>> Bell rings starting the work day at the toy factory.
[ Bell rings ]
>> Welcome back to Purdue Pride.
Are you ready to get juiced?
We've got students who will show you how in ways
that are much more complicated than you could ever imagine.
The 19th annual Rube Goldberg Competition was held
at Purdue in March.
The 2007 contest featured 8 university teams.
[ Music ]
>> Inspired by the cartoons of Rube Goldberg,
which illustrate complex processes
for performing simple tasks, the goal of this year's contest was
to pour squeezed juice from a pitcher
into a cup using at least 20 steps.
>> You will now strike the target at the end,
starting the juicing process.
>> The team from Ferris State University squeezed
out the victory, with a record-setting 345 steps
in their juicing contraption.
The Purdue Society of Professional Engineers came
in second, using 155 steps.
>> We estimate that we spend over 4,000 man hours.
It's just been an absolute blast to be able to use things
that you typically wouldn't be able to use,
have them do a specific task that someone would say, hey,
that's not what it's used for, but you know,
I was able to make it work.
>> Okay, so the rest of the milk cartons
>> We don't normally think of concrete as something
that floats, but that's exactly what was demonstrated
at the annual Midwest Regional Concrete Canoe Race held
at Purdue in 2007.
Civil engineering students
from 16 universities raced canoes made with concerete.
>> You can never put enough time in, there's always more to do,
there's always sanding to be done or sealer.
It just goes on and on.
We use carbon fibers to help strengthen our concrete mix,
and as you can see it came
out with the cookies and cream finish.
>> The return of warmer temperatures
in the spring also means the return of insects to bug us.
But at Purdue, spring also brings the return of Bug Bowl,
a celebration of insects that includes a petting zoo,
cockroach races, cricket spitting, and even a chance
to try some bug recipes.
>> For the first time in its 50-year history,
the Purdue Grand Prix Kart Race was won by a female.
Liz Lehmann, a junior from Ft.
Wayne, took the lead early in the second half of the 160-lap,
50-mile race, and never gave it up.
>> Even when I wasn't being highly contested,
all it takes is hitting one turn wrong, having a chain break
or something like that, and really the only thing
that I kept looking at was the temperature
and making sure it wasn't getting too, too hot.
And it was right where we wanted it.
At a certain point, you just get in your groove
and you run your race.
The guys I'm sure don't appreciate getting beat
by a girl, but when the helmet's on it doesn't matter.
I couldn't be more happy and more proud
to be the first Purdue Grand Prix female winner.
It's just a great, great honor.
>> Proceeds from the race fund 21 scholarships,
ranging from 250 to $1,000.
Purdue women excelled in another race held in June.
Two Aviation Technology students placed first among the five
college teams in the annual Air Race Classic.
Team captain Katie Sparrow, a May graduate from Greeley,
Colorado, and co-pilot, Marie Janis, a senior from Valparaiso,
Indiana, placed 4th overall among the 47 teams.
>> We have a really good crew.
They let us know what's going on, what altitudes look the best
to fly at as far as getting the best winds,
tailwinds and stuff like that.
So they definitely help, and I think we got lucky.
We got some good winds, missed out on some thunderstorms.
That was good.
So we didn't really have any delays, anything like that.
Everything went very smoothly.
>> The Air Race Classic covers more than 2,500 miles
through 10 cities over 4 days.
In our next Purdue Pride segment,
Purdue gives low income youth a sporting chance.
