Cal Poly Engineering Announces Outstanding Graduates

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly Engineering Dean Mohammad Noori recently announced the 2010 Outstanding Graduates for the College of Engineering, including the top graduate students, top departmental graduating seniors for academic excellence, and graduating seniors recognized for service to the college, the university and the community.

Winners in each category received $200 bonds from Lockheed Martin.

Honored as the top graduating master’s degree students were Brian Fujizawa from Concord and Jason Anderson from Milpitas.

Fujizawa, an aerospace engineering graduate student, received a graduate fellowship at the Aero-Flight Dynamics Directorate at NASA Ames Flight Research Center, where he worked on the RASCAL helicopter in-flight simulator for two years. His research there required actual flight testing in a flight vehicle that will become the industry standard for rotary wing development in the U.S.

Anderson, a 4+1 bachelor’s/master’s graduate in computer science, did seminal work for his thesis that may provide a framework for improved ground support for space operations. His research involves the use of artificial intelligence planning and scheduling techniques for the logistical support of CubeSat launch operations.

The 2010 Outstanding Graduating Seniors for Academic Excellence are:

- Kevin Hougen (Aerospace Engineering) from Rocklin
- Leif Anderson (Biomedical Engineering) from San Luis Obispo
- Ryan Cahill (Civil Engineering) from Merced
- Stephen Beard (Computer Engineering) from San Luis Obispo
- Alexander Xydes (Computer Science) from Pleasanton
- David Boeck (Electrical Engineering) from Moorpark
- Melissa Woo (Environmental Engineering) from San Mateo
- Joshua Olmstead (General Engineering) from Irvine
- Jessica Paz (Industrial Engineering) from San Luis Obispo
- Sarah Shackelford (Manufacturing Engineering) from San Luis Obispo
- Bryan Rogers (Materials Engineering) from San Luis Obispo
- Trevor Ness (Mechanical Engineering) from San Luis Obispo
- William Whitney (Software Engineering) from Santa Rosa

Ness was recognized as the College of Engineering’s top senior for academic excellence. With a 3.99 GPA, including 11 quarters in which he had a perfect 4.0, he has been named to the President’s Academic Honors List and the Dean’s List, has been inducted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and received four Cal Poly Engineering scholarships. He is now enrolled in graduate school at Stanford University.

The Outstanding Graduating Senior for Contributions to the College of Engineering is Jason Anderson, from Milpitas. In addition to his scholarly achievements for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science, Anderson served as chairman and vice-chairman of the Computer Science Fee Allocation Committee, and he was instrumental in setting up an autonomous ground station so that high school students can directly communicate with satellites.

The Outstanding Graduating Senior for Contributions to the University is computer science senior John Huân Vũ. Vũ has been a Poly Rep for five years and has served in diverse leadership roles as a member of the Society of Women Engineers, including Software Engineering Subgroup Leader for the award-winning Team Tech.

Civil engineering senior Roshani Patel from Bakersfield was named the Outstanding Graduating Senior for Service to the Community. Patel served as vice president for Community Outreach for the Society of Civil Engineers and was responsible for projects and events that included designing a playground for a local hospital, holding a blood drive, managing the “Building Big” outreach activities that reach half a dozen local middle and high schools, designing a bridge for a local park, and planning an educational outreach activity for the 2010 National Concrete Canoe Competition.

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