Cal Poly Update - November 2008
Alumni News
Homecoming Features
New Cal Poly Wine Vintages
Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture students poured samples of the new Cal Poly wines Nov. 8 at the annual Cal Poly Alumni Association Wine Tasting at Homecoming. The 2006 vintages are the first made by the university's Wine and Viticulture program and the first Cal Poly wines in which students have been involved with every step of the process, from the vineyards to sales and marketing. More than 700 attended the CPAA Wine Tasting on the Business Lawn. Another 3,500 attended the annual Tailgate BBQ on the O'Neill Green. More than 10,000 fans turned out for the Homecoming football game, filling Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
More about the wines | More on Homecoming
Astronaut, Architecture Dean, Top Printer Among 2008 Honored Alumni
An astronaut, an architect, and the nation’s top printer are among this years Honored Alumni at Cal Poly. Honored Alumni recognized this year are: Joe Bannon of Carmel, Ind.; Rebekah Gladson of Corona del Mar; B. Quentin Lilly of Malibu; Christina McEnroe of Buellton; Gregory Chamitoff of Pearland, Tx.; Robert C. Tapella of Alexandria, Va.; and Anne Marie Bergen of Columbia. This year’s Cal Poly Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award Winner is Nancy McCracken of San Jose. They received the awards during Homecoming's Honored Alumni Banquet on Nov. 7 and were presented during halftime at the Homecoming football game Nov. 8 on campus.
More on the 2008 Honored Alumni
Mustang Olympic Competitors, Medalists Honored at Homecoming
Also recognized during halftime at Homecoming this year were Cal Poly's five Olympians: Discus Gold Medalist Stephanie Brown Trafton (I.E. '04), Equitation Silver Medalist Gina Ostini Miles (Crop Science, '97) Olympic Track Team member Sharon Day (Kinesiology '08), Canadian 2008 Olympian Jimmy Van Ostrand (Kinesiology and former Mustang Baseball standout) and current Cal Poly student and Paralympic Swimmer Mark Barr. Cal Poly alumna Deneen Smith (B.S., Ornamental Horticulture, '89) won the PolyLink "Meet the Mustang Olympians" contest and got her photo taken with the medalists at the close of halftime -- along with her husband, UCSB Professor Stuart Tyson Smith.
More on the Mustang Olympians
Alumni in the News: Top Lawyers, TiVo Execs and More
Cal Poly alumni made headlines again this month. One alum is on the 'Top 100' list of California lawyers, another is now a top executive at TiVo, and another has a booming 'green wall' landscaping business featured at a West Coast conference as the backdrop for former Vice President Al Gore during a speech. Do you know them? Find out
Read about Cal Poly Alumni in the News
PolyLink: Photo of the Month & Photo of the Year Winners
The November 2008 PolyLink Photo of the Month winner is Bridget Persons (B.A., English, 1991), a teacher extraordinaire in Southern California. Her shot of her oxcart ride while on a teacher exchange program in India (above) won her a cool 'Cal Poly Alumni' window decal. And thanks to the 840 PolyLink alumni who cast ballots in the contest, computer science grad Matt DuPuy ('02) won the PolyLink 'Photo of the Year' contest for his shot of himself climbing The Matterhorn -- the real one in Switzerland. DuPuy received 265 votes to win the 2007-08 title -- and a $100 gift certificate to El Corral Online for Cal Poly Gear. Just for being one of the 800 voters, PolyLink alum David Mason (Industrial Technology '90) won a $50 gift certificate for Cal Poly Gear.
PolyLink alumni can browse through member photo albums (login required)
See the winners, runners-up and all 2007-08 Photo of the Year candidates - no login required
Alumni: Nominate a Professor for Distinguished Scholarship Award
Cal Poly's Academic Senate is encouraging alumni to nominate Cal Poly faculty for the Distinguished Scholarship Awards. The annual awards are intended to recognize the scholarship and creative activity of both junior and senior faculty across all disciplines represented at Cal Poly. Alumni, students, faculty and staff can make nominations. Nominations for this year's awards are due by Dec. 5. For details and the online nomination form, visit the Distinguished Scholarship Award Web site
Got a Business Plan? It Could Win $250,000
There's still time to enter the sixth annual Ray Scherr Business Plan Competition now running at Cal Poly. The annual competition is open to alumni and the public in addition to Cal Poly students. It offers two cash prizes of $3,000 and one prize of $4,000. Judging will take place at Cal Poly in the spring. The winning entry will advance to a competition sponsored by Draper Fisher Jurvetson with a grand prize of $250,000. More than money, the competition puts participants' business plans in front of financiers and investors.
