Cal Poly Update | The e- Newsletter for University Alumni and Friends |

:: Alumni :: University News :: Today's Students :: Faculty & Staff :: Coming Up

Alumni

Come Back for Cal Poly's Homecoming November 8-11
Collage: football player, couple at BBQ, toddler at BBQ, cheerleaders Make sure to mark your calendar and make your reservations for Homecoming 2007, set for Nov. 8-11 this fall. Homecoming is a great time to revisit the Central Coast, see what’s new on campus, reconnect with classmates, and meet other alumni and Cal Poly families at the Barbecue and Tailgate before the big game. This year the Mustangs will tackle the Bison of North Dakota State in the newly-renovated Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

Before the game, sample Central Coast wines at the popular Cal Poly Alumni Association Wine Tasting, and enjoy tri-tip and fixings at the Tailgate Barbecue. Both pre-game events sell out in advance, so make sure to get your tickets when they go on sale in August.

Calling the Class of '57: Other 2007 Homecoming weekend activities include the Grand Reunion, which honors the Class of 1957 and all earlier graduates, and the Honored Alumni Banquet. Check the Homecoming Web site for more details at www.homecoming.calpoly.edu.
Read more about Homecoming 2007

Free Shipping
Take a 'Quiet Journey'
Through California's Coast and Sierras
Do you know a California nature lover? They're sure to love "Quiet Journey," a 176-page chronicle of 35 years of artwork by Professor Emeritus Robert Reynolds. The paintings gathered in 'Quiet Journey' focus on the natural beauty of California's Central Coast and its Sierra Nevadas. It's also a collaboration between Reynolds and well-known Journalism Professor Emeritus James Hayes. Sales of the book benefit the Cal Poly Alumni Association. For a limited time, El Corral is offering free shipping for book orders.
Read more about 'Quiet Journey' or order the book online

Weird Al, Chuck Liddell and More Alumni Make Headlines
He may indeed be white and nerdy, but he's here and he's hot. That's the critics' latest assessment of 'Weird Al' Yankovic, perhaps KCPR's most famous former DJ (and also a graduate of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design). He's just one of the Cal Poly alumni making headlines recently. Others caused a stir in the worlds of Ultimate Fighting, agriculture, printing, neighborhood preservation and journalism. Find out who made headlines this month -- and if you know them!
Read about Alumni in the News this month

Weird Al is playing at Cal Poly in October! Get the Details

Alumni Tickets Still Available for Pageant of the Masters
Join the Cal Poly Orange County Alumni Chapter for "An Evening at the Pageant of the Masters" Saturday, July 28. You'll be treated to a special behind-the-scenes presentation at the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts, dinner at the Tivoli Terrace, art exhibits and more. The 75-year-old festival features 140 exhibitors this year, a bevy of fine foods and the main event: The Pageant of the Masters -- elaborately costumed models recreating in the flesh paintings by history's famous artists.
Read more about CPAA OC's evening at the pageant

University News
Slide show snippet: grad with blue and black molecules on hat
See Commencement 2007 in Photos
More than 3,600 students walked in two separate ceremonies at Cal Poly’s Spring Commencement Saturday, June 16, in the Alex G. Spanos Stadium. Cal Poly conferred three honorary degrees during this year’s commencement ceremonies, to Donald Bently, Paul Bonderson and Paul Orfalea. Coming this afternoon: commencement photos!
Read more about Spring 2007 commencement

Click on the photo at left to view the slide show.
You will need Flash player to view the slide show | Download Adobe Flash Player Free
See the KSBY News Story & Video | See the KCOY Story & Video
Read the Tribune Story on Commencement

Cal Poly Grads Headed for Good Job Market, Salaries
Business experts are forecasting a good job market for Cal Poly graduates. A Cal Poly Career Services survey showed that at least 62 percent of 2006 Cal Poly graduates had jobs before graduation, and 83 percent had obtained employment within four months after receiving their degrees. The median income for full-time jobs for 2006 Cal Poly graduates was $48,000. “If anything, the job market is better this year,” Shibata said.
Read more about recent Cal Poly grads in the job market

President Baker Addresses National
Press Club, Presses for Science Education
Cal Poly President Warren J. Baker and several other national higher education leaders addressed the National Press Club in Washington D.C. June 11, announcing the release of a report calling for more emphasis on science and math teaching in the nation's middle and high schools -- and more science and math teachers. The group released a major new report calling the training, recruitment, retention and renewal of the nation's working science and math teachers "An American Imperative." America, the president told conference attendees, needs to mount a coordinated reform effort to attract and retain high quality math and science teachers.

