WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue Society of Professional Engineers scored its fourth consecutive first-place finish Saturday (Feb. 23) in the 26th annual regional Rube Goldberg Machine Contest by making a hamburger in the most inefficient way possible.

Drew Wischer, left, a senior in aviation technology from Cedarburg, Wis., and Zach Umperovitch, a sophomore in engineering from Lafayette, Ind., celebrate a successful run of their team’s machine in Saturday’s (Feb. 23) Rube Goldberg Machine Contest. Their team, the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers, won the contest for the fourth year in a row. (Purdue News Service photo/David Umberger)

The team accomplished the task in 101 steps. For the third year in a row, they also won the People’s Choice Award, voted on by the approximately 1,500 audience members.

The competition, sponsored by Phi Chapter of Theta Tau fraternity, rewards machines that most effectively combine creativity with inefficiency and complexity.

“We’ve been building our machine since September or October and have spent about 4,000 hours working on it since then,” said captain of the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers team Drew Wischer, a Cedarburg, Wis., native who will graduate this year with a degree in aviation technology. “I’ve been with this team for four years, and this is a wonderful way to leave the competition. We’ve had a great group of guys to work with, and I’ll miss working with them next year.”

The 17-member team used a global travel theme in their machine’s construction. The machine included a journey that started at Purdue, activated by a ticket punch for the Boilermaker Express, and continued around the world to Big Ben in England; the Eiffel Tower in France; through Germany, Venice and Egypt; to the Great Wall of China and Mexico; and then back to a tailgating party at Purdue where the hamburger was made. After the Mexico stop, a conveyer belt was triggered that released the cheese, condiments and bun halves.

The Purdue Society of Professional Engineers now advances to the national competition, which will take place at 10:30 a.m. April 5 on the Purdue campus. Read the full story

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University police are investigating a report of an assault that occurred Saturday (Feb. 23) on campus.

A woman reported the alleged incident to police at about 2:15 a.m. She said she was walking from Owen Residence Hall and a man followed her for a distance before stopping her at the northwest corner of Northwestern and Stadium avenues and asking her for directions.

“After she gave him the directions, he asked if he could give her a hug,” said police Lt. Dennis Shepard. “She said no, and he did it anyway and also kissed her.”

The suspect was described as a black male, approximately 19 or 20 years old. He was wearing a dark green jacket with the hood pulled up and dark-colored jeans and was carrying a backpack.

Anyone with information should call the police department at (765) 494-8221 or the anonymous tipline at (765) 496-3784.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Performances by the New Directional Players, Haraka Writers, the Jahari Dance Troupe and the Black Voices of Inspiration will highlight the Purdue University Black Cultural Center’s Coffee House on March 5-6.

The performances, at 7 p.m. each evening at the BCC, are free and open to the public.

The New Directional Players is a theater group with a focus on presenting drama about the African-American experience. The group’s performance will be based on 180 years of African-American theater and covers black theatrical material from the beginning of slavery to now.

It includes work by authors such as William A. Brown, who is credited with writing the first known play to be written and performed by an African-American; Ira Aldridge, the first African-American to be internationally recognized for his acting talents; female activist and poet Georgia Douglas Johnson; Willis Richardson, the first black author to enjoy a nonmusical Broadway run; Ntozake Shange, inventor of the Choreopoem; Tony award winning George C. Wolfe; August Wilson; and black revolutionary playwrights Amiri Baraka and Kalamu Ya Salaam.

The Haraka Writers, a group of student poets, essayists and short-story writers, will explore the theme “A Celebration of U,” during its portion of Coffee House. It will focus on things that everybody celebrates, from first birthday parties to personal traditions.

The Jahari Dance Troupe, established in 1971, is a student company trained in a variety of techniques that range from traditional styles to contemporary trends in black dance. Named for the Swahili word meaning jewels, the group’s repertoire includes African, ballet, Caribbean, folk, jazz, modern dance and music video dance styles.

The dancers will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Stax Records and soul music during their performance.

The Black Voices of Inspiration will sing an excerpt from its spring production (which will be March 30), “Solid Rock-Sinking Sand.” It tells the story of a church that becomes the subject of a reality TV show.

Established in 1975, the Black Voices of Inspiration is committed to the performance of the music of African-Americans. Its repertoire consists of traditional Negro spirituals, contemporary gospel music and popular songs of inspiration.

Artist in residence Twana A. Harris directs the group.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University police are investigating reports of a man looking into the first-floor windows of women’s rooms Wednesday (Feb. 20) night at Hilltop Apartments.

Police Composite Sketch

According to a police report, at about 9:30 p.m. two women in Building 11 of the complex reported seeing the man looking in their window. When he realized he had been seen, he went to Building 10 and started looking in windows there, said Lt. Fred Davis.

Davis said the witnesses also saw the man pulling on door handles of parked vehicles in the area.

“He then opened a white, two-door car that might have been a Chevrolet Cavalier or Honda Civic, scraped the frost from the windows and drove off,” Davis said.

Davis said witnesses described the suspect as a white male, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, with average build, dark hair and walking with a limp. He was wearing a long tan trench coat and possibly had on glasses.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police department at (765) 494-8221 or the department’s anonymous tipline at (765) 496-3784.

Davis urges anyone who sees any such suspicious activity to immediately contact police.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University police are investigating vandalism to three vehicles parked side-by-side in McCutcheon Drive Parking Garage on campus.

The vehicles were parked on the garage’s fourth floor, and the acts of vandalism occurred before 9 a.m. Wednesday (Feb. 20), Lt. Fred Davis said.

Police responded to a call from a McCutcheon Residence Hall employee who saw the damaged vehicles. The rear windows were broken in two of them, and the driver’s side mirror and visor over the driver’s side window were broken on the third vehicle.

“If anyone happened to be on the fourth floor of the garage or saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area, please call the police department,” Davis said.

The police department telephone number is (765) 494-8221, or those with information can call the anonymous tipline available at (765) 496-3784.