Jennifer George and the Heirs of Rube Goldberg

Jennifer George is the creative force behind The Rube Goldberg Institute, where she serves as the steward of her grandfather’s legacy and oversees all aspects of his estate. Since taking the helm in 2007, she has reimagined Rube Goldberg’s whimsical world for a new generation, launching innovative cultural events and educational initiatives that connect art, science, technology, and entertainment in visionary ways. Under her leadership, the Institute produces national competitions, traveling exhibitions, books, merchandise, and entertainment properties—all designed to celebrate Goldberg’s legacy while promoting hands-on learning and creative problem-solving. She is also the editor and author behind the published works that emerge from the Rube Goldberg estate, shaping how his voice, art, and ideas continue to reach new audiences today.

Published books include The Rube Goldberg Puzzle Book (Union Square), The Art of Rube Goldberg (Abrams Comic Arts), as well as books for children from Abrams Books for Young Readers: Rube Goldberg’s BIG Book of Building; Rube Goldberg’s Simple, Normal, Humdrum School Day; Rube Goldberg’s Simple, Normal, Definitely Different Day Off;  and Baby Rube’s Book of Opposites.

Rube Goldberg was one of America’s most influential cartoonists and humorists, best known for his wildly elaborate invention cartoons that performed simple tasks in the most complicated and delightful ways possible. Trained as an engineer at the University of California, Berkeley, he brought technical precision and comic insight together to create a wholly original visual language that reshaped American humor.

Over a career spanning more than seventy years, Goldberg produced thousands of cartoons, comic strips, political illustrations, and invention drawings. His work became so iconic that his name entered the dictionary as an adjective, Rube Goldberg, used worldwide to describe any hilariously overengineered solution to a simple problem. In 1948, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning.

Today, his legacy endures through the global influence of his drawings, his newfound status as a hashtag, and the generations of artists, creators, students, and educators inspired by his joyful spirit of inventive thinking. RubeGoldberg.org

Before her work with the Institute, Jennifer built a successful career as a fashion and jewelry designer, with her creations exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution—an honor she proudly shares with her grandfather. JenniferGeorge-NYC.com