News & Events
2013
Cal Poly to Host Feb. 20 Conversation with 2012 National Teacher of the Year
Cal Poly and the Clark Center for the Performing Arts will host a presentation by Cal Poly alumna Rebecca Mieliwocki, the 2012 National Teacher of the Year, from 7 to 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20. Mieliwocki will present “Supercharging the Education Profession by Igniting the Power of One” at the Clark Center at Arroyo Grande High School, 487 Fair Oaks Ave. in Arroyo Grande. Mieliwocki has taught for 14 years, including nine years in her current position as a seventh-grade English teacher at Luther Burbank Middle School in Burbank, Calif. “Students learn best when they have the most enthusiastic, engaged teachers possible,” she said.
Read more on Mieliwocki's talk
Biology Study May Help Prevent Roadkills
Wildlife in San Luis Obispo county is getting a boost from research performed by biology students working with Professor John Perrine. Caltrans has commissioned the students to examine the effectiveness of a fence it recently erected to keep wildlife off Cuesta Grade north of San Luis Obispo. As it moves people north and south, Highway 101 cuts through a major east-west migration corridor for large animals such as bears, mountain lions, deer and wild pigs. The top of Cuesta Grade is one of the most popular places for animals to cross the highway, which can lead to high numbers of roadkill. Caltrans hopes the fence will direct animals to safe crossing places, thereby reducing roadkills while allowing necessary migration patterns to continue.
Read more about the wildlife study
School of Ed Alumna Honored as Cambria Citizen of the Year
The Cambrian reported that the Cambria, Calif., Chamber of Commerce chose Marcelle Bakula (Teaching Credential, Social Science, 1981; Special Education, 2004) as the 2012 Citizen of the Year. Bukala was honored for her tireless volunteer efforts supporting multiple local projects from land preservation to children's programs.
Read the article in The Cambrian
Apply for CSU Student Research Competition
Up to 10 Cal Poly students will be selected to compete in the statewide CSU Student Research Competition at Cal Poly Pomona, May 10-11. Dean Bailey will choose representatives from the College of Science and Mathematics to present before the Academic Senate. The senate will decide who continues on to the statewide competition. Students interested in competing should submit the registration form and a research summary to their department chair by Friday, February 8.
View guidelines and registration form on the Research and Graduate Programs' website
Read Dean Bailey's letter encouraging students to compete (pdf)
Learn about Fingerprinting Bacteria at Science Cafe
Hear stories from Professor Chris Kitts and third year biology student Maria Zuleta Alvarado about their adventures collecting local E. coli data for the Cal Poly Library of Pyroprints (CPLOP). The database is intended to be a searchable, online library and lower-cost resource for tracking E. coli to help researchers understand who or what is polluting the water. Then, brainstorm with the researchers about ways to collect wildlife “samples” that include origin confirmation. It’s one of their greatest challenges!
Date: Thursday, February 7
Time: 11:00am – 12:30pm
Location: Kennedy Library, second floor café lounge
Read more about Science Cafe
Read more about the Cal Poly Pyroprints project
Join the Science Cafe event on Facebook
2012
COSAM Student Research Featured in Cal Poly Magazine
The winter 2012 edition of Cal Poly Magazine features an article on two student-fueled research projects led by Chris Kitts and Dean Wendt, both biological sciences professors. The article explains how this real-world investigation into the health of local oceans and creeks benefits both students and the local community.
Read the Cal Poly Magazine story on student research
Biology Alumna Named Industry Leader in West Virginia
Amy Flynn (B.S., Microbiology, 1998) has been names one of 10 Young Guns by West Virginia Executive Magazine. The annual award goes to industry leaders in West Virginia who demonstrate ingenuity and have taken risks on their road to success.
Read the article about Flynn's award in West Virginia
Executive Magazine
Biology Professor Contributes to New Ocean Monitoring Website
Dean Wendt, associate professor of biological sciences and director of the Center for Coastal Marine Science, appears in an online video on the OceanSpaces website, an online community dedicated to sharing information about the ocean's health. Wendt speaks about the potential benefits of scientists collaborating with local fishing communities.
Watch the OceanSpaces: Connecting Communities video
Listen to an interview on California's Public News Service
Read more about Wendt's collaborative research in Cal Poly Magazine
Cal Poly Triple Grad Named Napa County 2012 Teacher of the Year
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Thirty seconds in the classroom with Jennifer Castelazo (B.S., Microbiology, 1989; M.S., Agriculture, 1994; Single Subject Credential, Physical Sciences, 1994) make it clear why Napa County chose her as Teacher of the Year in 2012. Her enthusiasm for learning is infectious.
"I'm a lifelong learner, and I think that's the important part. You need to impart to your students the excitement of learning," Castelazo said.
Read more about Castelazo
Statistics Alum Named Deputy Director of National Institute of Justice
Amstat News, the magazine of the American Statistical Association, reported that Greg Ridgeway (B.S., Statistics, 1995) was recently named deputy director of the National Institute of Justice. In the interview with Amstat, Ridgeway talks about the position, his fascination with criminal justice and why being a statistician made him the right person for the job.
Read the article in Amstat News
One of Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Newsletters Features STRIDE
The November issue of Let's Move! Museums & Gardens newsletter, a part of Michelle Obama's anti-childhood obesity initiative, featured a partnership between STRIDE, Cal Poly's Center for Science through Translational Research in Diet and Exercise, and the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden. The two teamed up to offer a Garden Fresh Family Cooking Class for children and their families. The kids start by harvesting organic produce from the botanical garden and then cook a family meal with the help of STRIDE's Health Ambassadors.
Read the article in Let's Move! Museums & Gardens
Read more about STRIDE
Read more about the Garden Fresh Family Cooking Class
$200,000 NSF Grant Helps Transform Undergraduate Education
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Engaging students in research is important to Biological Sciences Professor and Department Chair Chris Kitts. It's also important to the National Science Foundation (NSF), whose Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science division recently awarded Kitts and three collaborators a $200,000 grant to integrate research into the curriculum. The grant funds the development of a theme-based, interdisciplinary approach to science education that allows students to work on real-life science from day one. Kitts believes student participation in ongoing research will increase student engagement in entry-level courses, which should lead to increased retention.
Read more about the Transforming Undergraduate Education Grant
Biological Sciences Grad Talks Health for the Obama Campaign
“We do it all,” Cal Poly’s Biological Sciences Department claims, and 2010 graduate Rachel Hornstein certainly proves the point. While pursuing her graduate degree in health policy and management at UCLA, she applied to work for the Obama campaign’s health policy team and has been with the campaign since June 2012.
