Cal Poly Update | January 2008

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

Alumni
Rose Float Wins Coveted 'Fantasy Trophy'
The 60th Annual Cal Poly Rose Float won the coveted 'Fantasy Trophy' in the 2008 Rose Parade. The float, "Guardians of Harmony" is designed, built, decorated and operated totally by volunteers -- the only such float in the parade. Students from Cal Poly and their counterparts at Pomona, Cal Poly's "sister campus," design and build the float each year, with parents and alumni helping to add finishing touches -- and flowers -- in Pasadena. This year's float was honored by judges for “the most outstanding display of fantasy and imagination.”
Details on the 2008 Float
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Alumni in the News
The Iceman is Back After Ultimate Fighting Victory
The Iceman is back, thanks to his unanimous victory in a Dec. 28 match against Wanderlei Silva in Las Vegas. Sportswriters were quick to note that Cal Poly alumnus Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell looked like his old self Dec. 28 -- one of Ultimate Fighting's most feared strikers. Liddell (B.S., Business Administration, 1995) was a member of Cal Poly's wrestling team during his years here. Other alumni made headlines recently too, including a celebrity photographer and a former United Nations official. Find out which other Cal Poly Alumni were in the news -- and if you know them
Read more about alumni in the news

December Commencement Means 675 New Alumni
December graduate smiling Cal Poly has more than 675 new alumni in the wake of its mid-year commencement ceremonies. Cal Poly hosted three separate indoor commencement ceremonies Saturday, Dec. 8, in the Associated Students' Recreation Center. Each of the ceremonies featured a different speaker.
More on December Commencement
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Steve and Suzen Plath Photo of the Month:
Calling all 1960s & 1970s Alumni
After graduating from Cal Poly and doing a tour of duty in Vietnam, Steve Plath (B.S., Math, 1967) took his look to the opposite extreme: from crew cut to rock star. Now he's married to the foxy lady in the photo, the father of two grown sons, and a high-end contractor in Marin County. And, he's got some of the best "back in the day" photos on PolyLink. Read more and
See the PolyLink Photo of the Month Gallery
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Nan-tastic: Alumni Take Home iPods and Weird Al CDs
ipod There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but there is such a thing as a free iPod. Just ask Tylia Smith (B.S., Biological Sciences, 2005) and Mike Shick (B.S., CivilEngineering, 2005). Both logged in to PolyLink and created their personal page between August and October -- and were automatically entered in a drawing for one of five free iPods. There are still three iPod Nanos waiting to be given away. Log in and create your own personal ID, password and profile today -- and you could be the next Nan-tastic giveaway winner.
Click here for details

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table by canal Spend Spring on the Waterways
of Holland and Belgium
Sip coffee in Antwerp, watch the tulips bloom in Holland and wander through museums in Belgium April 22-30 with Cal Poly alumni and friends. Cruise the canals of the Netherlands with the Cal Poly Alumni Association Travel program.
Get details on the April trip
See photos from past CPAA tours to Europe

Play it Again, Sam: The Cal Poly Holiday Card
Getting ready for Chinese New Year? Can't get enough of the holiday season? Want to see some great photos of Cal Poly? Enjoy Beach Boys-esque humming set to sleigh bells? Whatever your reason, You can see the Cal Poly 2007 Holiday Photo Card anytime -- the whole year long. Many of you asked us to send you the link again.
Here it is

University News
Biology Professor and Students
Discover Record Tree in Poly Canyon
Cal Poly Biology Professor Matt Ritter and three of his students recently discovered what may be the tallest Karri Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus diversicolor) tree in North America. Ritter, a biology professor and head of the Cal Poly Plant Conservatory, spotted the massive tree in Poly Canyon in 2005. But it wasn’t until late November 2007 that he and three students were able to climb to the top of the giant tree to measure its height: a whopping 154 feet. It topped the current reigning tallest North American Karri Eucalyptus -- a San Clemente tree -- by more than 100 feet.
More on the record Poly Canyon tree

University Emergency Text Message
Alert System Now Activated
Cal Poly has activated a new notification system that enables the university to send text messages to students, faculty and staff in the event of a campus emergency. The new system, powered by e2Campus, enables university officials to send instant alerts directly to registered subscribers’ e-mail accounts and mobile phones via SMS text messages. Subscribers can also receive alerts via RSS, wireless PDA, My Yahoo, My AOL, and personalized iGoogle home pages.
Read more about the emergency text system

