March 12, 2009

It takes a team to change a light at national Rube Goldberg contest

The contest begins at 10:30 a.m. March 28 in the Purdue University Armory. It is sponsored by Phi Chapter of Theta Tau engineering fraternity and rewards machines that most effectively combine creativity with inefficiency and complexity.

The contest's namesake is the late cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who specialized in drawing whimsical machines with complex mechanisms to perform simple tasks.

This year's task is to replace an incandescent light bulb with a more energy-efficient, light-emitting design. Mike Mierzwa, Theta Tau's national contest chairman and a senior in nuclear engineering from Morris Plains, N.J., said the task was intentionally created with room for interpretation.

Teams can either replace a traditional light bulb with a commercially available efficient one or with a light-emitting device that they design. Teams have been encouraged to demonstrate that the incandescent light bulb works before switching it out with a new light source. "Replacing" a bulb could mean either unscrewing it from a socket or switching off the incandescent bulb and illuminating the new light source.

"Because there is so much opportunity for creativity, we know we'll have an exciting and entertaining competition," Mierzwa said. "And with all of the hours put into the machines, the competition always shows what great minds can accomplish by working together."

Among the teams competing for the national title is one from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. That team won the Purdue regional competition on Feb. 21. Also expected to compete are teams from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.; Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio; University of Wisconsin, Madison; Pennsylvania State University, State College; Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Mich.; and Michigan Technological University, Houghton.

While 20 steps is the minimum number required to complete the task, most teams will use many more. For instance, the Illinois Rube Goldberg Society used 70 steps in its machine that won the Purdue regional.

The National High School Rube Goldberg Machine Contest will follow the Purdue national competition. Teams that will compete include Gilmer High School, Elijay, Ga.; Wilmington High School, Wilmington, Ill.; Highland Senior High School, Anderson, Ind.; and Spooner High School, Spooner, Wis. More teams are expected to enter the high school competition.

The national and high school contests are free and open to the public. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. The national contest will be followed by the high school competition at 12:30 p.m. Lunch will be available for purchase at the event.

Sponsors for this year's event are BAE Systems, Bosch Group, Bose, BP, Lockheed Martin,  Lutron Electronics, Omega Engineering, Priio and Rockwell Collins, Purdue's School of Mechanical Engineering and College of Technology.

Writer: Judith Barra Austin, 765-494-2432, jbaustin@purdue.edu

Source: Mike Mierzwa, 201-563-5071, mmierzwa@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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