Read the interview with alum Rachel Hornstein
CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN — Tour the Cal Poly Pier Nov. 17
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The open house at the Cal Poly Pier in Avila Beach scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 17 has been cancelled due to rain. Please join us in April 2013.
Spend a "Night in Rome" to Support Education Scholarships
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly School of Education will host a scholarship fundraiser, A Night in Rome. The event will take place 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2 at Café Roma and is open to the public. The scholarships will benefit students pursuing their teaching credential or graduate studies in education. The event includes dinner, and silent and live auctions with prizes that include a weekend in Santa Barbara and a week-long golf vacation in Alabama. Tickets are $50 and are available by calling 805-756-1503 or emailing erwilkin@calpoly.edu. Tickets must be purchased by October 30.
Master Storyteller to Offer Workshop
Master storyteller, science consultant, author and oceanographer Kendall Haven will facilitate a workshop for all educators (teachers, students and faculty) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, in the Math and Science (Building 38), Room 131. The free event is sponsored by the Liberal Studies Department. RSVPs are required, as space is limited. To RSVP, contact Maureen Conner at ext. 6-2935 or mzconner@calpoly.edu.
Read more about the workshop
$250,000 NSF Grant Funds Telescopes for Research and Community Use
SAN LUIS OBISPO (October) — A free 11-inch telescope may be coming to a rural California town near you thanks to an NSF grant recently awarded to physics professor John Keller. The $233,000 grant, which Keller will share with Marc Buie of the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) in Boulder, Colo., will bring 10 telescopes to towns stretching along the California-Nevada border. Keller and his collaborators at SWRI want to learn more about Kuiper belt objects (KBOs)—large, frozen bodies that orbit the sun beyond Neptune.
Read more about citizen scientists and KBOs
Follow Keller and Buie's blog of their road trip to find community partners
Math Major at JPL When Curiosity Landed
SAN LUIS OBISPO (August) — The California State University reported on the many contributions of alumni and current students to NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars August 5. Cal Poly mathematics major Jenna Murphy spent nine weeks at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) this summer as part of the CSU’s STEM Teachers and Researchers (STAR) program. Murphy experienced the excitement at JPL when Curiosity touched down, though she was not involved in the landing. Her research focused on how to transport and handle the samples a future rover will collect.
Read more about Murphy's summer at JPL
Read the CSU article on Curiosity
Bridges to Baccalaureate Program Continues to Grow
SAN LUIS OBISPO (July) — Allan Hancock College reported that 19 of their students worked as research interns in Cal Poly labs this summer through the Bridges to Baccalaureate program. That's up from two students in 2009, the inaugural year. With funding from an $848,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, the program aims to help underrepresented students pursue careers in biomedical or behavioral sciences. The students worked on a variety of projects from trying to prevent milk spoilage to identifying different types of E. coli.
Read the Allan Hancock article about Bridges to the Baccalaureate
Mathematics Professors Lead First-Ever Cal Poly Math Academy
SAN LUIS OBISPO (July) — Mathematics Professors Elsa Medina and Amelie Schinck-Mickel organized a Math Academy for 18 students from Pioneer Valley and Santa Maria high schools this summer. Student participants were selected by their teachers. The academy aims both to make math more fun and to get students thinking about going to college. Two Cal Poly grants paid for the week-long session.
Read more about the Math Academy
Read the Santa Maria Times article on the Math Academy
Students Create Sustainable Systems with Guatemalan Peers
SAN LUIS OBISPO (July) — During July and August, nine Cal Poly students are teaming up with 10 of their Guatemalan peers in San Pablo, Guatemala, to study economic, resource, and energy use in developing nations. This is the second summer Physics Professor Pete Schwartz has taken students on the program, known as Guateca. The students work together to develop sustainable technologies for use in both the US and Guatemala. Technologies must be able to be created and maintained with locally available supplies and resources.
Read the Guateca blog
Visit the Guacteca website
Read more about the Guateca project
School of Education Professors Produce Video on Women in STEM
SAN LUIS OBISPO (July) — School of Education Professors Steven Kane and Jodi Jacques recently completed a documentary video, "Making the Grade: A focus on helping women excel in STEM majors." The 12-minute video features interviews with women STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) graduates discussing their experiences and offering advice on how to succeed. The video is part of a larger research project on the same topic.
View "Making the Grade" video
Read a review of the video on stemcareer.com
Visit the video's Facebook page
Congratulations to the Class of 2012
SAN LUIS OBISPO (June) — College of Science and Mathematics graduates began the next step of their journeys on June 9. The newest batch of alums will pursue activities as diverse as studying medicine, teaching, and working in industry or government.
View the slideshow as a gallery
Read the press release about Commencement
Biology Professor Kitts Honored as Distinguished Scholar
SAN LUIS OBISPO (May) — Biological Sciences Professor and Department Chair Christopher L. Kitts has received one of two 2012 Distinguished Scholar Awards from Cal Poly for exemplifying the teacher-scholar model by involving students in collaborative, interdisciplinary research to understand and remediate local environmental problems. Professor Kitts will discuss “Student-Centered Research at Cal Poly, a Tale of
Collaborations and Trade-offs” during an Interdisciplinary Colloquium on May 30, 2012 from 2:00 to 3:00 pm at the Advanced Technologies Laboratories (Bldg 7), and will be honored at Spring Commencement on June 9, 2012, and during Fall Conference General Session on September 10, 2012.
Read the press release about Professor Kitts
Dean Bailey Honored for Longtime Support of African-American Students
SAN LUIS OBISPO (April) — COSAM Dean Phil Bailey received an Ambassador of Goodwill Award April 21 at the ninth annual African Goodwill Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. Dean Bailey was nominated for the award by Cal Poly History Professor John Origi, a 2009 recipient of the same award from the African Focus organization. African Focus Incorporated (AFI) sponsors the annual African Goodwill Awards “to recognize, appreciate and celebrate the goodwill and contributions made by individuals, churches, organizations and corporations in response to the humanitarian needs of African people around the world.”
Read the press release
Cal Poly Pier Opens Up April 21 — Bring the Kids
SAN LUIS OBISPO (April) — The Cal Poly Pier in Avila Beach will be open to the public on Saturday, April 21, from 9 a.m. to noon. The event is free and the community is invited to come learn more about marine research going on there. Bring the kids and and enjoy special touch tanks full of marine creatures. Learn more about Cal Poly professors and students and their ongoing research into Morro Bay's ecosystem, sustaining local fisheries, and mapping ocean currents on the Central Coast.
