Purdue News
Purdue News
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February 10, 2001 "Big Apple" is the apple of Goldberg judges' eyesWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Start spreadin' the news ... the Purdue student chapter of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers won the 19th annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest today (2/10) with a machine that paid tribute to New York City.
"None of the team members have ever visited New York City," said Eric Gossman, member of the winning team and a senior mechanical engineering technology major from Elkhart, Ind. "But we had a brainstorming session in late November and we all decided that a New York theme would be fun." The group's machine, named "New York and the Big Apple" was among two of the five contraptions entered in the contest to complete this year's task to select, clean and peel an apple without human intervention. The machine had to complete the task using at least 20 steps and within a time limit. The winning machine finished the job in more than 40 steps to win the first-place trophy, $250 and a full-size refrigerator from the contest's corporate sponsor, General Electric.
The contest honors the late cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who specialized in drawing whimsical, complicated machines to perform very simple tasks. The student-built machines were judged on completion of the task, creativity, the number of steps involved and how well they embraced the Rube Goldberg spirit. The "New York and the Big Apple" machine used items such as a golf ball painted like a Harlem Globetrotters basketball that bounced from a trampoline to a basketball hoop, a figure of King Kong climbing the Empire State Building, a pool ball rolling across the Brooklyn Bridge and a jet flying out of LaGuardia Airport. Music, including the Globetrotters theme, "New York, New York," "The Heart of Rock and Roll" and "Arthur's Theme," was timed to accompany the machine's progress. In addition to Gossman, the winning team members were: Brandon Fruechte, a senior mechanical engineering major from Decatur, Ind.; Andy G. Jahn, a senior in mechanical engineering technology from St. Anthony, Ind.; Josh Hurst, a senior in mechanical engineering technology from Lafayette, Ind.; Mark Pund, a senior in mechanical engineering technology from Ferdinand, Ind.; Judson Tyler Brown, a junior in computer integrated manufacturing technology from Bloomington, Ind.; Patrick J. Webber, a senior in mechanical engineering technology from Floyds Knobs, Ind.; Michael Wehr, a senior in building construction management from Huntingburg, Ind.; and Beau G. Wendholt, a senior in mechanical engineering technology from Ferdinand, Ind.
The second-place trophy, $150 and a small GE refrigerator went to the Society of Professional Engineers for a machine called "Rube Mart." Third place, $50 and a GE microwave oven went to the Society of Women Engineers for their "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" themed machine. "New York and the Big Apple" was selected the People's Choice Award winner by more than 300 people attending the competition at the Elliott Hall of Music. The first place team dedicated more than 700 man-hours working on the machine since November. Gossman said the most difficult part of creating the machine was dreaming up the steps. "I always get caught up, however, when the fountain turns on in Central Park," said Gossman as he sat watching the machine's second run on the large video screen in Elliott Hall. "It's hard to see but, thankfully, I can always hear the motor." The Society of Manufacturing Engineers will compete in the National Rube Goldberg Contest on April 7 at West Lafayette High School. Source: Eric Gossman, Society of Manufacturing Engineer team member, (765) 464-3437. Writer: Bob Johnson, (765) 496-7704, bobwjohnson@purdue.edu Other source: Fernando Cordero, contest chairman, (765) 743-2623, fcordero@purdue.edu NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Video b-roll of the contest is available. Contact Jenny Pratt at the Purdue News Service, (765) 494-2079, jmpratt@purdue.edu. Related Web sites: PHOTO CAPTIONS: A publication-quality photograph is available at the News Service Web site and at the ftp site. Photo ID: Rubelocal3.2001 Jose Rojas, a sophomore from Panama City, Panama, and Nicole Orillac, a junior from El Dorado, Panama, provide a little manual assistance to the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers' entry in Saturday's Purdue University Rube Goldberg Machine Contest. This year's task was selecting, cleaning and peeling an apple. (Purdue University News Service Photo by David Umberger)A publication-quality photograph is available at the News Service Web site and at the ftp site. Photo ID: Rubelocal.2001
Debra Klein, a senior from Wood Dale, Ill., and Lindsay Elliot, a sophomore from West Lafayette, Ind., reset the Society of Women Engineers' machine during Saturday's Purdue University Rube Goldberg Machine Contest. Last year's defending champions placed third in the 2001 competition and used the theme "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" to complete the task, which was to select, clean and peel an apple. (Purdue University News Service Photo by David Umberger) A publication-quality photograph is available at the News Service Web site and at the ftp site. Photo ID: Rubelocal2.2001
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