Cal Poly Hispanic Engineers Win National Design Competition — Again

SAN LUIS OBISPO — For the fourth straight year, Cal Poly’s student chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) has earned first place in a national design competition.

shpe team photo Cal Poly teams finished first, third and fourth in the student chapter design contest at the SHPE National Technical Career Conference in Orlando, Fla., in January. Cal Poly team members were mechanical engineering students Frank Lopez from Bakersfield and Flavio Acosta from Santa Paula; business student Daisy Cisneros from Santa Maria; electrical engineering students Bruce Lozano and Enrique Quiutero, both from Bakersfield; and Ruben Rodriguez from Santa Paula. The team won for its design for a Sound-Activated Baby Mobile.

“Along with providing a sound monitoring system for parents, our all-in-one system utilizes a sound sensor to determine when a baby is crying and activates a motorized mobile, crib light and music,” said Acosta. “The judges liked our idea, our implementation and the presentation of our marketing plan.”

Acosta says inspiration for the project came from Lopez, the team leader, whose sister recently had a baby. Cal Poly’s history of success at the annual SHPE conference served as motivation for his group, Acosta said. “We definitely wanted to keep our winning tradition,” he said. “The conference is huge for us, with hundreds of workshops and lots of networking with Hispanic engineers from all over the country. We’re proud to keep the winning streak alive.”

For more information on SHPE, see oneshpe.shpe.org

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