Read more about April's Cal Poly Pier Open House
Students' Reptile Research Proposals Win Grant Funding
SAN LUIS OBISPO (March) — Would it hurt rattlesnakes if they were moved away from places humans are likely to frequent? And can the Western fence lizard species' immunity to tick-borne Lyme Disease be adapted to help humans? Two Cal Poly biology grad students have received research grants to find out. For his rattlesnake research proposal, first-year Biological Sciences master's student Kory Heiken received a $500 grant from the Chicago Herpetological Society and another $9,050 grant from Vandenberg Air Force Base. First-year biology grad student Kyle Weichert was awarded a $500 grant from the Chicago Herpetological Society to study the ability of western fence lizards to kill Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. The grant will pay for some of the lab supplies needed to perform the research.
Read more about snakes and lizards
Professor Testifies on Cal Poly Marine Science Research
SAN LUIS OBISPO (February) — Cal Poly Marine Science Professor Dean Wendt testified before the state legislature in Sacramento about the impacts that federal Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are having on the ocean environment. Wendt, associate dean of Cal Poly’s College of Science and Mathematics, is acting director of the university’s Center for Coastal Marine Sciences and executive director of the center’s SLOSEA research program and Central Coast Collaborative Fisheries project. He was invited to speak before the state legislature’s Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture’s 39th Annual Fisheries Forum on Feb. 22 in the State Capitol at the request of committee chairman Wesley Chesboro (D-North Coast).
More on Wendt and SLOSEA
Bring the Kids to Explore the Oceans in Avila Beach This February
SAN LUIS OBISPO (February) – Cal Poly students will be offering some hands-on experience with sea creatures at the Avila Beach Sea Life Center Saturday, Feb. 11 and Saturday, Feb. 25 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.Students enrolled in a Cal Poly course called Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences will be presenting activities that are family-friendly and appropriate for all ages. Children (and adults) can see, touch and learn about hermit crabs, sea stars, sea urchins, clams, sea snails and more.
Detals on the Sea Life events
Scientist, Consultant, Storyteller Giving Free K-12 Teacher Workshop
on Use of Storytelling in Science, Math Teaching
SAN LUIS OBISPO (January) – Science consultant, oceanographer, author and master storyteller Kendall Haven will conduct a free workshop for K-12 teachers at Cal Poly on Saturday, Feb. 11, in Building 02 (The Cotchett Education Building) in room 212, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The workshop will focus on storytelling and its uses in teaching science and math in the K-12 classroom. Participants will learn how to use storytelling and stories to create an anticipatory set, to deliver content, to bring the story of discovery to life, and to present biographical stories on researchers, mathematicians and scientist to students.
Details on the K-12 Teacher Workshop
Scientist, Master Storyteller Giving Faculty Seminar on "Your Brain on Story" Feb. 9
SAN LUIS OBISPO (January) -- Science consultant, author and oceanographer Kendall Haven will be the speaker in a free seminar for Cal Poly faculty, staff and administrators titled “Your Brain on Story: The Neural Science Behind the Startling Power of Story, and What it Means for You and Your Teaching.” The event is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 9, at 11:10 a.m. in Building 10 (The Erhart Agriculture Building), room 220.
More on Haven's faculty seminar, plus K-12 educator workshop
Professors Ritter, Lovaglio Talk Trees in Kennedy Library Feb. 3
SAN LUIS OBISPO (January) -- The Robert E. Kennedy Library will host a Feb. 3 book talk about Biological Sciences professor Matt Ritter’s, author of “A Californian’s Guide to the Trees Among Us,” Published in 2011. The Conversations with Cal Poly Authors event is free and open to the public. It runs from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in Room 111H at the Kennedy Library on the Cal Poly campus. Coffee and light refreshments will be served. For the discussion, Ritter will be joined by Enrica Lovaglio Costello, associate professor in the Digital Media, Art and Design Department. Ritter will give an informal talk about his love of trees and his writing process, followed by a conversation with Lovaglio Costello and Q&A with attendees.
More about the event
Cal Poly 'Hunger Free Communities' Research Released
SAN LUIS OBISPO (January) -- San Luis Obispo County families with low incomes are frequently being forced to chose between paying their rent or buying food, or paying their utility bill or buying food. The non-profit SLO Food Bank Coalition has seen a 25 percent increase in the amount of people showing up to request free food over the past year. And most of those who need food assistance are working - but at jobs that pay $250 to $1,500 a month. Those were just a few of the findings of a year-long research effort coordinated by STRIDE, Cal Poly's center for Science Through Translational Research in Diet and Exercise).
More on the study results
Link to full study presentation (pdf)
Professors, Students to Present Hunger Research to Congresswoman Jan. 13
SAN LUIS OBISPO (January) -- 
Cal Poly professors and students conducting research on hunger and food availability in San Luis Obispo County will present the initial findings to U.S. Rep. Lois Capps at Cal Poly on Friday, Jan. 13. Capps will speak at the event. Carl Hansen, director of the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County, and community members who gathered data for the study will also be on hand. All Central Coast media are invited; a disc containing the initial report and the PowerPoint presentation of research findings will be available to media at the event. Capps, Cal Poly professors Ann McDermott and Aydin Nazmi, Hansen, and student and community researchers will be available for questions and interviews after the presentation.
More on the report release
2011
Physics Professor Helps in Discovery of Magnetic, Sulfate-breathing Bacterium
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (December) -- Cal Poly physics professor Richard Frankel is part of an international team of scientists that discovered, documented and domesticated a magnetic, sulfate-breathing strain of bacteria from the wilds of Death Valley, a feat that will enhance the understanding of how bacteria make minerals and could aid advances in biotechnology and nanotechnology. Frankel, a physics professor emeritus, worked with University of Nevada Las Vegas microbiologist Dennis Bazylinski and other scientists on the project. The group’s findings will be published in the Dec. 23 issue of “Science Magazine."
Read more about the new magnetic bacteria
$3.4 Million NIH Grant Funds Professor's Research on Obese Moms
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (December) – Can replacing two meals a day with a liquid shake keep obese women from gaining a dangerous amount of weight during pregnancy?A Cal Poly professor has received a $3.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to find out. For the study, Kinesiology Professor Suzanne Phelan of Cal Poly’s STRIDE center (Science through Translational Research in Diet and Exercise) will work with 215 obese pregnant women in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties in California as well as 215 in Rhode Island. The study will be the first to evaluate the effects of a behavioral “lifestyle intervention” program that includes replacing some daily meals with meal replacement shakes, Phelan said. “The research is important because more than 60 percent of obese women in America gain more than is recommended during pregnancy,” Phelan said.
