The scene came right out of the 80s.

In the middle of a crowd, Chancellor Holden Thorp and senior Will Freeman faced off, waiting for the “Go” to begin writhing their hands around the Rubik’s Cube in a blur.

One minute and 29 seconds later, Thorp emerged the victor. But students had expected it — the event was inspired by a YouTube video of the chancellor solving the three-dimensional puzzle in just 48.73 seconds in 1982.

Thorp didn’t take the competition lightly, taking to Twitter on March 29 to advertise the event and even talking trash.

“I will wear the ‘Holden’ pin if my aging brain can remember to bring it to the office,” he wrote, referring to the nametag he still has from the 80s national Rubik’s Cube contest. “And I’ll try to recreate the smackdown.”

He did, much to the delight of the cheering crowd.

“He pulled a Harrison Barnes,” said freshman Suraj Shah with a laugh. “Barnes always comes through in the end.”

Though Shah was there to support Freeman, he said he was impressed by the chancellor’s skills.

“I’m pretty impressed to have a chancellor that can do that,” Shah said.

Thorp tweeted several times in response to the 1982 YouTube video of him on the TV show, “That’s Incredible!”

He finished in first place back then. Now, almost 30 years later, Thorp admitted he had to practice for Monday’s competition.

The challenge was held as part of the “Chancellor’s Innovation Fair,” a day-long celebration of innovation at the University.

“The chancellor is really pushing for more innovation at Carolina, but really, we have so many things here that are innovative already,” said Josh Ford, co-coordinator of the innovation fair.

“Hopefully this is a catalyst for more action. Hopefully it’s an opportunity for people to share ideas. Maybe we’ll hear about something in six years that started here.”

The physics department demonstrated novel ways to generate power, but most of the other organizations represented were community-based programs —proving that innovation doesn’t have to be strictly scientific.

Senior Taylor Walters said her independent study, a boutique called 4, was innovative because nobody had done it before.

Walters and her partner, Chelsea Crites, purchased the merchandise that they sell in the boutique through a corporate grant and then donate their profits to local charities.

“It’s an innovative way to use retail to get people who are donating money to drive profits for charity,” Walters said.

Thorp said he hopes students will continue to challenge themselves to create new ways to connect with Chapel Hill and beyond.

“Getting people out here to talk about innovation is really a great start for the University,” he said.

Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.