Vincent Sheu facts for kids

Vincent Sheu (born October 1, 1990) is an American speedcuber. This means he is very good at solving the Rubik's Cube and other puzzles super fast! He is from Saratoga, California.

Vincent is famous for setting world records. He achieved these in two events: the Fewest Moves event and the 2x2x2 single solve. He also helps organize big Rubik's Cube competitions. He is a Director and Delegate for the World Cube Association (WCA). This group helps run cubing events all over the world. Vincent has helped organize every US Nationals Cubing Competition since 2010. He also helped with the World Cube Competition in 2015.

From 2012 to 2015, Vincent was the first Chair of the WCA's Regulations Committee. He worked with Lucas Garron to rewrite the rules for competitions. You might have also seen Vincent in funny videos or pictures online. These often show him solving cubes at college sports games!

Amazing Rubik's Cube Skills

Vincent Sheu has been a very active speedcuber since 2006. He usually uses a method called CFOP. This is a popular way to solve the Rubik's Cube layer by layer. It was made famous by Jessica Fridrich in 1997.

In 2011, Vincent tied the world record for solving a 2x2x2 cube. He did it in an amazing 0.96 seconds! This happened at the Berkeley Winter Cube Competition.

Fewest Moves Challenge

At the 2014 US Nationals Competition, Vincent tied another world record. This was for the Fewest Moves Competition (FMC). In this event, cubers have to solve a 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube using the fewest possible moves. Vincent's average was 25 moves over three solves.

At the same competition, he set a North American record. He solved an FMC puzzle in just 22 moves! Because of these amazing results, Vincent became the 2014 National Champion in the FMC category.

Featured in Media

Vincent Sheu has appeared in many videos and TV shows. People often find his cube-solving skills very interesting!

Viral Videos at College Games

In February 2014, Vincent was filmed at a college basketball game. It was a game between the California Golden Bears and the Stanford Cardinal. He was sitting right behind the sportscasters, Bill Walton and Dave Pasch. Vincent quickly solved a Rubik's Cube while they were talking!

Because he was so visible, many people watching on ESPN2 saw him. A video clip of his solve quickly became popular online. It was shared a lot on YouTube.

After this, ESPN2 producers asked Vincent to solve more puzzles. He appeared behind sportscasters during other California basketball games. He solved cubes during games against the Utah Utes, Utah Valley Wolverines, and Arkansas Razorbacks. Bill Walton even featured Vincent in a short ESPN2 segment. It was about his cubing and college life at Berkeley.

Vincent was also in a video about student life at the University of California, Berkeley. This video was shown on Pac-12 Networks.

TV Shows and Documentaries

Vincent Sheu was one of several speedcubers in a TV show called Through the Wormhole. This science documentary series is hosted by actor Morgan Freeman. Vincent appeared in Episode 8 of Season 5, called "Will We Become God?". It aired on July 9, 2014.

Vincent also made a small appearance in the Netflix documentary The Speed Cubers. This film was released on Netflix on July 29, 2020.

The "Studying at Game" Meme

On February 5, 2014, Vincent got attention again during a college basketball game. This time it was between the Stanford Cardinal and the University of California – Los Angeles Bruins. Vincent was filmed with a friend. They were both wearing "Stanford Law School" clothes. They were studying with textbooks during the game!

Even though the video was edited, the image became very popular. It turned into an "internet meme" on sites like Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook. People thought it was funny how hard law students have to study!

Background and Education

Vincent Sheu has a strong educational background. He earned two degrees from Stanford University in June 2018. He received a J.D. (a law degree) from Stanford Law School. He also got an M.S. (Master of Science) in Computer Science from the Stanford School of Engineering.

Before that, he graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) in Statistics and Molecular & Cell Biology in 2012. He also received an M.Eng. (Master of Engineering) in Bioengineering in 2014.

At Berkeley, Vincent was the President of the Berkeley Cube Club. He also taught popular classes on how to solve the Rubik's Cube. These classes were part of the University of California's Decal program. Vincent also used to be a sports blogger for California Golden Blogs.