Read more about the study
Biology Alumnus Dies While Protecting Condors
BIG SUR (November) — Cal Poly alumnus and wildlife biologist Michael Tyner was killed by a falling branch in Big Sur Nov. 30 after caring for one of the California condors he was dedicated to saving. Tyner worked for the Ventana Wilderness Society as a field supervisor for its California Condor Recovery Program. Tyner went into the Los Padres National Forest on Nov. 30 with colleagues to check on a young condor in the process of being gradually released to the wild. Then the winds picked up. Meteorology reports said gusts of up to 70 mph were recorded in the area that afternoon. The Monterey County Coroner's Office reported that Tyner died at the scene due to blunt force trauma to the head from the downed branch. Colleagues called his loss "catastrophic."
Read more about Michael Tyner
Professor McCauley's Dragonfly Distress Research Making Headlines
SAN LUIS OBISPO (November) — A research article by Cal Poly Biological Sciences Professor Shannon McCauley is making a splash in the media. One of McCauley’s research specialties is dragonflies. According to one of her studies, stress can make them drop dead. McCauley worked on the study as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Toronto. She wrote a research paper on the study and its results, which was accepted for publication this summer in the journal Ecology. The journal Nature picked it up as “Research Highlight” and featured it in October. Since then, McCauley’s dragonfly stress research has been featured on more than 30 network news and popular science web sites including CNN, MSNBC, CBC, ScienceDaily, National Geographic, and DiscoverOnline.
More on the dragonfly stress study
Cal Poly Mathematics Department Helping Santa Maria Teachers Gear Up for Changes in Math Standards
SAN LUIS OBISPO (November) – Cal Poly’s Mathematics Department is partnering with the Santa Maria-Bonita School District to improve students’ mathematics skills. Thanks to a $250,000 one-year grant from the federal Improving Teacher Quality (ITQ) program, Cal Poly mathematics Professor Kate Riley will be holding workshops for Santa Maria-Bonita elementary and middle school teachers throughout the 2011-2012 school year. The Cal Poly grant is one of 14 awarded in California this year and was chosen from a field of 50 applicants. The Cal Poly ITQ workshops will help 35 Santa Maria-Bonita fifth- through eighth-grade teachers gear up for the new California Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. The new standards, and testing to match them, will launch in fall 2014.
Read more on the ITQ grant
STRIDE Research Helping San Luis Obispo County Identify Hunger Zones
SAN LUIS OBISPO (November) – Cal Poly students and volunteers are canvassing San Luis Obispo County this month, talking to more than 600 low-income residents to get more-accurate data on how many people go hungry. “We think the rosy picture on hunger in San Luis Obispo County comes from the fact that those most in need have been undercounted in previous studies,” said Cal Poly Kinesiology Professor Ann McDermott, director of the university’s STRIDE (Science through Translational Research in Diet and Exercise) center. STRIDE is partnering with The Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County on the study. It’s being funded by a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The study is one of only 14 Hunger Free Communities grants awarded across the nation this year by the USDA. Cal Poly received $30,000 from the grant to design and carry out two data-gathering and analysis efforts: a countywide food availability survey, conducted in spring 2011, and the ongoing hunger survey.
More on STRIDE's hands-on hunger research
Grant Will Grow Cal Poly Marine Science Fisheries Research
SAN LUIS OBISPO (November) – Cal Poly’s Center for Coastal Marine Sciences won a scientific competition for a $720,000 state grant to help improve how California manages its near-shore fishing grounds.The grant will allow for an expansion of the research the center’s SLOSEA (San Luis Obispo Science and Ecosystem Alliance) program has been doing for the past five years: monitoring the impacts of California's relatively new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on fish populations. Cal Poly students and professors involved in the research program are regularly aboard local fishing boats catching, counting, measuring and releasing fish species at designated study spots inside and outside Central Coast Marine Protected Areas.
More on the latest SLOSEA grant
Bring the Kids, Touch Some Sea Creatures at the Cal Poly Pier Nov. 5
SAN LUIS OBISPO – (November) Bring the kids and the camera and tour the Cal Poly Pier in Avila Beach on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 9 a.m. to noon. Interactive displays on the pier for the fall “open pier” event will include special touch-tanks full of live marine creatures, remote-controlled ocean research robots, microscopes for viewing ultra-small sea creatures and more. Cal Poly professors and students will be on hand to explain their ongoing research into local marine life, including Morro Bay's ecosystem, sustaining local fisheries, and mapping ocean currents on the Central Coast. Tour displays at your own pace, and ask questions of the Cal Poly faculty and students. Bring your camera to take close-up pictures of sea creatures or photos of the incredible coastal views from the pier. Rain cancels the event.
More on Open Pier Day Nov. 5
Professor, Student Present Research on Ancient Mountain Range and Earth's Crust
SAN LUIS OBISPO (October) – Cal Poly Geology Professor Scott Johnston and student Kenjo Agustsson spent the summer of 2009 on the chilly slopes of Greenland, delving into the roots of ancient mountains to study the history and makeup of the Earth’s crust. In October, they presented their research findings at the 2011 Meeting of the Geological Society of America. The four-day event in Minneapolis drew some 6,300 scientists. The trek to Greenland in 2009 and the October trip to Minneapolis were funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Johnston’s research, presented at the conference, focused on finding out more about the chemical composition and stability in the deepest layers of the earth’s crust. Johnston chose Greenland for his research because it is home to the remnants of the western half of a giant mountain range created 400 million years ago when the tectonic plates underlying Europe and North America collided.
More on Johnston's research
Cal Poly Education Professor to Speak at Central Coast Learning Disabilities Conference
SAN LUIS OBISPO (October) -- Steven Kane, an associate professor in the Higher Education Counseling graduate program at Cal Poly, will be one of two featured speakers Friday, Nov. 4, at the 23rd Annual Central Coast Learning Disabilities Conference. The professional conference is focused on on attention deficit disorders this year. The event is from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Cuesta College. Kane is a UCLA-trained and licensed psychologist who specializes in diagnosing and treating of learning disabilities and AD/HD in college students. He has been serving students with disabilities for more than 20 years. He will speak about techniques for helping individuals with AD/HD succeed in school and at home. Also speaking will be Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Katherine Ellison. CEUs are available for some professions; student registration is $15.