Read more about the NPC address and "American Imperative"

See Cal Poly CubeSats in Space
The first space photos of Cal Poly's successfully-launched CubeSats -- mini-satellites -- beamed to earth in May. Said Cal Poly CubeSat project advisor and AeroEngineering Professor Jordi Puig-Suari: "At Cal Poly the sky is no longer the limit -- and we have proof!" The CubeSat Project is an international collaboration of over 80 universities, high schools, and private firms developing picosatellites containing scientific, private, and government payloads.
See the photo of the CubeSats

2003 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient
Shirin Ebadi Speaks on Hope at Cal Poly
Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi spoke on campus in May. The title of her talk was “Iran Awakening: A Story of Revolution and Hope.” Ebadi discussed her experiences as a woman in Iran – from her childhood in a loving family before the 1979 revolution, to her life as a mother and lawyer battling an oppressive regime while raising her daughters. An advocate for refugee rights, as well as those of women and children, she is the founder and leader of the Association for Support of Children's Rights in Iran. In 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Read the Mustang Daily story on Ebadi's speech

International Humanitarian Speaks on 'Philosopher Citizens'
Assad Meymandi, renowned psychiatrist, philanthropist and humanitarian, spoke about his work linking science and technology with music, the arts and the brain in a lecture on campus in May. Meymandi, a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, spoke on "Philosopher Citizens: The Importance of a Liberal Education in a Time of Specialization” in a free lecture. The free public event was the second in the University’s “Great Conversations” series.
More on Assad Meymandi and his talk

Mustang Memorial Plaza Dedication Wins National Award
Cal Poly's Advancement Programs office and Athletics Department recently captured one of five national awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. Cal Poly received a bronze Circle of Excellence award in the Individual Special Events category for its Mustang Memorial Plaza dedication. Cal Poly held the dedication on September 29, 2006, to commemorate the 1960 football team members, team manager and team supporter lost in the tragic airplane accident in 1960 in Toledo, Ohio.
Read more about the award for the dedication

Today's Students

First Place for Human Powered Vehicle
The Cal Poly Human Powered Vehicle Club won first place in the Female Sprint Competition and second place overall at the 2007 American Society of Mechanical Engineers Human Powered Vehicle Competition, held at the NASA Ames Research Center in San Jose. Mechanical Engineering senior Karin Hanzi piloted a streamlined bicycle constructed with full carbon fiber faring integrated with a carbon fiber frame to blast the competition. She maintained the top speed in both runs, clocking in at nearly 35 mph.
Read more about the Human Powered Vehicle Win

Mustang Daily Reporters Win Statewide Awards
Just weeks after winning several awards at a national conference, Cal Poly's student-produced newspaper, the Mustang Daily, has won more honors. The latest awards come from the California Collegiate Media Association. Mustang Daily reporter Ryan Chartrand won second place for the Best Arts and Entertainment Story; Frank Stranzl took second for Best Sports Column; James Glenn, second, Best Cartoon; and Caitlin Donnell, third, Best News Page Design. The Mustang Daily's online paper won third place in the Best Use of Multimedia category.
More on the awards for the Mustang Daily student newspaper

MBA Students Studying in China This Month
Cal Poly Orfalea College of Business MBA students will embark on a 19-day trip to the People’s Republic of China beginning June 19. The international business tour is part of the OCOB intensive study program and is the culmination of Cal Poly’s 11-month accelerated MBA program. The three faculty members and 33 students on the tour will be looking at the largest manufacturing economy in the world. The students will study international business, the global economy, Asian business practices and culture, and China’s unique place in the global value chain.
Read more about business students' trip to China