Modern Marvels Show Features Cal Poly Dairy Tech Center
Cal Poly's Dairy Products Technology Center and the historic Cal Poly Creamery are being featured on an episode of The History Channel's Modern Marvels program. The episode, "Modern Marvels: Milk" details the history of milk and it's production -- from dairy to grocery store shelves. The episode premiered on The History Channel cable network Jan. 7 and will be rebroadcast periodically. The Modern Marvels production crew was on campus in early October, 2008, filming for the episode.
More on the "Modern Marvels: Milk" episode
Visit the Dairy Products Technology Center Web Site
Read more about the DPTC

Today's Students
Students To Vote on New ASI Fee for Larger Rec Center
Cal Poly students will be asked this spring whether they want to pay more to increase the size of the Associated Students Inc. Rec Center next to Mott Gym. The proposed expansion would double the size of the center if students approve a $65-per-quarter fee increase in February. The fee hike would pay for a $72 million expansion of the student Rec Center. If approved, ASI would begin construction, but not implement the fee increase until the additional pool and rec sports space is open to students.
Visit the ASI Web site on the proposal

Cal Poly Students Volunteer 700 Hours of Breaktime in New Orleans
More than 700 hours in just five days – that’s the total amount of time 24 Cal Poly students donated to New Orleans hurricane relief during winter break. The students traveled to New Orleans as part of Cal Poly’s first ever Alternative Break Trip sponsored by Student Life and Leadership. In addition to demolishing and rebuilding two houses, the students cooked a community meal for senior citizens, walked dogs at an animal rescue shelter, tutored students at an elementary school, and assisted at a senior center.
More on Alternative Break in New Orleans

Dance ‘Momentum’ Building for February Performances
dancers in a row The talents of award-winning choreographers from New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as those of local professionals and Cal Poly students and faculty, will be on display during the Orchesis Dance Company's 38th annual concert, “Momentum.” Performances are scheduled at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb.1-2, and Thursday through Saturday, Feb.7-9, plus a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Feb.3. All performances will be in the Spanos Theatre at Cal Poly.
More about the Orchesis performance

Students Take Silver in International Microelectronics Competition
A multi-disciplinary team of Cal Poly students took second place in the Student Chapter Booth Competition at the 40th Annual International Symposium on Microelectronics in San Jose. This was the first year in which Cal Poly’s International Microelectronics and Packaging Society chapter participated in the event, the largest symposium related to microelectronics packaging industry in the world.
More on the Microelectronics win

Cal Poly-Trained Teacher Lights Up Learning for Gifted Students
Santa Maria teacher José Segura saw a lot of light bulbs go on in his classroom recently, thanks to a science lesson idea he learned at a Cal Poly conference. Segura, a GATE-certified teacher at Miller School, set up several dollhouses in his classroom and helped teams of sixth-graders set up both series and parallel circuits in order to light up the houses and get their interior fans going. Busy installing miniature lighting and tiny fans and working circuitry, the students loved it.
Read the story in the Santa Maria Times

Society of Women Engineers Wins National Team Tech Competition
SWE group A diverse group of engineering students from Cal Poly’s Society of Women Engineers recently took first place and $5,000 in the national Boeing Team Tech Competition. SWE students submitted a winning design for a roller coaster weld point inspection device that moves along a roller coaster track to sense whether or not welds are smooth. After performing initial design tests at Cal Poly, the team conducted actual on-track testing at Disneyland.
Read more about the engineering society's win

Faculty & Staff
Blind Chemistry Professor to Discuss
Undoing Social Stereotypes Jan. 17
Cal Poly’s Provocative Perspectives series continues Thursday, Jan. 17 with a talk by Cal Poly Professor Dennis Fantin entitled "A place at the table: How people with physical impairments are undoing the crippling effects of negative societal stereotypes." The free event will take place in the Vista Grande Café at Cal Poly, beginning with breakfast at 7:30 a.m., followed by the lecture at 8 a.m.
Read more about Fantin and his talk

Professor Metcalf Named to Chair Marketing Concentration in OCOB
Professor Lynn Metcalf is the new area chair of Marketing in the Orfalea College of Business. She took on the position Jan. 1. Metcalf was joined the Cal Poly faculty in 1985 and has since received numerous honors and awards during her tenure. Metcalf takes the reins from Norm Borin, who has chosen to return to the classroom full-time.