Conference registration details
COSAM December Commencement Set for Dec. 10 in Mott Gym
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Cal Poly's mid-year commencement ceremonies are set to take place in Mott Gym on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011. Students from the College of Science and Mathematics will graduate in a ceremony scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. in Mott Gym, along with students from the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. Following the ceremony, graduates, guests and faculty are invited to a reception in Chumash Auditorium, where refreshments will be served. This is a great time to introduce family and guests to faculty and other friends.
Download the December Commencement Factsheet (pdf)
Go to the Cal Poly Commencement website for details
The College of Science and Mathematics is Looking for a Few Good Ambassadors
SAN LUIS OBISPO (October) -- The College of Science and Mathematics is looking for a few good ambassadors. Ambassadors are a group of motivated students dedicated to promoting the College of Science and Mathematics and encouraging strong relationships between the faculty, staff, and students within the college. We pride ourselves on our commitment and support of our college. All of the COSAM Ambassadors are very active within the group, and by maintaining these attributes they intend to sustain efficiency and excellence in all they do. Ambassadors are the links between COSAM faculty, students and those outside the college.
Read more about the COSAM Ambassadors
Cal Poly Professor Awarded $3 Million Research Grant to Aid Low-Income Mothers
SAN LUIS OBISPO (September) – A Cal Poly professor has received a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop new ways to help low-income mothers return to their pre-pregnancy weight within a year of giving birth.
Kinesiology Professor Suzanne Phelan of Cal Poly’s STRIDE center (Science through Translational Research in Diet and Exercise) will work with low-income mothers in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties for the study.
Helping women return to their pre-pregnancy weights within a year of giving birth is important for their long-term health, Phelan explained. "High postpartum weight retention is a significant predictor of long-term weight gain, obesity, and obesity-related health problems including diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease,” said Phelan.
The professor, STRIDE researchers and Cal Poly students will offer an online weight-loss program to a target group of 410 new mothers served by 12 Central Coast WIC (Women, Infants and Children) clinics across San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. It's the first study in the nation to document and evaluate the effects of an Internet-based postpartum weight loss program in low-income women.
Details on the study
A Peak Experience For the Center for Science and Mathematics Construction Project
SAN LUIS OBISPO (September) -- Cal Poly's Center for Science and Mathematics construction project passed a major milestone Sept. 15: the placement of the final steel beam completing the frame of the six-story structure. Gilbane Construction Company held a "Topping Out" celebration to mark the occasion. The six-story, $119 million, 187,000-square-foot building was made possible by voter-approved state education construction bonds and $18 million in private donations to Cal Poly. It is set to open in 2013, and it will offer classrooms, lab space and offices for the university's physics, chemistry and soil science programs, as well as an open area and terraces for student study and meeting places. The top floor of the Center will house labs and offices for COSAM's Western Coatings Technologies Center and the Environmental Biotechnology Institute.
See photos from the Topping Out and read some unusual facts about the center.
Get project details & see more photos
SLOSEA, Professor Wendt Offer Research Aid On Imacts of New Federal Fishing Regulations
Professor Wendt
SAN LUIS OBISPO (September) — Cal Poly’s Center for Coastal Marine Sciences is working with local fishermen and federal and state officials to help smooth out rough spots in new commercial catch regulations.Jane Lubchenco, Head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), came to Morro Bay in August for a private meeting with fishermen from the Central Coast and Northern California, city and state legislative officials and conservation agency representatives. Professor Dean Wendt, Executive Director of SLOSEA (San Luis Obispo Science and Ecosystem Alliance) and Associate Dean of the university’s College of Science and Mathematics, was also at the meeting. “My main input was to stress the importance of linking the fishing industry’s observations with the kind of scientific information we are collecting,” Wendt said. Cal Poly professors and students have been working with local fishermen for the past five years. Among other things, they’re gathering data and using it to develop new models for managing California’s nearshore fisheries. SLOSEA researchers are interested in how management impacts fishermen and the local economy as well as fish populations.
Read more on SLOSEA and the new fishing regulations
Professors Moline and Clark Team with CSU Long Beach for Shark Robot Research
SAN LUIS OBISPO ( August) – Tracking the movements of sharks may become a bit easier soon thanks to a project involving students and faculty from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and CSU Long Beach. Cal Poly Computer Science Professor Chris Clark and Marine Biology Professor Mark Moline are collaborating with CSU Long Beach Marine Biology Professor Christopher Lowe on the shark tracking project, which involves using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) from Cal Poly. The AUVs, which resemble torpedoes, gather and send data to scientists. Cal Poly professors Clark and Moline have extensive experience in using AUVs for ocean research around the world.
Read more about the shark research
Kinesiology Major Completes Prestigious ExxonMobil Foundation Internship
SAN LUIS OBISPO (August) -- Mattie McGowen, a junior kinesiology major at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, was one of 60 college students chosen to participate in the 2011 ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program in Dallas. The program, administered by the Volunteer Center of North Texas, provides exemplary students with eight-week, paid internships at deserving local nonprofit agencies. McGowen, whose hometown is Turlock, California, spent the summer interning with the White Rock YMCA. She planned and facilitated teen camp activities, field trips and special events; attended nonprofit management seminars; and managed grant evaluations.
More on McGowen
Passings: Chemistry Professor Marshall 'Marty' Wright
SAN LUIS OBISPO (August) -- Marshall "Marty" Wright, 85, passed away peacefully after a two-year battle with cancer Tuesday, July 26, 2011. A native of Portland, Ore., Professor Wright earned bachelor's degrees in Chemistry (1946) and Philosophy (1952) at Reed College, and his M.A. in Chemistry at the University of Oregon in Eugene (1949). He brought his family to San Luis Obispo in 1960, where he taught chemistry for 31 years at Cal Poly, retiring from full-time teaching in 1988. During the spring quarter of 1991, he returned to campus to teach a course in Jazz History. Both Professor Wright and his wife, Virginia, were musicians.
More on Professor Wright
Passings: Chemistry Professor Glenn Wight
SAN LUIS OBISPO (July) -- H. Glenn Wight, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, passed away on July 23, 2011, in San Luis Obispo at the age of 90. A decorated veteran of the U.S. Army Infantry during World War II, Glenn earned his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley. He began teaching at Cal Poly in 1952 at a starting salary of $325 per month, when the campus had 3,000 students — all men. He joined the Physical Sciences Department, which at the time included chemistry, physics, geology, and astronomy, and had 10 faculty members. Professor Wight was instrumental in creating a Chemistry Department that offered a major accredited by the American Chemical Society.