Auto Safety Design Team Heads to France for Competition
A multidisciplinary engineering student design team from Cal Poly is heading to Lyon, France this summer. The team will represent North America at the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles International Collegiate Student Safety Technology Design Competition. Cal Poly students developed a vehicle pre-crash sensing and automated braking system using a custom-made test cart, a laser range finder and an ultrasound sensor. The U.S. Department of Transportation chose the Cal Poly team based on their work, presentation, and demonstration of the test vehicle that anticipates and reacts to collisions. Three teams from North America, two from Asia-Pacific, and three from Europe will compete at the finals.
More details on the ESV competition
Read the Mustang Daily story on the team

Concrete Canoe Team
Heading to Nationals This Month
A team of Cal Poly engineering students from the Society of Civil Engineers are headed to the 20th Annual ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition at the University of Washington in June. The team will float their boat during the competition this month. Cal Poly's team was assured a spot in the nationals after competing recently against 16 other universities in the 2007 Pacific Southwest Regional Conference.

Read more about the concrete canoe team and nationals

Mechanical Engineers Win National Contest
Cal Poly’s American Society of Mechanical Engineers continued their legacy as the nation’s leading student chapter at the recent American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Ingersoll-Rand Regional Conference in Reno, NV. The group was named top chapter for the 10th straight year and placed second in the Student Design Competition. The Cal Poly team secured their second place prize in the Student Design Competition with their entry -- human-powered water boiling and distillation system.
More on the ME Chapter's 10th win

photo of students standing on a bridge
Engineering Students Profiled for their Environmental Bridge Project
Six Cal Poly Architectural Engineering students donated their final project for environmental protection at the Dairy Creek County Golf Course outside San Luis Obispo. The students designed the bridge to protect sensitive habitat below. They raised $100,000 and spent 200 hours on the project.
See the KSBY news story on the project

Annual Egg Drop
Splatters SLO Farmers' Market
Cal Poly's Orfalea College of Business Poly Pack conference brought students and faculty together with packaging industry representatives. The conference gives participants a chance to discuss the latest developments on the packaging industry. But it also gives students a chance to create egg carnage in downtown San Luis Obispo, all in the name of research. Students design packages to allow maximum survival for the egg inside.
See the Mustang Daily photos and story

Cal Poly Team Third in Affordable Housing Design Competition
A Cal Poly team's design for affordable housing placed third in an annual design contest sponsored by Bank of America. The team received high rankings for green design and financial feasibility, placing behind second-place University of California, Berkeley and first place Stanford University. "SLO Collaborative Housing" proposed a 56-unit development in Santa Maria with assistance from Peoples' Self-Help Housing Corp. The design was aimed at meeting needs of large families, single mothers and farm workers.
Read the KPIX story on the housing design competition
Read the East Bay Business Times article on the competition
Read the Santa Maria Times story on the team's affordable housing proposal

Faculty & Staff

Journalism Chair Named to National Hall of Fame
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists has named Cal Poly Journalism Chair and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George Ramos to its Hall of Fame. Ramos received the honor during the association's 25th anniversary convention in San Jose June 13-16. Ramos, a three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter with the Los Angeles Times, is the chair of the Cal Poly Journalism Department, the place he credits with giving him his start in the news business. Ramos graduated from Cal Poly in 1969 and then served in the U.S. Army. He saw combat duty in Vietnam as a first lieutenant in the field artillery.
Read more about Professor Ramos

Professor Emily Taylor Wrangling Rattlers:
Poly Prof Studying Snakes on the (Carrizo) Plain
Cal Poly Professor Emily Taylor, a herpetologist in the biological sciences department, is one of a handful of people tracking the Northern Pacific rattlesnake. It's the only type of rattlesnake living in San Luis Obispo County. For the last six months, Taylor has been capturing rattlers on the Carrizo Plain Ecological Reserve in eastern San Luis Obispo County. Taylor takes them back to a Cal Poly lab, where she surgically implants them with radio transmitters and data loggers, and then releases the snakes again on their home range to study their habits in the wild over the next two years.
Read the entire story in the SLO Tribune
View the Tribune photo slideshow
Visit Professor Taylor's Reptile Lab Web site & photos

