February 18, 2009
Teams to vie for brightest idea at regional Rube Goldberg contest
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Journalists are invited to watch students from around the region as they find new, more complicated ways to change a light bulb or even to design a new kind of light source altogether during Saturday's (Feb. 21) regional Rube Goldberg Machine Contest at Purdue University.
In addition to a satellite uplink of contest highlights, a news release with competition results and photos will be issued the day of the contest and will be available on the Purdue home page at http://www.purdue.edu. Video b-roll is available after the contest by request.
Journalists covering the event in person can begin setting up at 9:30 a.m. The competition begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Purdue Armory. For safety and to ensure that judges can see the machines in operation, journalists and other guests are asked to stay behind the stanchions when the competition begins. Team members will be available for interviews after the event.
The task for this year's teams is to replace an incandescent light bulb with a more energy-efficient, light-emitting design. Teams must complete the task in 20 or more steps. The competition honors the late cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who specialized in drawing whimsical, complicated machines to perform simple tasks.
A news release previewing the regional contest is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2009a/090130RubeRegional.html
Video highlights will be available via satellite uplink from 3:45-4 p.m. ET on Saturday (Feb. 21).
Satellite information:
Uplink type: ANALOG
Band Type: Ku-Band
Galaxy 17 Transponder 15
Bandwidth: 36 Mhz
Uplink: 14300.00 (vertical)
Downlink: 12000.00 (horizontal)
Orbital slot: 91 degrees west
For questions regarding the satellite feed, contact Information Technology at Purdue's ITaP/ITNS/Broadcast Network Services at (765) 494-1032. For questions regarding the competition, contact Kim Medaris, Purdue News Service, at (765) 494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu.
Writer: Kim Medaris, (765) 494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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