UCSD - University of California - San Diego

05/14/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/14/2026 03:05

Student Organization Brings Fun — Cubed

Published Date

May 14, 2026

Article Content

From eating cheese to signing languages, there are hundreds of organizations that students can get involved with on campus. In this ongoing series, we shine a light on a few of them. See who's in the spotlight this time.

Cubing: The art of twisting and turning colorful sets of cubes into patterns. Many may know the iconic Rubik's Cube puzzle that launched in 1974 and is still beloved by many. With over 282,000 unique participants competing worldwide to solve a Rubik's Cube at record speeds, it's no surprise that this popular skill is represented by the campus's own Rubik's Cube Club.

A thriving organization that runs workshops and teaches others, this club revolves around the world of cubing. Partnering with the World Cube Association (WCA), members can participate in official competitions to place on national leaderboards for "speedcubing," the practice of solving a Rubik's Cube, or similar twisty puzzles, as quickly as possible.

Principal board member, Manning Karahashi, is a 2nd-year data science major at Marshall College. He explains the club's mission: "We give people who have an interest in Rubik's Cubes a home and opportunity to meet new people," he says, "the club focuses on sharing our experience and knowledge with every member, both veterans and new cubers alike."

Construction of the Geisel Library mosaic by the Rubik's Cube Club. (Photo by Daniel Orren)

The club offers members a place to bond over their hobby in meetings and in the numerous unofficial events they host that combine members' fast-paced skills with fun and friendly competitions.

Another principal board member, Emily Nguyen, a 3rd-year math computer science major at Eleanor Roosevelt College and a competitor in the WCA, shares the love she has for the community and the opportunity it provides to hang out and have fun. "The club was how I met my best friends." Nguyen recalls, "I love the community." Nguyen is ranked among the top seven female cubers in the world by the WCA for solving larger-than-average Rubik's Cubes, including the 7×7×7 cube. (A typical Rubik's Cube is 3×3×3.)

History of Rubik's Cube Club

Over its more than 10 year history on campus, the Rubik's Cube Club has shaped itself into the vibrant organization it is today.

The club was originally started in 2007 by Philip Espinoza, a Muir College student who graduated in 2011 with a major in political science. He, alongside another student cuber, started the Rubik's Cube club to be able to create a space for cubers, eventually going on to host a WCA competition in the Price Center.

Jason Chang, co-president, and a 4th-year aerospace engineer at Warren College adds, "since our first competition, our organization has been more involved in the WCA, hosting official competitions, and even having multiple world records set at UC San Diego." These records range from unofficial competitions such as Kavin Tangtartharakul's 21.81 second world record for H20H, where participants are required to solve a cube while chugging a bottle of water, as well as official competitions like Ryan Patricio's 20.66 second 3x3x3 one-handed solve, which set a world record at a UC San Diego competition.

Co-president Timothy Zhang, a 4th-year cognitive science and design student at Revelle College, says, "the club has grown into a club of twisty puzzles, not just Rubik's Cubes. Most of the hobby is informed by the WCA, so a lot of the other twisty puzzles that we do are the ones recognized by the WCA."

Despite its momentous achievements and seemingly competitive nature, at its core, the club truly is meant for all skill levels. "Even if you don't know how to solve a cube, you should come to meetings, because we enjoy talking about all things cube related and get into it!" says Nguyen.

Future of Rubik's Cube Club

This past April, the Rubik's Cube Club launched an exhibition in partnership with the UC San Diego Library staff to showcase library resources and the club's talented members. With help from SpeedCubeShop, a company that is supportive of cubing, the club ran a series of workshops to invite students, faculty, and the general public to help their members create two beautiful mosaics representing two images. The first mosaic pays homage to the Geisel Library building from the library's Robert Glasheen Photograph Collection. The second is an image of the Colima Dog in Santa Rosalia held in the Harry Crosby Photo Collection that documents ancient Mesoamerican traditions.

An exhibit of the two mosaics is available to view at the Sally T. AveryWong Library on campus starting from April 2nd and extending through June 15. You can watch how this collaboration came about and see more about its behind-the-scenes creation here on UC San Diego Today.

Those interested in cubing or the Rubik's Cube Club can visit the club's instagram page @cubingatucsd to stay updated on upcoming events and meetings.

Rubik's Cube Club members solving cubes during one of the workshops organized so that students, faculty, and the general public could help club members create mosaics representing two images in the UC San Diego Library collections. (Photo by Daniel Orren)
UCSD - University of California - San Diego published this content on May 14, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 14, 2026 at 09:05 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]