More on Professor Wight
NIH Grant Brings Bridges to Baccalaureate Students to Cal Poly from Hancock
SAN LUIS OBISPO (July) -- Thanks to an $848,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, 14 students from Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria are spending their summer as paid research interns at Cal Poly. This is the third summer Cal Poly has hosted Hancock College students through the NIH’s Bridges to the Baccalaureate program. The students are paid $10 an hour for up to 30 hours a week working under the supervision of Cal Poly faculty. The aim of the grant is to increase the number of underrepresented students who earn degrees in biomedical or behavioral science and go on to successful careers in science-related fields.“We’re hoping they all go on to careers in science once they see how cool research is,” said Cal Poly Biological Sciences Professor Emily Taylor, who coordinates the summer program.
More on the Bridges to the Baccalaureate interns
NASA Scientist Speaking on Where the Hot Stuff Is July 19
SAN LUIS OBISPO – (July) Learn about volcanoes on earth and across our solar system on Tuesday, July 19, in a free public lecture by Rosaly Lopes, a Senior Research Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Lopes leads the Geophysics and Planetary Geosciences Group there. She is an expert on planetary volcanism, worked on the Galileo mission to Jupiter and is currently on the science team working on the current Cassini unmanned spacecraft mission to Saturn. The NASA scientist will explore other worlds in her talk, titled “Where the Hot Stuff Is: Volcanoes on the Earth and in the Solar System.” She will explain a wide variety of volcanic forms, including ice volcanoes.
More on Lopes' talk photo by slworking2 courtesy Creative Commons
NASA Scientists Speaking on Global Warming July 12
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (July) Global warming is all but guaranteed, judging by data being gathered now about Earth’s ocean temperatures, according to NASA scientist Jorge Vasquez. Vasquez will speak about his research and the role of Earth’s oceans in global warming on Tuesday, July 12, at Cal Poly in a free public lecture titled "Global Warming Guaranteed: It's All About Watching the Oceans!" Vasquez is a researcher and task scientist for the Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The center serves as the central clearinghouse for measurements of ocean wind speed and direction, ocean height, and sea surface temperature made by NASA satellites.
More on Vasquez' talk
Cal Poly Professor Receives Award for Special Education Achievements
SAN LUIS OBISPO – (June) Cal Poly School of Education Professor Michael Ruef has received the 2011 Thomas Haring Award in recognition of his efforts on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. The award is given annually by the UC Santa Barbara Gervitz School of Education.In selecting Ruef for the ward, The Gervitz School noted that his work “represents the best in leadership, citizen activism and advocacy.” He received the award at a ceremony in early June, along with four other recipients.Ruef is a professor and co-coordinator of Special Education Programs in Cal Poly’s School of Education. He is a founding member of the board of directors for the Central Coast Autism Spectrum Center.
Details on the award
Chemistry Alumni Receive Prestigious National Science Foundation Grad School Fellowships
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (June) Two Cal Poly chemistry alumni have been awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships of $90,000 each. Chemistry grads Crystal Valdez and Joseph Carlson are pursuing advanced degrees at UCLA and UC Irvine, respectively. Each will receive $30,000 a year for the next three years from the NSF. Valdez graduated from Cal Poly in 2009 with a degree in biochemistry and is is pursuing a doctorate in physical chemistry. She hopes to become a university professor once she earns her doctorate. Carlson graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in chemistry in 2010. He’s currently pursuing a doctorate in organic chemistry. He’s thinking of going into industry after earning a doctorate, thanks to a Cal Poly internship at Gilead Sciences.
More on the NSF winners, their research - and what they learned at Cal Poly
Commencement Reunion: Marine Surprises Math Grad
SAN LUIS OBSPO -- (June) Cal Poly math major Jessica Freedman got a special surprise during the College of Science and Mathematics commencement ceremony on Saturday, June 11. Thanks to some advanced planning from her parents and the Dean's Office, the ceremony featured an appearance by her brother, Eric Freedman, a Marine just home from a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Read more and see video of the reunion
Physics Professor's Sustainability Focus Featured in Journal of American Physics Society
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (May) Cal Poly Physics Professor Pete Schwartz is featured in the latest edition of the Journal of the American Physical Society. The article focuses on the professor's efforts to develop sustainable technology in a unique partnership between Cal Poly and a small town in Guatemala. Schwartz specialized in nanotechnology when he joined the faculty in the College of Science and Mathematics at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the early 2000s. After renovating his home and adding simple "green" technology there, his research emphasis changed to sustainability. He launched the university's 'Guateca' project, in which Cal Poly and Guatemalan students and professors explore energy use, language and sustainable technologies.
More on Schwartz
Students, Professors Launching Improved SoloQuad Kayak Friday
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (May) Cal Poly's "Activity for All" project is launching a new, upgraded SoloQuad kayak for disabled users Friday, May 20. The SoloQuad is an adaptive kayak designed for a pilot with quadriplegia or paraplegia. At the first launch of the SoloQuad in spring 2008, the motor overheated, requiring the kayak to be towed back to shore. A new team of kinesiology and engineering students working on the project redesigned and improved several elements of the SoloQuad. The pilot for the launch will again be Cal Poly alum Bryan Gingg, who has quadriplegia.
More on the launch
62 is a Lovely Number at the Putnam Math Competition
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (May) Cal Poly moved up in the rankings this year at the annual Putnam Exam -- one of the most difficult math competitions in North America. Cal Poly’s team ranked 62 among 546 participating universities in the United States and Canada – up from 114 last year. Math majors Paul Coombs and Matthew Tytel tied as Cal Poly’s top Putnam scorers with 38 points each. The two achieved Cal Poly’s highest individual score in recent memory, said Math Professor Lawrence Sze, who coached the group. Tytel and Coombs ranked 383 out of 4,296 competitors.
More on the 2011 Putnam rankings
Center for Coastal Marine Sciences Radar Network In Spotlight
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (May) Cal Poly Biological Sciences Professor Mark Moline was one of several scientists whose work is expected to improve marine operations such as oil spill response, search and rescue, and maritime transportation. The research could also become a key component in understanding how climate change influences biological systems. The new information is the result of monitoring coastal waters through a network of high-frequency radar systems that delivers the information in real time. The network is designed to map ocean surface currents to determine coastal ocean dynamics along the U.S. West Coast. As partners in this network, Cal Poly's Center for Coastal Marine Sciences operates nine of these sites stretching from Point Conception in the south to Ragged Point in the north.
More on the network
Cal Poly Chemistry Students Win Statewide Research Competition
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (May) Two Cal Poly Chemistry students took first place for their research project on molecule ring bonds in the annual California State University Research Competition. Undergraduate students Kellan Candee from Paso Robles and Melanie Miller from Fremont were awarded first place in the physical and mathematical sciences category for their research investigating the reactions of strained molecules. An understanding of the behavior of these compounds could lead to the development of new methods for making organic molecules with pharmacological and therapeutic benefits. Their faculty advisor was Professor Eric Kantorowski.
