From the Nominator

In this viral video, engineer Mark Rober pursues an epic journey to make the world’s tiniest Nerf nano-blaster. That journey to a world record leads the YouTube star straight to his alma mater, Brigham Young University. Creating such a working device on a nanoscale was a gargantuan task for BYU engineers, who pushed the limits of compliant mechanisms technology to make it happen. We captured Mark's experience returning to BYU to make his nano-blaster, creating a video to inspire current and future students. The video relied heavily on student voices and experiences, and we chose a fast-editing and whimsical approach to visuals and sound. By highlighting the experience of a notable BYU alum returning to campus to do the seemingly impossible (build the world's smallest Nerf blaster), we shared Mark's contagious enthusiasm about engineering and his hopeful optimism about lifelong learning, creativity, and curiosity.

From the Judges

We congratulate the Brigham Young team behind this truly unique video. The video authentically showed the engineers' ability to tackle challenges outside of the "norm," as well as the collaborative spirit and opportunity offered by BY's engineering program. A beautifully shot video, which kept its student audience front of mind.