SUNYIT engineering student Michael Rogachefsky tackles tough challenge

2013 Dec 17

Even if you don't know it by name, it's likely that somewhere in pop culture, you've seen the elaborate contraptions known as "Rube Goldberg machines." Recently, Michael Rogachefsky of Rochester, NY and other freshman engineering students at SUNYIT took part in a competition that introduced the concept to them.

A Rube Goldberg machine is a device designed to perform a simple task through multiple steps. Named for a 20th-century cartoonist and inventor known for his cartoon depictions of such devices, it has become a popular gag in pop culture and the media. The assignment for engineering student groups was to use materials that could be found in an average household to create a device that would use seven to eight steps to knock a ping pong ball into a goal. Students used dominoes, toy cars, string, plastic cups, balloons--even a plastic toy dinosaur.

"I want them to be creative and to realize the importance of teamwork," said Steven Wei assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. "In engineering, you sometimes have to design within restraints. A design can be magnificent without spending a fortune." The Rube Goldberg exercise was the final project of the semester for the engineering students, Wei said, and helps to bring together all of the aspects of engineering they've learned over the whole semester while emphasizing the importance of teamwork.

A trio of faculty judges watched as the students put their contraptions into motion, judging each on originality, presentation and final execution. Some went off without a hitch, prompting cheers. Other attempts did not fare so well.

Wei was very happy to see how much thought and creativity went into each device, as well as just how adept all the students were in working together to make each machine possible. "I believe that sometimes we tend to underestimate the students' potential," he said. "They certainly do rise to the occasion."

SUNYIT, the State University of New York Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome, is New York's public polytechnic, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in technology and professional studies. Its academic offerings in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies, and its programs in professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing, are complemented by athletics, recreational, cultural and campus life programs, events and activities. Founded in 1966, SUNYIT is a unique high-tech learning environment on hundreds of acres, offering degree programs online as well as on campus. The SUNYIT family of alumni now numbers 25,000.