More on the award
Come to the 10th Annual Student Research Conference May 12, 13
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (May) Cal Poly’s College of Science and Mathematics is hosting its 10th Annual
Student Research Conference May 12 and 13. More than 160 students are presenting posters or talks on topics ranging
from breast cancer risk factors to sex differences in rattlesnake
brains to health-promoting compounds in wine to Autism management to
trapping atoms for quantum computing. The conference celebrates science and our students. By discussing their
faculty-supervised research with inquisitive audiences, our students
gain the experience they need to become professional scientists.
See the full schedule and topics list
Cal Poly Marine Biology Professor Named 2011 Fulbright Arctic Chair
Cal Poly Marine Biology Professor Mark Moline has been named the 2011 Fulbright Arctic Chair, one of the most prestigious awards in the international Fulbright Scholars program. As the Fulbright Arctic Chair, Moline, director of Cal Poly’s Center for Coastal Marine Sciences, will conduct research and lecture at the University Centre (UNIS) in Svalbard, Norway, from July through February, 2012. This will be the sixth Arctic research trip for Moline. While there, the professor will be using underwater robots to characterize the ocean foraging habitat that is key to a number of Arctic bird species. Only 40 Fulbright Chairs are selected each year from among the ranks of eminent scholars.
More on the professor's Fulbright award
Chemistry, Physics Professors Earn Patents for Research in Optics, Field Medicine
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (May) Two Cal Poly College of Science and Mathematics professors have been granted U.S. patents for devices developed through the university's Research and Graduate Programs Office: Chemistry Professor and Associate Dean Dane Jones and Physics Professor John Sharpe. Professor Jones collaborated with Biomedical Engineering Professor Lanny Griffin on research resulting in a patent for a rapid-setting splint that can be used to treat injuries in the field - from battle to hiking. Sharpe received a patent protection for an optical detection device, a low-cost technique with no moving parts and small power requirements that has industrial applications in the measurement of fluid flow in manufacturing, as well as in personal computer components.
Read more on the professors' patents
STRIDE Center Hosting Public Discussion by National Expert on Healthy, Sustainable Communities May 18
SAN LUIS OBISPO – (May) Cal Poly’s STRIDE Center will host a nationally-known physician and a panel of local government and health speakers May 18 to discuss environmental factors behind America’s obesity epidemic and community changes needed to combat it. Richard Jackson, M.D., M.P.H., and chair of Environmental Health Sciences at the UCLA School of Public Health, will speak on “Confronting the Crisis, Crash and Collapse: Creating Co-beneficial Solutions for Healthy Communities, Economic Growth, and Sustainable Resources.” His lecture will be followed by a panel discussion with university, agriculture and San Luis Obispo County government officials and a question and answer session. Panelists include Cal Poly Professor and STRIDE Center Director Ann McDermott, San Luis Obispo County Health Officer Penny Borenstein, M.D., M.P.H., County Supervisor Jim Patterson, and Bill Spencer, Co-Owner of Windrose Farms. Adam Hill, Chair of the County Board of Supervisors, will give introductory remarks. KSBY anchor and Cal Poly Professor Richard Gearhart will moderate the panel discussion.
More on Jackson's presentation
Instructor to Receive Presidential Award for Science Teaching Excellence
SAN LUIS OBISPO – (April) Cal Poly Biology Teacher in Residence and alumna Anne Marie Bergen will be flying to Washington D.C. in May to receive the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Bergen was among 85 math and science teachers from across the nation named by President Obama as award recipients April 28. It’s not the first recognition for Bergen, who was named California’s Teacher of the Year in 2003, and Stanislaus County Teacher of the Year in 2002. In 2006 she received the Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence. She is a 1985 graduate of Cal Poly with a degree in biological sciences and was named an Honored Alumna in 2008. Last fall, she came to Cal Poly to serve as a Teacher in Residence in the Biological Sciences Department, instructing science classes and labs required for the university’s Liberal Studies students – the undergraduates seeking to become K-12 teachers. Bergen is helping the university reshape the curriculum in several courses targeted to future classroom teachers.
More on Bergen
Astronomy Club Hosting Author, Stargazing On Campus May 7
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (April) Come learn about the world of astronomy and stargaze with University of Riverside astronomy professor and author Tyler Nordgren and the Cal Poly Astronomy Club May 7 on campus. In 2007, Nordgren took a sabbatical and spent 12 months exploring and photographing the night skies over national parks across the U.S. What he learned became his new book, "Stars Above, Earth Below: A Guide to Astronomy in the National Parks.” The professor will share his photos and experiences at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 7, in the Business Rotunda (02-213) at Cal Poly. The event is free and open to the public. A “star party” will follow the talk. Participants can view Saturn, the waxing crescent moon, double stars, and other astronomical wonders from the lawn outside the rotunda.
More on stargazing
Two June Workshops Set for Educators on Teaching and Learning with Monarch Butterflies
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (April) Cal Poly's Monarch Alert project and the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History are teaming up with the Monarch Teacher Network (MTN) to host two two-day workshops especially designed for educators on "Teaching and Learning with Monarch Butterflies." Cost is $99 per workshop, but a limited number of scholarships are available. Registration is limited to 50 people per workshop. The Pacific Grove educator workshop is set for June 27-28. The San Luis Obispo workshop is set for June 29-30.
Details and registration forms
Students, Faculty Aid Pacific Grove Monarch Habitat Enhancement
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (March) Cal Poly students, faculty and Monarch Alert researchers joined the City of Pacific Grove in planting trees in the city's Monarch Sanctuary.
Watch the effort on YouTube.
Tour the Cal Poly Pier in Avila Beach April 23
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (March) The Cal Poly Pier in Avila Beach will be open to the public Saturday, April 23, from 9 a.m. to noon. The event is free and the community is invited to come learn more about marine research going on at the pier. Bring the kids and and enjoy special touch tanks full of marine creatures. Learn more about Cal Poly professors and students and their ongoing research into Morro Bay's ecosystem, sustaining local fisheries, mapping ocean currents on the Central Coast and more.
Get Details | Print a flyer
Cal Poly Marine Science Research In the News
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (March) Cal Poly Research Scientist Brian Zelenke and graduate student and research fellow Johanna Weston were interviewed March 22 by KCOY-12 News, the CBS affiliate on the Central Coast. The duo were interviewed for four separate morning news segments at the Cal Poly Pier in Avila Beach. They discussed ongoing impacts of the March 11 tsunami, as well as other projects of the Cal Poly Center for Coastal Marine Sciences.
