April 13, 2005
Purdue's Rube Goldberg winners to appear on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The winners of the national Rube Goldberg Machine contest will demonstrate their winning machine for a national audience on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
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The Purdue Society of Professional Engineers will appear on the late-night show on Friday (April 15) and demonstrate the machine that takes 125 steps to change the batteries in a flashlight. The Purdue team beat teams from six other universities to win the national contest Saturday (April 9) at the Purdue Armory.
The national champs will be guests on the late-night Friday "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show, which airs just after midnight (12:05 a.m. Saturday EST and locally). Other guests expected on the show Friday include Fabio and Ingram Hill.
"We're really proud that teams from Purdue have won the national Rube Goldberg Machine contest each of the past three years," said Linda Katehi, Purdue's John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering. "Having these students appear on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' is not only a great experience for them, but also a wonderful opportunity to showcase the talented students that Purdue attracts."
Purdue team members are Jason Downey, a junior in nuclear engineering from Idaville, Ind.; Nathan Flatt, a sophomore in mechanical engineering from Martinsville, Ind.; Greg Henning, a senior in aeronautics and astronautics from Indianapolis; Ryan Harold, a junior in mechanical engineering from Wheeling, Ill.; Kevin Hollingsworth, a senior in aeronautics and astronautics from Zionsville, Ind.; Shawn Jordan, a graduate student in computer engineering from Fort Wayne, Ind.; Devin Keeler, a senior in civil engineering from Randolph, N.J.; Maggie Little, a graduate student in the College of Technology from Crestview Hills, Ky.; Robert Mann, a sophomore in civil engineering from Fort Wayne, Ind.; Andy Mehl, a senior in electrical and computer engineering from Goshen, Ind.; and Drew Wischer, a sophomore in aviation technology from Manitowoc, Wis.
"The Rube Goldberg contest is the epitome of interdisciplinary teamwork," said Dennis R. Depew, dean of the College of Technology. "It brings together our students' knowledge of technology, engineering and science in a way that no classroom can."
The competition, put on by Theta Tau Fraternity with support from the College of Engineering and College of Technology, pays homage to the late cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who specialized in drawing whimsical machines with complex mechanisms to perform simple tasks.
The student-built machines are judged on completion of the task, creativity, the number of steps involved and how well they embrace the complex inefficiency that exemplifies the Rube Goldberg spirit. Points are deducted if students assist the machine once it has started. Teams also are judged and awarded points based on the creative use of materials and themes related to the required task.
In previous contests, students' machines have been required to raise, secure and wave an American flag; select, clean and peel an apple; make a cup of coffee; toast a piece of bread; put a stamp on an envelope; and drop a penny into a piggy bank.
This marks the second foray into late-night television for the contest. Two years ago the winning team from Purdue Theta Tau fraternity and Phi Sigma Rho sorority appeared on the "Late Show with David Letterman."
Since its premiere on Super Bowl Sunday, Jan. 26, 2003, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" has featured many high-profile guests, including George Clooney, Britney Spears, Motley Crue, Quentin Tarantino, No Doubt and Robin Williams. The show, which airs weeknights at 12:05 a.m. in most markets, is shot live in front of a studio audience from Disney's El Capitan Entertainment Center.
Writer: Matt Holsapple, mholsapple@purdue.edu
Sources: Kevin Hollingsworth, kholling@purdue.edu
Shawn Jordan, ssjordan@purdue.edu
Linda Katehi, Katehi@purdue.edu
Dennis R. Depew, ddepew@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Related Web sites:
Purdue University Home Page
Related news release
Purdue's Rube Goldberg three-peat takes national spotlight
PHOTO CAPTION:
Kevin Hollingsworth, from left, of Zionsville, Ind., and teammate Shawn Jordan, of Fort Wayne, Ind., celebrate their machine's successful run during the 18th annual national Rube Goldberg Machine Contest, which took place April 9 on Purdue University's West Lafayette, Ind., campus. Purdue's Society of Professional Engineers team took first place and won the People's Choice Award at the event, which also featured teams from the University of Texas at Austin, Ferris State University, Michigan State University, University of Arizona, University of Toledo and University of Michigan. The competition pays homage to the late cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who specialized in drawing whimsical machines with complex mechanisms to perform simple tasks. This year's contest required teams to build machines that could remove two batteries from a flashlight, replace them and then turn on the flashlight. While the competition required a minimum of 20 steps to complete the task, this year's winning machine used 125 steps. (Purdue News Service file photo)
A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2005/rube-hollywood.jpg
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