More on the 2008-09 Ray Scherr Business Plan Competition
University News
President Baker, Crop Science Faculty, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Respond to Student Incident
Cal Poly's administration, faculty and students came together to support diversity and respond to reports of agriculture students displaying racist symbols and signs with racial and homophobic epithets on campus. Cal Poly President Warren J. Baker and the entire Crop Science faculty e-mailed all Cal Poly students as well as all university employees Oct. 30 in response. The President e-mailed the entire campus community again Nov. 4. The president, in cooperation with Associated Students Inc. President Angela Kramer, scheduled a public meeting in Harman Hall from 7-9 p.m. Nov. 12.
"Over my nearly 30 years as president of Cal Poly, I cannot think of another incident that has outraged and saddened me as much as the hateful and intolerant displays reported last week at the Crops House," Baker wrote.
Read the Nov. 4 letter to campus from President Baker
Read the crop science students' letter of apology in the SLO Tribune
Read the Oct. 30 letter to campus from President Baker and the Crop Science faculty
Kennedy Library Expands Offerings to WiFi, Cafe, and Meeting Rooms
The Robert E. Kennedy Library has renovated the entire second floor. It now includes high-tech study rooms that feature whiteboards and big screen TV’s, brand new furniture for solo study or collective efforts, and a new cafe. Library employees spent the summer moving and cleaning all the books and materials formerly housed on the second floor to other locations in the building. Kennedy Library still offers "library style" quiet on the upper floors, with the fifth floor intended to be a silent study zone.
See the 360-degree video on PolyLink (no login required)
Visit the Kennedy Library Web site
Know a December Grad? Give a Grad Pack
Cal Poly's Mid-Year Commencement Ceremony is set for Saturday, Dec. 13. If you know a December grad, consider giving a Cal Poly Alumni Association Grad Pack as a gift. Grad Packs include a one-year Alumni Association membership, plus an exclusive Class of 2008 T-shirt and an Alumni license plate frame at the special price of $20.08. For details, call the Alumni Association at 805-756-2586 or visit the Alumni Association Web site.
Cal Poly Opens Marine Science Pier to the Public Nov. 15
Back by popular demand, the Cal Poly Pier again will be open to the public on Saturday, Nov. 15, from 9 a.m. to noon. Visitors can explore the facility at their own pace during the free event, enjoying hands-on displays and interacting with Cal Poly faculty and students who conduct research at the pier.
More on the Nov. 15 Open House at the Marine Sciences Center in Avila Beach
Visit the Cal Poly Center for Coastal Marine Science Web Site
Athletics
Men's Water Polo Heading to National Championships After Beating UCLA
The Cal Poly Mustangs beat the UCLA Bruins 9-8 in overtime to win the Pacific Coast Division Championship Nov. 2. The team will now travel Ohio University in Athens, OH, to defend the National Championship in tournament play Nov. 14-16. The Men's Water Polo team hosted the Pacific Coast Division Championships at the Cal Poly Rec Center Pool on Nov. 1 and 2.
More on the water polo tournament
Visit the Mustang Men's Water Polo Web Site
Five Added to Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame
Cal Poly inducted five individuals into its Athletics Hall of Fame Oct. 31: a former National Football League wide receiver, volleyball and wrestling All-Americans, Cal Poly’s athletic trainer for over 30 years and a longtime university donor.
Jimmy Childs, Ellen Bugalski-Ferreira, Steve Yoneda, Scott Heaton and Richard Andrews will raise the total number of Hall of Fame inductees to 97 individuals, a track and field relay foursome and the 1960 football team.
More on the 2008 Hall of Fame Inductees
Join Alumni Heading to Wisconsin to Back Mustangs
Alumni from California to Illinois are heading to Madison, Wisc., on Saturday, Nov. 22, to cheer on the Mustangs when they face the University of Wisconsin Badgers. The Cal Poly Alumni Association is holding a pre-game tailgate in Camp Randall Stadium at the University of Wisconsin. Some 60 alumni from across the country are already signed up for the Tailgate. They're making the journey from California, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin to show their green and gold. Tickets are still available for the game and tailgate and the purchase deadline has been extended to Nov. 14.
