Congratulations to the Theta Tau - Psi Beta team, consisting of Chris Hunt(#274), John Zhang(#309), and Jeff Parker(#304), for winning the 2011 Rube Goldberg Competition at UT and placing 3rd at the national level!
UT's 16th Annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest 2012
The local contest will be held during Engineers Week in the Spring semester on Feb. 22, 2012 in the T-Room (ETC).
The winning team will advance to the national competition at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN on Mar. 24, 2012.
Forward all questions to Jeff Parker at jeffpjr06 [at] gmail [dot] com.
The Rube Task for 2012
Inflate a baloon and pop it.
Corporate Support
A HUGE THANK YOU to LOCKHEED MARTIN for being a supporter of the 2009, 2010 AND 2011 Contest! www.lockheedmartin.com
Contact Info and Forms for Teams
Forward Questions and Inquiries To:
Christopher Hunt - ChrisHunt@utexas.edu
Past Tasks
2011: Water a plant.
2010: Dispense an appropriate amount of hand sanitizer onto a hand.
2009: Replace an incandescent light bulb with a more energy-efficient, light-emitting design.
2008: Assemble a hamburger consisting of no less than: one precooked meat patty, two vegetables and two condiments, sandwiched between two bun halves.
2007: Take a whole orange, juice it, and pour the juice from a pitcher into a cup in 20 or more steps.
Past Winners
2011: Theta Tau - Psi Beta
2010: American Society for Mechanical Engineers(ASME)
2009: Tyler Luce (Mechanical Engineering)
2008: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
2007: American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Who was Rube Goldberg?
The contest honors legendary cartoonist, graduate engineer, and Pulitzer-Prize winner Rube Goldberg, who became famous for his humorous drawings of incredibly complex machines performing very simple tasks. A typical Rube Goldberg machine could not perform a job as straightforward as, say, turning on a faucet without bowling balls that trigger pulleys, swinging boots that kick into switches, and turntables that run on mouse power. And as always, the more steps, the better. In the words of Rube Goldberg, his machines were "a symbol of man's capacity for exerting maximum effort to achieve minimal results."
What is the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest?
Our competition brings the idea of Rube Goldberg's cartoons to life. Teams of engineering students are challenged to design and build complicated machines that use at least 20 steps to accomplish the national task. Designed to combine engineering problem solving with the unlimited potential of creative thought, the contest is not only great fun, but a great learning experience for tomorrow's engineers.
The national task is usually announced in the fall, although it has sometimes been announced earlier. Teams spend months designing, building and testing their machines before the local competition during Engineers Week in February. The machines are evaluated by a distinguished judging panel comprised of UT faculty and staff as well as corporate representatives.
A Tradition of Excellence at the University of Texas
The University of Texas has a strong reputation at the national Rube Goldberg Competition. As can be seen below, the University has enjoyed great successes year after year at the national competition. Our chapter's proud moment was in 2002, when we represented UT at Purdue and won the National Championship.
1997 National Champs
1998 National Champs
1999 National Runners Up
2000 National Champs
2001 2nd Runner Up
2002 National Champs
2003 2nd Runner Up
2004 2nd Runner Up
2005 2nd Runner Up
2006 2nd Runner Up
2011 3rd Place - Nationals
National Media Coverage
The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest has exceeded the hopes and dreams of its fathers. The contest now has the honor of being Purdue's largest media event, drawing more attention than any sport or event at the university. As the popularity of the contest grows each year, so does the nationwide television, radio, and printed media attention it receives. In previous years, the national contest and the championship teams have received coverage in many newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Discover Magazine, Careers and the Engineer Magazine, The Austin American Statesman, and The Daily Texan. National television coverage has included CNN Headline News, Discovery News, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Good Morning America, and The Today Show. The National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest has also received in-depth, documentary style coverage on the internationally broadcast television program Beyond 2000.
Links
The Official Rube Goldberg Page