Cal Poly Update
Alumni News
Sign Up for Some Hot August Nights (And Days) with Cal Poly Alumni
Remember 2006? You do if you're a Mustang football fan. That's when the Mustangs beat the Aztecs 16-14 in opening season play. The Mustangs are looking to do it again this August when they meet the Aztecs in Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego Aug. 30. Join the Cal Poly Alumni Association and Mustang football fans before the game for a Bratwurst and Burgers Tailgate. You can also join fans when they catch Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner Aug. 29 in San Luis Obispo and head to the game.
Other alumni events in August include a San Francisco Giants baseball game (Aug 10), the annual Modesto golf tournament (Aug 22), New Student Welcome events across California (Aug 17).
Get Details and Sign Up for August Events Now on PolyLink (no login required)
Cycle Rider is July's PolyLink Photo of the Month
Business alumnus Gary Gatel has turned his 1970s love of motorcycles into a career. Gatel (Bus. Admin, 1977) is the president of Rifle Fairings, a company that makes and sells fairings for motorcycles. Gatel is this month's alumni Photo of the Month winner in PolyLink, Cal Poly's Online Community for alumni.
More about Gatel and the PolyLink Photo of the Month winners
Engineering Alumnus Is Out of this World -- Literally
Astronaut and Mustang alum Greg Chamitoff is now aboard the International Space Station, where he's serving as the flight engineer until coming back down to Earth this fall. Chamitoff (B.S., Electrical Engineering, 1984) joined the seven-member crew of the shuttle Discovery on their mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle launched May 31 from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Discovery returned home June 14. Chamitoff remained on the International Space Station, where he will live and work for the next six months. In addition to his Cal Poly degree, Chamitoff earned his M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from CalTech in 1985, a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT in 1992, and an M.S. in Space Science and Planetary Geology from the University of Houston Clear Lake in 2002.
Visit NASA's Space Station Web site
See Chamitoff's NASA bio page
Other Alumni Made Headlines this Month too -- Read About Alumni in the News
University News
Meet the Class of 2008:
More than 3,600 Graduate in Weekend Ceremonies
More than 3,600 students graduated in two separate ceremonies at Cal Poly’s Spring Commencement Saturday, June 14 and Sunday, June 15. The university estimated as many as 30,000 visitors came to campus for the ceremonies. Cal Poly also granted three honorary doctorates during commencement this weekend: one to well-known alumnus and agricultural leader George Soares, one to former U.S. Ambassador William "Bill" Lane, and one to longtime President's Cabinet member Jean Lane. The Lanes, noted philanthropists, have been longtime supporters of Cal Poly.
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More about commencement
Inspiring Stories: Class of 2008 Includes These 'Great Grads'
All of the 3,600 grads from the Class of 2008 graduates are exceptional. Some of them, however, are downright inspiring. Read on for details about several of Cal Poly's "great grads." They include an architectural engineering grad whose parents are migrant farmworkers, a biochemistry student graduating as one of the top three in his class after serving in the U.S. Army in Africa and two tours in Iraq, a 19-year-old finance major who came to Cal Poly at age 17, and a fine arts grad headed to an internship at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.
Read about our 2008 Great Grads
Seasoned Journalist, Legal Scholar To Lead Journalism Department
Bill Loving, a seasoned journalist with a strong professional background and lengthy publication record, has been selected chair of Cal Poly’s Journalism Department after a year-long, nationwide recruitment. Loving will begin his duties July 1. He succeeds George Ramos, who led the department for five years and will return to teach in the fall.
Read more about Loving
Science in Action:
Cal Poly Reaches Out to Elementary, High School Students
Cal Poly Chemistry Professor Laura Baxley teamed up with Pacheco Elementary School teacher Judy Newhouser and four student assistants to teach science to 20 Central Coast students in a special summer science camp in late June. The fifth- and sixth-graders were on campus June 16-20, working on hands-on lab experiments in the morning and touring campus in the afternoons .
Read more about the elementary science camp
Cal Poly hosted "Access Chemistry 2008," the second annual hands-on summer laboratory chemistry workshop for blind and sighted high school students. The students were on campus in late June. They ranged in age from 14 to 18, and came from throughout California. The workshop was again led by Professor Dennis Fantin, a Cal Poly chemistry instructor and practicing biophysicist. Fantin, who is himself blind, has developed techniques and procedures which make the chemistry laboratory a rich environment for visually impaired students.
Read more about the workshop
Ringo is Summer Sustainability Conference Speaker
Green economy advocate Jerome Ringo, director of the Apollo Alliance and recognized by Washingtonian magazine as one of the "Top 30" people changing the environment, will present the keynote address at a conference on sustainability in higher education this summer at Cal Poly. Cal Poly will host the seventh annual UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference July 31-Aug. 3. Titled “Putting Sustainability to Work,” the event is a system-wide exchange between the University of California, California State University and California Community College campuses. Some 1,000 attendees are expected.
More on the 'Sustainability to Work' Conference
Cal Poly Earns CSU Award for Web Accessibility Efforts
Cal Poly was honored for Best Practices in Communications and Training for its “Think B4U Teach, Buy, Design” campaign on campus. The campaign poster, logo and Web site at www.accessibility.calpoly.edu promote the importance of accessibility and Cal Poly’s commitment to equal access for all. Cal Poly also received the Best Practices in Web Accessibility award for its Web Authoring Resource Center Web site, www.warc.calpoly.eduThe site includes information and links to tools such as templates and a compliance guide to help Web developers and designers create and evaluate Web sites for accessibility.