Click here for details and to order tickets online
Faculty & Staff
Eternal Vigilance the Price of Being Buff, Prof Finds
People who have lost a significant amount of weight and keep it off for years are constantly vigilant about what they consume, rarely overeat for emotional reasons and do about an hour a day of exercise, a new study shows. "They are doing the behaviors that we know work, and they are doing them every day. They don't give up," says Kinesiology Professor Suzanne Phelan. She presented her findings at the recent meeting of the Obesity Society, an organization of weight-loss researchers and professionals.
More on Professor Phelan's study
Professor Presents at National Biomass Conference
Cal Poly Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Tryg Lundquist updated a study that looked at the economics of building a large-scale algae production facility during the opening of the Algae Biomass Summit conference in Seattle recently. Lundquist summarized the results as “expensive.” He projected algae oil will cost $9 to $16 a gallon, not including the cost of processing it into biodiesel.
Read coverage of the conference in Biodiesel Magazine
Discovery Channel Discovers
Professor Cano's Ancient Ale
Microbiology Professor Raul Cano's 'Ancient Ale' beer is picking up notice around the nation -- and the world wide Web. Its secret ingredient? Yeast made from ancient microbes extracted from amber. The beer received good reviews at the Russian River Beer Festival and from other reviewers. The Oakland Tribune beer critic, William Brand, said the beer has "a weird spiciness at the finish," and The Washington Post said the beer was "smooth and spicy." Part of that taste comes from the yeast's unique metabolism. "The ancient yeast is restricted to a narrow band of carbohydrates, unlike more modern yeasts, which can consume just about any kind of sugar," says Professor Cano.
Read more of the coverage on Prof. Cano's Ancient Ale
Chemistry Professor Tina Bailey Retires After 31 Years
Christina (Tina) Bailey officially retired after more than 35 years of teaching in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She will continue teaching classes part time in retirement. Bailey officially retired Aug. 31, but the college celebrated her years of service to students and the university with a special reception in October.
Wildfires, Growth Place California's Water Supply at Risk, Professor Writes
"Many Californians today take water for granted. Turn the tap and out it comes. But our growing population has had an effect on water quality and availability. California is putting unprecedented demands on its water supply," writes Professor Norm Pillsbury of Cal Poly's Natural Resource Management Department. Pillsbury teaches forest hydrology and watershed management and has conducted research into watershed systems for more than 30 years.
Read his column on California Water Issues Union-Tribune
Today's Students
Hundreds of Cal Poly Students Volunteer on Make a Difference Day
About 400 Cal Poly students volunteered with nonprofit groups around San Luis Obispo County on Oct. 25 as part of the annual Make a Difference Day. Students helped more than 30 nonprofit groups with landscaping, painting, fundraisers, food drives, gardening and other work for four hours. This is the 10th year Cal Poly has taken part in Make a Difference Day, a National Day of Service. Organizers of the local event estimate that volunteers here performed about $35,000 worth of work in one day.
More on Make a Difference Day
Cal Poly Student Wins Soil Research Competition
Ian Leslie, a Cal Poly soil science senior, won first place in the National Undergraduate Oral Research Presentation Contest. The competition was held at the joint annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and the Soil Science Society of America International. Leslie presented a paper on research he and several others did in spring 2008, focused on assessing concentrations of chromium and nickel in the soil and vines at Cal Poly’s vineyard.
More on Leslie's award
CAED Students Take Silver in International Design Competition
If you were to sit down and design the personal residence for the President of the United States today -- a residence that reflected the architectural significance of the ultimate symbol of political power -- what would it look like? A team of students from Cal Poly’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design won second place in the international competition, White House Redux, with their answer to that question. The Mustang team's designs topped more than 500 submissions from 42 countries.
Read More about the White House Redux Competition
Coming Up
Mars Exhibit Has Landed at The Kennedy Library - Explore It
“Mars Within Reach: Arctic Melodies and Science from the Red Planet,” is a free, public interactive exhibit running through Jan. 12 in the Kennedy Library Gallery at the Commons. The exhibit will allow visitors to touch, hear, and interact with data from several recent Mars missions. It blends planetary science, engineering and music to demonstrate scholarship related to the exploration of the Martian Arctic. The exhibit includes elements to make the content accessible to people with visual impairments.
