Events
Future Engineers Use Science, Creativity to Construct Cool Machines
RALEIGH, N.C. (April 26, 2025) – Wake Tech engineering students put their science and creativity skills to the test to construct some super-cool machines for the crowd-favorite Rube Goldberg Machine Competition, held on Southern Wake Campus.
Named for the famed cartoonist and engineer known for wildly complex machines that perform simple tasks, the competition challenged students in the Intro to Engineering course to design devices that ultimately do one thing – pop a balloon – in no fewer than five unique, sequential steps.
The semester-long project called on teams to apply core physics principles – gravity, force, magnetism, electricity, sound, light and mechanical energy – while integrating safety features, spatial constraints and a fully documented design process, including budgeting and materials tracking.
From marbles and water to plastic cups, pulleys, ramps and recycled parts, students transformed everyday items into engineering tools of the trade. Some designs leaned into fun themes. One machine simulated a night in Las Vegas, while another took inspiration from the Five Guys burger chain.
The event was judged by more than 20 local engineers and industry professionals, reinforcing Wake Tech's strong ties to the regional workforce.
The following teams won top honors and took home a cash prize:
- 1st Place: Over-Engineers
Faith Abernathy, Finn Cummings, Abraham Espinoza, Samuel Grena, Stevan Jelic and Ethan Quigley
- 2nd Place: Wal-Mart Inc.
Jacob Cantrell, Emmanuel Lee, Vishal Patel, Jonathan Serb, Michael Shauger
- 3rd Place: Echo Engineering
Elena Brooks, Jack Morton, Daniel Gutierrez, Suri Gonzalez, Ashley Njau
- 4th Place (tie): Formula V
Damian Cady, Jessica Dymond, Bridget Freeh, Carmen Ojeda, Jack Roberson
- 4th Place (tie): Forgotten Five
Abdelrahman Ali, Shishir Deekonda, Cesar Garcia, Aziz Kubatov
- 6th Place: Minimum Effort
Amanda Kepler, Man Linabarger, Jhovany Noyola-Acevedo, Maria Solorzano, Christopher Somaribba
Beyond mechanical success, the experience emphasized teamwork, iteration and creative problem-solving, which are essential skills for future engineers.
"We learned it's OK to fail and try again when it doesn’t work," said Forgotten Five's Deekonda. "It was a lot of fun, and we really grew as a team."
Gutierrez of Echo Engineering added, "We learned to stay calm under pressure, enjoy the process and bring different ideas together."