More on the CSU awards
Today's Students
I.E. Student Wins International Competition
Claire Dooley, an industrial engineering senior at Cal Poly, won an international contest on student technical papers sponsored by the Institute of Industrial Engineers. One of fourteen finalists, Dooley presented her winning paper, “Surface Mount Technology Optimization for Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing at Alcon Labs,” at the IIE Annual Conference and Expo in Vancouver, British Columbia May 17-21.
Read more about Dooley
College of Engineering Announces Outstanding Graduating Seniors
College of Engineering Dean Mohammad Noori announced the recipients of the 2008 Outstanding Graduating Seniors and Outstanding M.S. and B.S./M.S. Awards, along with the recipient of the Wingate Foundation HVAC&R Award. Mechanical engineering senior Lisa Dakis from San Diego received the $3,000 Wingate Award as the outstanding student in Cal Poly’s Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Program. Top academic achievers were determined by grade point averages. In addition, engineering departments named honorees for contributions to the College of Engineering, contributions to Cal Poly, and service to the community. College-wide winners from each category received special recognition, including $200 bonds from Lockheed Martin.
Read more about Engineering Awards
Students, Professors Outline Smart European Energy Practices
Students from the Empower Poly Coalition outlined their findings from the European Smart Energy Study Tour this week. The panel presented findings and suggestions for implementation at Cal Poly and in San Luis Obispo County. A group of students, educators, policy makers and business leaders toured European model cities that exhibit best-practices in smart growth, green building, innovative transportation, renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation.
More on the smart energy presentation
MBA Students are National Ethics Finalists
A team of graduate students from Cal Poly’s Orfalea College of Business was awarded the Kerrigan Award as Runners-Up in Loyola Marymount University’s 10th annual National Intercollegiate Business Ethics Competition. Part of the Business Ethics Fortnight, a multi-week program centered on facing real-life ethical challenges in the business world, students from around the globe competed for up to $2,000 and other awards.
More on the Business Ethics Competition
Faculty & Staff
Provost to Serve on Board of Directors for National Organization
Cal Poly Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs William W. Durgin will join the board of directors of the National Professional Science Masters Association (NPSMA). Founded in 2005, the NPSMA provides a collective voice for Professional Science Masters (PSM) programs by engaging universities, students and PSM alumni in a collaborative dialogue with business, industry, non-profit and government employers. Together, they form a supportive community for exchanging best practices, enhancing recruitment and placement of students and soliciting employer’s input to develop curriculum.
More about Provost Durgin
Two Faculty Members Receive University’s Annual Distinguished Scholarship Award
Cal Poly has named an associate professor of anthropology and a professor of economics to receive the university’s Distinguished Scholarship Award for 2007-08, the fifth year for the award program. Anthropology Associate Professor Terry L. Jones and Economics Professor Michael L. Marlow were recognized for outstanding accomplishments in research endeavors and their contributions to the advancement of the study of motives and consequences of human behavior. They were honored at spring commencement ceremonies and will be recognized during the university’s Fall Conference General Session on September 15.
More on Jones and Marlow
Professor Russell Continues Classical Collaboration with Chanticleer
Cal Poly Music Professor Craig Russell is continuing to make headlines for his collaboration with Chanticleer, a Grammy-winning a cappella ensemble specializing in medieval and Renaissance music. The group's latest CD, "El Camino Real" is a result of the group's latest collaboration with Russell. Russell wrote the arrangements for Chanticleer's acclaimed 1994 album "Mexican Baroque." He uncovered much of the California Mission era music on "El Camino Real" while researching his upcoming book, "From Serra to Sancho: Music and Pageantry in the California Missions" (Oxford University Press).
Read the San Jose Mercury News story | Read the Santa Cruz Metro story
Students, Faculty, Staff Honored for 2008 Community Service Efforts
President Baker honored 12 faculty, staff and students, a fraternity, and one Central Coast non-profit group for their 2008 community service efforts at the 22nd Annual President's Community Service Awards. Award-winning programs include a childcare program benefiting homeless infants and toddlers, an entirely new service program for students called Alternative Breaks, and creative fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Association.
More on the 2008 President's Service Awards
Animal Science Professor Elected to National Meat Science Board
A Cal Poly animal science professor has been elected to a national board overseeing meat and poultry science research. Professor Bob Delmore was appointed in May to serve a two-year term on the board of the American Meat Science Association (http://www.meatscience.org/). The group is an association of scientists and academics in the food and nutrition and animal science fields in the United States and other countries. The association's members are individual meat scientists. AMSA is not a trade association – it works to meet the needs of its individual scientists.
More on Delmore's appointment
Coming Up
Cal Poly Arts Announces 2008-2009 Season
"The Drowsy Chaperone," humorist Garrison Keillor, "Sweeny Todd," The Munich Symphony Orchestra, The American Ballet Theatre, singers and musicians Sam Harris, Kris Kristofferson, and Branford Marsalis are just a few of the highlights from Cal Poly Arts' 2008-09 season. Full season show and ticket ordering information, as well as artist websites, are available online at the redesigned Cal Poly Arts Web site at www.calpolyarts.org. Cal Poly Arts season ticket holder subscriptions are now underway, as well as group and special package ticket sales. Single tickets to individual performances go on sale to the public September 2.
More on Cal Poly Arts 2008-2009 Season Lineup