More about the Mars exhibit at the Kennedy Library
Music Department Presents Bandfest ’08: 'Mi Alma Latina' Nov. 15
This festive season opener for the Cal Poly Music Department is set to start with a bang and never look back. The rhythms of Spain, Cuba, and Central and South America create the playlist for more than 200 collegiate wind and percussion musicians in action. In addition, the Pride of the Pacific Mustang Marching Band will fill the hall with its spirited arrangements, usually performed at halftime in Spanos Stadium. The event is set for Saturday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. in the Christopher Cohan Center.
More on Bandfest
Cal Poly Symphony Fall Concert is Nov. 16
Join the Cal Poly Symphony Sunday, Nov. 16, at 3 p.m., in the Christopher Cohan Center as student and faculty musicians explore the music of Russia. Pianist and Professor W. Terrence Spiller will be the symphony's featured soloist for Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto, a piece that has thrilled audiences since 1901. The Cal Poly Symphony will also play Mussorgsky’s "Pictures at an Exhibition," a work originally written for solo piano and later orchestrated by Maurice Ravel.
More on the Symphony performance
A&E Network Programming VP Speaks Nov. 20
Libby Haight O’Connell, senior vice president of corporate outreach and chief historian for A&E Television Networks, will present a lecture titled “Looking Back, Moving Forward,” at Cal Poly’s Spanos Theater from 11:10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Nov. 20. The event is free and open to the public. O’Connell will focus on historical figures and how they can inspire people today. She will cite historical figures diverse in chronology and origin, ranging from Roman author Virgil, who wrote, “Fortune favors the brave,” to the more contemporary Woody Allen who said, “80 percent of life is just showing up.”
More on the free event
American Ballet Theatre
Dances into PAC Nov. 20
American Ballet Theatre is of one of the world’s most revered and innovative dance companies. Under its auspices comes ABT II, a classical company of 13 young dancers of outstanding talent, hand-picked from around the world. The ABT II corps vigorously trains under the direction of former ABT principal Wes Chapman. The company's performance in the Christopher Cohan Center will showcase some of ABT’s finest future dancers.
More on the ABT II performance
Cal Poly Theatre & Dance Department Presents
'The Bald Soprano' Nov. 20-22
An absurd world of senseless communication is shattered as the characters reveal true, intimate secrets about themselves in "The Bald Soprano," presented by Cal Poly's Theatre and Dance Department in November, directed by Al Schnupp. Curtain time is 8 p.m. in the Spanos Theatre Nov. 20-22.
More on 'Soprano'
Award-Winning SF Architect Speaks Nov. 21
Award-winning architect Mitchell Joachim will speak on his new research experiments and inventions. Joachim is a young architect and partner at the nonprofit organization Terreform 1. Joachim will speak Friday, Nov. 21 at 4 p.m., in the Business Building Rotunda (Room 213). The free lecture is open to the public and part of the Hearst Lecture Series presented annually by the College of Architecture and Environmental Design.
More on Joachim
Takács String Quartet Performs Nov. 24
Recognized as one of the world’s premiere string quartets, the Takács Quartet is renowned for the ability to fuse four distinct, expressive musical personalities into gripping, unified interpretations. Their performance at Cal Poly will include Haydn’s Quartet Op. 77 No. 2 in F Major, Bartók’s Quartet No. 2, and Schumann’s Quartet Op. 41 No. 1.
More on Takács Quartet
'Sweeney Todd,' The Stage Version, Comes to the Cohan Center Dec. 4
Experience the musical that inspired the Tim Burton-Johnny Depp movie. This revolutionary modern dress revival from Tony Award-winning director/designer John Doyle features a multi-talented ensemble of 10 actor/musicians. Don’t miss this phenomenal ground-breaking minimalist production that rocked the socks off New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco audiences, brought to the Christopher Cohan Center by Cal Poly Arts.
More on Sweeney Todd
Hear 'A Modern Gospel Christmas' Dec. 5
Celebrating its 11th anniversary with a unique presentation of holiday and gospel music in a modern expressive style, the House of Prayer Church Choir will be accompanied by a six-piece band. Uplifting, enlivening and sure to be inspiring. Curtain time is 8 p.m. in the Christopher Cohan Center.
More on Gospel Christmas
'12 Days of Christmas' Dances
Into the Spanos Theatre Dec. 6 & 7
Enjoy the fifth anniversary presentation of this grandly danced original holiday performance in the Spanos Theatre. Journey through a winter storm, a WWII sailor's homecoming to this "True Love," and Christmas Eve at the town's skating pond. Uplifting and delightful for the entire family, with both matinee and evening performances. Presented by Ballet Theatre San Luis Obispo.
More about '12 Days'