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UT Rube Chair : Michele Mohon
Phone : 832-875-9026
E-Mail : michele_mohon@mail.utexas.edu

2009 Team Registration Form

2009 Rube Guidelines

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?

The Theta Tau Rube Contest is a competition in which teams of engineering students compete to design and build incredibly complicated, multi-stage machines to accomplish a simple task. Past competitions have challenged student teams to create machines, which, in thirty intricate steps, sharpen a pencil or make a cup of coffee.

The Contest brings the idea of Rube Goldberg’s cartoons to life. Designed to marry the traditional methods of engineering problem solving with the unlimited potential of creative thought, the contest is not only great fun, it is a great learning experience for tomorrow’s engineers.

Enlarge Photo

In October of each year, teams of students are informed of the task to be accomplished by their machines. They then spend months designing, building and testing their machines.

Local competitions are held in February. The machines are evaluated by a distinguished judging panel on a number of criteria, including:
-- Number of steps (not less than 30)
-- Creative use of materials
-- Use of themes in machine
-- Use of innovative non-powered steps
-- Spirit of the Group

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 with the American Institute of Aeronautics and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers looking particularly strong. Theta Tau’s proud moment was in 2002, when the fraternity 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

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 any sport or event at the university.

As the popularity of the contest grows each year, so too does the nationwide television, radio, and printed media attention it receives. In previous years, the National Contest and the national 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 national television programs including:
-- CNN Headline News
-- Discovery News
-- The Late Show with David Letterman
-- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
-- Good Morning America
-- 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

Visit Purdue University's Rube Goldberg Machine Contest webpage for a full history and details of this event.

Purdue University's Rube Page

History of Rube Goldberg

The Official Rube Goldberg Page

Theta Tau's National Rube Page

Check out the Pictures from the Past

Opportunities for Corporate Support

The Psi Beta Chapter of Theta Tau is currently seeking support for the 2009 Rube Goldberg Machine Contest local competition.

The Rube Goldberg Contest is a great way for corporations to become more closely associated with the College of Engineering and achieve significant media exposure, all while getting involved with outstanding engineering students who exemplify the ideals of teamwork, problem solving skills, and competitive spirit – students who are living proof that engineering skills and creative thinking are an unbeatable combination.