Recent News
Cal Poly’s ‘Bandfest Returns!’ In-Person Concert Set for Oct. 30
Oct 6, 2021
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Nearly 300 Cal Poly students will perform in person at the university’s “Bandfest Returns!” concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, in Miossi Hall of the Performing Arts Center’s Christopher Cohan Center.
The show will feature Cal Poly’s Wind Ensemble, Mustang Marching Band and Wind Orchestra. The Wind Orchestra will be conducted by Nicholas P. Waldron, Cal Poly’s associate director of bands. Director of Bands Christopher J. Woodruff will conduct the Wind Ensemble. The evening will celebrate the return of sharing the beauty and power of music at Cal Poly.
Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble to Perform with Guest Artists on Nov. 6
Oct 6, 2021
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble and guest artists will perform a program of music and dance from the Eastern Mediterranean and larger region at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, in the Performing Arts Center on campus.
The Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble is a combined orchestra and choir with vocal and instrumental soloists. Its members are from a wide range of majors on campus and professions off campus.
Cal Poly Named California’s Top Public-Masters University in Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education Rankings
Sep 27, 2021
Sixth-annual list also names the Learn by Doing university among the nation’s Top 50 public colleges and universities
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly is the best master’s-level public university in California and is in the top 50 public universities in the nation in the 2022 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings.
The WSJ/THE rankings emphasize student learning and how well a college or university will prepare students for life after graduation. Among the 796 colleges and universities ranked across the nation, Cal Poly placed No. 198 overall — up a dozen spots from last year.
Cal Poly Named California’s Best Public-Master’s University in 2021 Forbes Rankings
Sep 20, 2021
University rises to No. 17 overall in the West in America’s Top Colleges list
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly was again named the best public-master’s university in California and has cracked the list of Top 20 public and private universities in the West in the Forbes’ 2021 list of America’s Top Colleges.
Cal Poly, ranked No. 24 in the rankings among public and private universities in the West in 2019, moved up to No. 17 on the 14th annual America’s Top Colleges list released this month.
Cal Poly Universities’ Rose Float Entry Will Go Over the Moon in 2022
Sep 17, 2021
The Tournament of Roses® Parade returns New Year’s Day after COVID-related hiatus
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Hey, diddle, diddle, the Cal Poly universities’ 2022 Tournament of Roses® Parade float features a cat and a fiddle — but the cow jumping over the moon will be wearing a jet pack.
When the parade returns on New Year’s Day after a one-year pandemic-related hiatus, the only student-built parade float will once again roll down Pasadena’s Colorado Boulevard. Called Stargrazers, the float brings to life a scene from the classic Mother Goose nursery rhyme “Hey Diddle, Diddle,” except with an engineering twist that only two polytechnic schools with a seven-decade connection to the Rose Parade could create.
The float aims to exemplify the 2022 theme of “Dream. Believe. Achieve.” The theme of the 133rd Rose Parade celebrates education’s ability to open doors, open minds and change lives.
Cal Poly Project Leverages Artificial Intelligence Deep Learning to Aid Wildfire Recovery
Sep 16, 2021
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. –– A pair of Cal Poly professors and a team of students have used artificial intelligence to train a computer to quickly assess wildfire damage — potentially improving response time for efforts to recover from major wildfires.
Accurate and timely damage assessment has become critical for response and recovery as the threat of wildfires increases. Damage assessment reports inform first responders’ strategies, affect residents’ ability to file insurance claims, and guide state and federal authorities’ plans for future disaster relief and financial aid.
To date, most wildfire event inspectors must personally visit affected areas and manually document the severity of building damage, a process that often takes weeks.
Cal Poly Named Best in the West for 29th Consecutive Year by U.S. News
Sep 13, 2021
SAN LUIS OBISPO —Cal Poly has been named the best public, master’s-level university in the West for the 29th straight year in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Colleges guidebook.
The 2022 guide, released Sept. 13, provides data on more than 1,800 colleges and universities and rankings for more than 1,400 institutions. It lists Cal Poly as No. 2 overall in the West — up one from last year — and as the top-ranked public university in the region.
In addition, several Cal Poly College of Engineering programs were ranked among the best in the nation for masters-level educational institutions, and the university was ranked as the top school in the West for veterans among public and private institutions that participate in federal initiatives helping veterans and active-duty service members pay for their degrees.
Cal Poly Public Policy Graduate Student Receives CSU Trustees’ Award
Sep 13, 2021
Christine Lam of San Francisco will receive a $6,000 scholarship
SAN LUIS OBISPO — A Cal Poly public policy graduate student from San Francisco has received a 2021 California State University Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement — CSU’s highest award for students.
Christine Lam, 22, was selected as Cal Poly’s awardee, the Trustee Wenda Fong and Daniel Fetterly Scholar, for her academic performance, personal accomplishments, community service and financial need. She will receive a $6,000 Trustees’ Award scholarship as part of her recognition.
Cal Poly City and Regional Planning Courses Recognized by American Planning Association for Work with Village of San Martin
Aug 30, 2021
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Fifty Cal Poly city and regional planning (CRP) students will be honored for proposals that may ease urban encroachment on farmland around a Santa Clara County community.
Their work in the village of San Martin, a community of about 7,000 residents in the southern end of Santa Clara Valley, about 20 miles south of San Jose, received two awards from American Planning Association California chapters: an Academic Award for Excellence from the Central Coast Section; and an Empowerment Award of Excellence from the Northern Section.
The APA is a national organization, representing 40,000 urban planning professionals in 47 chapters, with 22 divisions that embrace the wide range of land-use planning responsibilities. The student awards for the Northern Section will be presented in November in San Francisco at the annual Northern Division gathering.
Cal Poly Posts First-Ever Livestream of Rattlesnakes
Aug 26, 2021
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly Biological Sciences Department researchers have set up the first livestream of rattlesnakes in the wild. During daytime hours, viewers can see expectant mother snakes at a large communal nest on California’s Central Coast, and, in days, their pups.
“Rattlesnakes are portrayed on television programs as bloodthirsty, aggressive beasts; nothing could be further from the truth,” said biology Professor Emily Taylor, who leads the research team. “I hope that by watching rattlesnakes behaving as they actually do, with mothers taking care of their pups and even babysitting for each other, people might think better of rattlesnakes.”
Taylor expects the pups to be born in the next few days and to remain at the rookery with their mothers through mid to late September.