Watch the interviews
Cal Poly Studies Tsunami Surge on Central Coast
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (March) On the morning of March 11, a surge of water from the earthquake that struck Japan reached the Cal Poly Center for Coastal Marine Sciences’ Pier. Though the pier itself was ordered evacuated as a precaution, its instruments continued to record data. Center scientists were able to monitor what happened in Avila Beach as well Morro Bay, another site where Cal Poly maintains an extensive array of equipment for ocean monitoring. The observatory in Morro Bay is maintained by the Center’s SLOSEA program (San Luis Obispo Science and Ecosystem Alliance).
Learn more about what they recorded
What's that Tree? Find Out in Biology Professor's New Book
SAN LUIS OBISPO (March) Cal Poly Biology Professor Matt Ritter has written a nationally recognized book about trees in California. "A Californian's Guide to the Trees Among Us" is a natural history and identification guide to native and cultivated urban and suburban trees, with beautiful photos, all new identification keys, and foreword written by Dr. Peter Raven, President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Ritter will give a presentation on the book in San Luis Obispo Thursday, April 7 at 12:30 p.m. at the San Luis Obispo City County Library, 995 Palm. St. He will also sign copies of the book. The event is open to the public. Ritter's book features more than 150 of California's most commonly grown trees. Whether native or cultivated, these are the trees that muffle noise, create wildlife habitats, mitigate pollution, conserve energy, and make urban living healthier and more peaceful.
More on Ritter and "A Californian's Guide to the Trees Among Us"
Ask About ALICE: Cal Poly Professor Explains
"Big Bang"
Physics Experiment in Switzerland in Web Video
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- (March) Wondering about the origins of the universe, or have a question about ALICE? Get a brief, understandable explanation on the Web from Cal Poly Physics Professor Jennifer Klay. ALICE is an acronym for A Large Ion Collider Experiment, and it's going on now at the CERN Large Hadron Collider outside Geneva, Switzerland. In a newly posted video from the World Science Festival, Klay explains ALICE and the hadron collider. The collider is a giant underground scientific instrument that shoots subatomic particles against each other at millions of miles per hour, allowing researchers to gather data on what happens when they collide.
Get details and watch the video
Cal Poly Conducting Research on South Pacific Currents and Islands
SAN LUIS OBISPO – (March) Researchers from Cal Poly’s Center for Coastal Marine Science will spend most of March in the Western Equatorial Pacific studying ocean currents and how they interact with coral reef islands as part of a $370,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research. Marine Biology Professor Mark Moline and Senior Research Scientist Ian Robbins will be using remotely operated mini-submarines and placing sensor equipment on the ocean floor off Palau, an island republic near the Philippines. The equipment will gather data on what happens when ocean currents meet and flow around coral reefs. The underwater current mixing affects sonar capabilities, one of the reasons the Navy is interested in the research.
More on the Palau research
Lifestyle Intervention Keeps Pregnancy Weight Gain in Check, According to Professor's Study
SAN LUIS OBISPO – (March) Pregnant women avoid unhealthy weight gain and return to their normal weight post-delivery at much higher rates if they receive personalized nutrition and exercise monitoring and support throughout their pregnancy, according to a study led by Cal Poly Kinesiology Professor Suzanne Phelan. The study was published in February by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In the “Fit for Delivery” study, one group of women were given in-person, mail and phone support involving exercise, nutrition and diet during pregnancy to prevent excessive weight gain, in addition to standard prenatal care. A control group was given standard prenatal care only. “We found that preventing excessive weight gain during pregnancy is possible through a low-intensity lifestyle intervention that promotes frequent self-weighing, reducing fast food and soda consumption, and engaging in moderate physical activity at least five days a week,” Phelan said.
More on the study
Stay Dry and Explore the Oceans Feb. 26 with Cal Poly Students
SAN LUIS OBISPO – (February) Cal Poly students will host an “Explore the Oceans Day” from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Avila Beach Sea Life Center. Stay warm and dry inside the center while finding out about Central Coast marine life. Students from Cal Poly Biology Professor Nikki Adams classes will share hands-on ocean learning activities all ages. Touchable exhibits include learning how oil spills impact our local waters and the living creatures that live in them, testing how ocean acidification affects shellfish and corals, touching real shark skin, light and viewing bioluminescence in the sea, and where organisms fit in local food webs. Children and adults of all ages can get their hands on science and take home their own "night-lights" and fish prints from the sea.
More on the Oceans Day
Explore Ocean Life with Cal Poly Students in Avila Beach Feb. 12 and 26
SAN LUIS OBISPO – (February) Cal Poly students will host an “Explore the Oceans Day” from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12, at the Avila Beach Sea Life Center. Students will share hands-on ocean learning activities appropriate for children of all ages. Touchable exhibits include an exploration tank full of living local tidepool creatures; marine skulls and skeletons; beach buckets full of shore treasures; an exhibit on sands of the world, and more. Learn how sand is made, what shapes driftwood, hold a sea urchin, get a lesson in seaweed types and textures.
More on Feb. 12 Oceans Day
Free Storytelling Performance, Educator's Workshop on Oral Traditions Feb. 11 & 12
SAN LUIS OBISPO – (February) Cal Poly’s Liberal Studies Department is sponsoring a free, family-friendly performance by nationally-known storyteller Angela Lloyd on Friday, Feb. 11. The event is open to the public and will take place at 7 p.m. in Philips Hall at the Performing Arts Center. Lloyd tours the U.S. performing stories from a variety of sources, including traditional world folktales, children’s literature and original works. Her performances are a whimsical blend of poetry, story and song played on autoharp, tenor guitar, spoon, washboard and bell. In addition to the Feb. 11 performance, the Liberal Studies Department is sponsoring a free educator’s workshop with Lloyd on Saturday, Feb. 12. The workshop will focus on the use of storytelling and global oral traditions in the classroom.
Details on Lloyd
2010
- Biological Sciences Professor Mark Moline Awarded Two NSF Grants for Marine Biology Research off Antarctica, California
- Hands on Health Event: Cal Poly Digs Deep into Obesity-Related Issues
- Symposium at Cal Poly Focuses on Improving STEM Education
- Bio Sci Graduate Student Among Winners of CSU Research Competition
- STRIDE Supports Michelle Obama's Let's Move Initiative
- Cal Poly Sends 10 Student Research Projects to CSU Competition