Piirto Appointed to California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection
Cal Poly Forestry Professor Douglas Piirto was appointed to the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection on April 9, 2007 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Professor Piirto serves as a public representative on the board. Since 2000, he has served as head of the Natural Resources Management Department at Cal Poly, where he has been a professor since 1985.
Read more about Professor Piirto's appointment to the state forestry board

Reading the Chicken Bones: Professor Jones' Theory Advances
Professor Terry Jones and TV crew New Zealand researchers have provided the first direct evidence that Polynesians sailed across thousands of miles of the Pacific Ocean to reach South America long before the arrival of the Spanish around AD 1500 -- a theory supported by Cal Poly Archaeology Professor Terry Jones, and the focus of much of his research on the Chumash. New Zealand researchers studying ancient chicken bones from Chile found the fowl originated in Polynesia, not Europe. "The Polynesian contact probably didn't change the course of prehistory, but I think maybe it makes us recognize the ethnocentrism in our long-standing views of the prehistory of the New World," Jones told the Los Angeles Times.
Read the Los Angeles Times story on the Polynesian migration study

Veteran and Cal Poly Scholar in Residence Seeks Textbooks for Vietnam
When Ted Hill left Vietnam at the conclusion of his tour of duty as a U.S. Army captain in 1969, he didn’t expect to return. Today, nearly 40 years later, the world-renowned mathematics researcher has made repeated trips to the country in an effort to support an innovative Vietnamese university. Hill, now in his second year as a research scholar in residence at Cal Poly, is collecting textbooks and research materials for the English-language International University in Vietnam.
Read the SLO Tribune story on Hill and his efforts to send textbooks to Vietnam

Photo of a red Cabezon fish Professors Collaborating
on DNA Study of Popular Pacific Fish
Cal Poly Biology Professor Royden Nakamura and Conservation Biology Professor Francis Villablanca are working with the California Sea Grant program and the California Department of Fish and Game on a study of the genetic makeup of Cabezon, a Pacific Ocean fish popular with commercial fishermen. The professors' question: Are Cabezon a single, genetically homogenous unit or are they composed of multiple, genetically distinct populations?
More on the professors study on the genes of the Cabezon fish

Engineering Prof Gives BioTech Keynote Address
Cal Poly Engineering Professor and USC Professor Emeritus George Bekey, Ph.D., was one of two keynote speakers at the Ninth SoCalBio Investor Conference. The annual event showcases emerging life-science technologies and companies from Los Angeles County, Orange County, the Gold Coast, and Inland Empire. Professor Bekey, who taught at USC before joining the Cal Poly faculty, discussed future applications of robotics in medicine.
Read the News Release about the conference

Passings: Former IME Chair Don Morgan
Well-known Professor Emeritus Don Morgan, who headed the Industrial Engineering Department Head for 20 years, died peacefully following a stroke May 26. He was almost 90 years old and still active in the community. Professor Morgan and his wife, Jean, were honored for their many contributions at the IME 50th anniversary celebration in May 2006.
Read more about Professor Morgan's passing

Coming Up

Entertainment This Summer at the PAC
The East Side Opera, the International Choral Festival, Red-headed 'D-List' Comedienne Kathy Griffin, the classic Broadway musical "Peter Pan" and a series of Mozart Festival concerts will light up summer nights at the Performing Arts Center on campus -- as well as Cal Poly Arts 2007-08 season lineup.
Read more about events coming up this summer

Cal Poly Update is a newsletter for University friends and alumni and is prepared by the Cal Poly Public Affairs Office. Please share it with anyone you think may be interested in learning more about Cal Poly. However, if you wish to be excluded from e-mail sent from Cal Poly, please click here and follow the instructions. If you would like to update your alumni contact information, please click here.