Alumni Cup Competition

Celebrate the 10th annual Alumni Cup competition on Friday, February 26, at 3 p.m. (EST) during this virtual watch party!
Watch student teams from each department of the A. James Clark School of Engineering compete in a Rube-Goldberg inspired challenge (socially distanced, of course).

The Alumni Cup, presented by the Engineering Alumni Network, inspires student teams from each engineering discipline to think creatively and work together to design machines that can accomplish a simple task. The competition culminates on Friday, February 26, when teams will be judged on their machine’s effectiveness, presentation, and team spirit.

Watch to cheer on your favorite team and see who will claim the cup!

The Challenge

Launched in 2012, the Alumni Cup is an annual engineering design competition. Teams of students from each department compete against one another in a week-long challenge to develop a machine that will perform a specific task within certain parameters.

Points are awarded based on how well the teams meet five key objectives: 

• The machine exercises the fundamental task.
• The machine exhibits a creative design that showcases the respective discipline/engineering department.
• The machine operates in a predictable manner.
• The machine complies with all rules.
• The team exhibits strong department pride.

Task and parameters are given to each team the Friday before Engineers Week. Students have one week and a small stipend with which to design, sketch, and build a machine that reflects their department. Teams will demonstrate their designs at the end of Engineers Week in the Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building Rotunda. The judges’ panel will be comprised of five individuals from both the Clark School administration and the Alumni Association. The winning team will be memorialized on the Alumni Cup trophy displayed in the west lobby of the Glenn L. Martin Hall.

2021 Victors

The Team

Congratulations to the 2020 Aerospace Engineering team on their winning machine!

Kruti Bhingradiya
Jessica Bleich
Rachel Cueva
Michael Kalin
Joynob Kaoshar
Joshua Martin
Jonathan Molter
Shailesh Murali

The 2021 Sponsors

 

 

Support a Team

For corporate sponsorship opportunities, including advertising space during the competition please e-mail engralumni@umd.edu.

All donations are 100 percent tax-deductible and can be made online here. 

To volunteer, please e-mail engralumni@umd.edu. Volunteers can assist with planning and execution of the competition or the post-competition student-alumni networking event, fundraising, communications, day-of support, and more. 

Learn More

For questions, contact our competition manger—Jeff Karceski '88 —at engralumni@umd.edu.