Terri Swartz Longtime Cal Poly Professor Swartz
Named Business Dean at CSU East Bay
Longtime Cal Poly business professor Terri Swartz has been named dean of the College of Business and Economics at CSU East Bay. CSUEB Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael K. Mahoney made the announcement Dec. 20. Swartz came to CSUEB from Cal Poly in July 2007 to serve as the interim dean. Swartz, a Cal Poly faculty member for 16 years, also served as the interim dean and interim associate dean of the Orfalea College of Business during her years in San Luis Obispo.
More on Swartz's appointment at CSUEB
Read the story on InsideBayArea.com

Passings: Business Professor Walter Rice
Longtime Cal Poly Business Professor Walter Rice passed away Dec. 12, 2007, after a brief illness. Rice, 69, died peacefully in his sleep. During his 36 year career at Cal Poly he taught economics, headed the MBA program, and served as Associate Dean in the university's Orfalea College of Business before his retirement in 2000. Rice was an expert on transportation economics, especially on California rail and trucking issues.
More about professor Rice's passing

Passings: Statistics Professor Noel Claire Wheeler
Former Cal Poly Statistics Professor Noel Claire Wheeler passed away Jan. 4. She taught statistics at Cal Poly from 1994-1999. After earning her Ph.D. in statistics in 1979, she was recruited by UCLA to head the Statistical Consulting Unit within the School of Medicine, which she did until her retirement in 1993. She and her husband Norman then moved to San Luis Obispo in 1994, and she began teaching at Cal Poly.
Read Wheeler's obituary in The SLO Tribune

Coming Up
'The Green Media Show’ Coming to Cal Poly Jan. 24
Cal Poly will host “The Business of Green Media,” a special conference focusing on the development of sustainable communications, on campus Jan. 24. The conference is expected to bring together leaders in the production of sustainable media and will focus on the business challenges and opportunities that face the graphic arts community and those involved in media production.
More on 'The Green Media' conference | Read about Conference Speakers

Marc Maron Comedy Central Comedians Maron, Papa
Performing at the PAC Jan. 26
Tom Papa and Marc Maron perform in "The Good, the Bad, and the Funny" Saturday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. in Harman Hall in the Christopher Cohan Center. The Comedy Central headliners team up to present a stand-up evening. Papa – when not touring with Jerry Seinfeld or appearing on late night talk shows – shines with offbeat musings on life and its absurdities. Alternative comic Marc Maron pushes the envelope with cultural and political commentary and thought-provoking ruminations. The night will contain mature language and content.
More on Tom Papa and Marc Maron's performance

AT&T CEO Speaking On Campus Feb. 4
The Orfalea College of Business Distinguished Speaker Series will present Tim Harden, President & CEO of AT&T West, speaking on campus Feb. 4 at 2:10 p.m. in the Spanos Theatre. The event is free and open to the public. Harden oversees nearly 40,000 employees who deliver traditional and Internet Protocol (IP)-based voice, broadband Internet, wireless, and video services to the company’s California and Nevada customers.

Annual 'Night at the Mission' Benefit Concert is Feb. 9
The annual “Night at the Mission” benefit concert is set for Feb. 9, 2008. Ticket sales benefit Cal Poly Music Department ensembles and student concert tours. Tickets are $8 to $10 and can be purchased at the Performing Arts Ticket Office 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. To order tickets by phone, call 756-2787 (SLO-ARTS).
Details on this year's 'Night at the Mission' Benefit Concert

Dancer Ailey II Tour
Dances into Spanos Theatre Feb. 10
Cal Poly Arts presents Ailey II Sunday, Feb. 10, with matinee and evening performances the Spanos Theater. Ailey II is universally renowned for invigorating the American dance scene, merging the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding innovative choreographers. Alvin Ailey personally appointed former Ailey member Sylvia Waters as Artistic Director in 1974; under her direction, Ailey II has become one of the most popular dance companies in the country.
More about the Ailey II performance

Mark Your Calendar: Open House Set for April 17-19
Cal Poly's annual Admitted Students Preview day, for high school seniors and their families, is set for April 17. On April 18 and 19, students in clubs and majors from across campus will put on demonstrations, give tours and more during Cal Poly's Annual Open House. Traditional events scheduled include the Poly Royal Rodeo, the Poly Royal Parade April 18, the Poly Canyon Design Village competition, the engineering RoboRodentia robot wars, and concerts and performances by students in the Music Department. Alumni: don't forget to stop by the Alumni Booth on Dexter Lawn while you're roaming campus.
Visit the Open House 2008 Web site | View past Open House photos

More events & entertainment listings

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