The Rube Goldberg competition, sponsored by Phi Chapter of Theta Tau fraternity, rewards machines that most effectively combine creativity with inefficiency and complexity. The task this year was to inflate and pop a balloon.

The winning machine took 300 steps to do 25 different tasks - this year's challenge and 24 past challenges, including changing a light bulb, shutting off an alarm clock and peeling an apple.

Last year, the same team created a machine that had 244 steps, winning it a spot in the "Guinness Book of World Records" for most steps by a Rube Goldberg machine.

To break that record with this year's machine, the team had to complete a run with no human interventions. That didn't happen Saturday when a part feeding a steam boiler failed. The team was required to go to its Plan B, an air pump to inflate the balloon, which required a human touch to start it.

Zach Umperovitch, president of the team, said the 14 team members spent 5,000 combined hours building the machine.

Machines must use at least 20 steps to complete the task in no more than two minutes. Teams have three tries to complete two runs. Points are deducted if students have to assist the machine once it has started.

The teams were judged on two separate areas; general impression and run-related criteria.  General impression took into account - theme, Rube Goldberg spirit, explanation and description of the device, team chemistry and their submitted description.  Run-related took into account the best 2 out of 3 runs, machine flow and Rube Goldberg style steps.