoa. Local contests are held at various universities throughout the United States, 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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The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest originated at Purdue University in 1949 as a competition between Theta Tau and Triangle, and it was held annually until 1956. Phi Chapter revived the contest in 1983 as a competition open to all Purdue students. Since 1989, the Theta Tau Rube 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 and Jimmy Kimmel Live. The Machine Contest is the subject of the feature documentary Mousetrap to Mars.
Past tasks include:
The 1989 national contest had the task of sharpening a pencil in more than 25 steps. The first national contest winners were from the School of Technology named Watch-N-Ponder, led by Jeff Cottingham. Their machine had as a theme a Distressed Purdue Student with a Broken Pencil about to take a test. Their machine completed the task in 37 steps which featured a large Panic Button- that started the machine, a Purdue Student, Purdue Pete dominos, Purdue Pete crushing the IU symbol, color changing water, a small truck loading dock, a plotter writing out RUBE GOLDBERG with a pencil, and finally Purdue Pete chopping down a tree which went into a Saw Mill to make a pencil for the Purdue Student. It was described by the Judges as having music, drama, and timely sound effects that made the audience cheer. The team made a video special for Newtons Apple show that year as well as a commercial for the United Way campaign. Kathleen Sullivan and Harry Smith interviewed Jeff Cottingham on Good Morning America, promoting Purdue, Theta Tau, the School of Technology, and the hard work by all the team members. University of Wisconsin and the University of Detroit were the two other competitors that year and finished second and third respectively.
The 1990 national contest had the task of screwing and sealing the lid on a Ball canning jar in 20 or more steps. The National championship team, Team Technology, was from Purdue University and included: Matt Garbarino, Todd Henry, Phil Santos, Dave Kovaleski, Jerri Keller, and Bryan Sower. The theme for Team Technology's machine was "Having a Ball" and took a total of 42 steps to complete the required tasks.
The 2007 national contest had the task of juicing an orange into a pitcher and pouring the pitcher into a cup in 20 or more steps. It was won by a team from Ferris State University, located in Big Rapids, MI. The toy-themed machine used 345 steps.
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.[2] The team included 17 members from different fields of engineering and aviation and was led by Captain Drew Wischer and by Assistant Captains, Zach Umperovitch and Greg Bauman.
Texas A&M University took 2nd at the competition and University of Buffalo placed 3rd.
Other teams that competed included Ferris State University (2007 champions), Big Rapids, Michigan; Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan; Penn State Brandywine, Media, Pennsylvania, and the University of Texas at Austin.
The task for the 2009 contest was to "Replace an Incandescent Light Bulb with a More Energy Efficient Light Emitting Design" The team fielded by St. Olaf College won this competition.
The task for the 2010 contest was to "dispense an appropriate amount of hand sanitizer into a hand." The winner was a team from the University of Wisconsin–Stout. Second place went to St. Olaf College and third went to Pennsylvania State University.
The task for the 2011 contest was to "Water a Plant". The National Contest was held at Purdue University on March 26, 2011 and had 11 teams in attendance. The 11 teams represented 10 states, 9 universities and 2 community colleges.
The winner of the 2011 contest was the University of Wisconsin-Stout giving them back to back championships. Second place went to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers from Penn State University and third place went to the Psi Beta Chapter of Theta Tau Fraternity from The University of Texas.
Jennifer George, Legacy Director of Rube Goldberg, Inc and granddaughter of Rube Goldberg was also in attendance. Ms George also announced the task for the 2012 contest which will be to "Blow Up and Pop a Balloon" with the National Contest being held again at Purdue University in March of 2012
The Purdue Society of Professional Engineers, set a new World Record for most steps in a Rube Goldberg Machine with 244 steps shattering the previous record of 230. The team is currently waiting for confirmation from the Guinness World Records Office.