Ernő Rubik
| Ernő Rubik | |
|---|---|
 Inventor of the Rubik's Cube | |
| Born |
13 July 1944 Budapest, Hungary |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Known for | Puzzle designer, Rubik's Cube |
Ernő Rubik (Hungarian: [ˈrubik ˈɛrnøː]; born July 13, 1944) is a Hungarian inventor, architect and professor of architecture. He is best known for the invention of mechanical puzzles including Rubik's Cube (1974), Rubik's Magic, Rubik's Magic: Master Edition, Rubik's Snake and Rubik's 360.
Life and career
Ernő Rubik was born in Budapest, Hungary, July 13, 1944, during World War II, and has lived all his life in Hungary. His father, Ernő Rubik, was a flight engineer at the Esztergom aircraft factory, and his mother, Magdolna Szántó, was a poet.[1] He graduated from the Technical University, Budapest (Műszaki Egyetem) Faculty of Architecture in 1967 and began postgraduate studies in sculpting and interior architecture. From 1971 to 1975 he worked as an architect, then became a professor at the Budapest College of Applied Arts (Iparművészeti Főiskola). It was during his time there that he built designs for a three-dimensional puzzle and completed the first prototype of the Rubik's Cube in 1974, applying for a patent on the puzzle in 1975. In an interview with CNN, Rubik stated that he was "searching to find a good task for my students." [2]
| “ | Space always intrigued me, with its incredibly rich possibilities, space alteration by (architectural) objects, objects' transformation in space (sculpture, design), movement in space and in time, their correlation, their repercussion on mankind, the relation between man and space, the object and time. I think the CUBE arose from this interest, from this search for expression and for this always more increased acuteness of these thoughts... | ” |
In the early 1980s, he became editor of a game and puzzle journal called ..És játék (...And games), then became self-employed in 1983, founding the Rubik Stúdió, where he designed furniture and games. In 1987 he became professor with full tenure; in 1990 he became the president of the Hungarian Engineering Academy (Magyar Mérnöki Akadémia). At the Academy, he created the International Rubik Foundation to support especially talented young engineers and industrial designers.
At present he is mainly working on video game development and architectural topics and is still leading Rubik Stúdió.
He is known to be an introvert, barely accessible and hard to contact or to get hold of for autographs.[citation needed] He typically does not attend speedcubing events. However, he attended the 2007 World Championship in Budapest.[3][4] He also gave a lecture and autograph session at the "Bridges-Pecs" conference ("Bridges between Mathematics and the Arts") in July, 2010.[5]
Rubik is a member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival's Advisory Board.[6]
Prizes
- 1978 – BNV Prize (BNV-díj)
- 1983 – Prize of State of the Hungarian People's Republic (Magyar Népköztársaság Állami Díja), The three-dimensional structures to illustrate teaching and developed a solution that is inspiring scientific research in several directions.
- 1995 – Dennis Gabor Prize
- 1996 – Jedlik Prize
- 2007 – Kossuth Prize
- 2010 – The Hungarian Order of Merit Cross of the star
- 2010 – Prima Primissima Prize
- 2012 – My Country Awards
References
- ↑ International Who's Who 2000. Europa. 1999. p. 1342. ISBN 1-85743-050-6.
- ↑ The little cube that changed the world Retrieved 2013-04-29.
- ↑ John Nadler, "Squaring Up to the Rubik's Cube", Time, 9 October 2007.
- ↑ "25 years on" Erno Rubik interview at the Rubik's Cube official website, retrieved 9 May 2010
- ↑ "Bridges Conference" List of Plenary speakers, retrieved 26 July 2010
- ↑ USA Science and Engineering Festival Advisors Retrieved 2010-07-05.
External links
- An interview with Ernő Rubik
- His biography at Hungary.hu (Hungarian)
- His first print interview in ten years
- An exclusive video interview about the new Rubik's 360
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