Recent News
Cal Poly to Present Bach Week Jan. 22-26
Dec 19, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Music Department will present Bach Week from Tuesday through Saturday, Jan. 22-26, with presentations and performances on campus and in Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.
Bach Week features a range of events, including a chamber music performance on period instruments, collaborative performances of large vocal and instrumental works by students and professionals, two master classes, and a guest lecture or “Akademie.” The free demonstrations and lectures provide additional context for the performances. New this year is a cello chamber concert and an expansion of the Friday chamber concert.
Cal Poly Orchesis Dance Company to Present ‘Tabula Rasa’ Jan. 18-19 and 24-26
Dec 19, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Theatre and Dance Department will present the Orchesis Dance Company’s 49th annual concert “Tabula Rasa,” Friday and Saturday, Jan. 18-19, and Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 24-26, in the Spanos Theatre on campus. Performances will begin at 8 p.m. on all days, with a matinee scheduled at 2 p.m. Jan. 19.
“Tabula Rasa,” titled after a Latin phrase that is often translated as “blank slate,” will transform the Spanos Theatre stage into an open space. This year’s concert is conceived and directed by Associate Professor Christy McNeil Chand and assisted by Professor Diana Stanton and faculty member Michelle Walter.
Pianist W. Terrence Spiller to Perform Benefit Recital Jan. 11 at Cal Poly
Dec 12, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Pianist and Cal Poly Music Department Chair W. Terrence Spiller will give a benefit recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11, in the Spanos Theatre on campus.
The first half of Spiller’s program will feature works by three distinctly different composers: J.S. Bach, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel and Béla Bartók. The first work is one of Bach’s most popular suites, the “English Suite in G Minor,” BWV 808. The second work is the poetic “Notturno,” by Mendelssohn-Hensel, Felix Mendelssohn’s brilliant and prodigiously talented sister. The first half will close with Bartók’s early 20th-century work, “15 Hungarian Peasant Songs.”
Cal Poly Employees Donate Toys and More to Jack’s Helping Hand
Dec 12, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Children with cancer and other physical and medical needs in the community will receive gifts donated by Cal Poly employees. Faculty, staff, Associated Students Inc. and Cal Poly Corporation employees donated more than 240 toys and $485 in gift cards during a Dec. 6 holiday reception hosted on campus by Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong and his wife, Sharon, and online through an Amazon “wish list.”
The gifts were donated to San Luis Obispo nonprofit Jack’s Helping Hand, which provides assistance and programs to children with cancer, disabilities, other illnesses and special needs.
Cal Poly’s 10th CubeSat Mission to Blast Off From New Zealand on Dec. 12
Dec 12, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly’s milestone 10th CubeSat mission will launch today (Dec. 12) from New Zealand to study radio wave interference in the ionosphere — the first time NASA CubeSats will have a dedicated ride to orbit on a commercial launch vehicle.
ISX , or Ionospheric Scintillation explorer, is a three-unit CubeSat, a class of mini-satellites (built in 10-centimeter units), that is about the size of a loaf of bread. The four-hour launch window begins at 8 p.m. PST from Rocket Lab’s private orbital launch site, Launch Complex 1, on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula.
Cal Poly Fall 2018 Commencement Set for Dec. 15
Dec 7, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — More than 1,000 students are eligible to graduate in three ceremonies at Cal Poly’s 35th annual fall commencement Saturday, Dec. 15.
Ceremonies are set for 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the Cal Poly Recreation Center Main Gym. The ceremonies will include a “proud pinning” ceremony, a celebratory surprise and a large LED screen for all guests to see.
Cal Poly Engineering Grads Are Key Figures in the U.S. Space Exploration Comeback
Dec 6, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — At mission control, what had been projected as “seven minutes of terror” was actually a bit of an understatement, a Cal Poly graduate said, after he and his fellow NASA team members nervously monitored a robotic lander’s nail-biting descent to Mars.
“That last hour leading up to the landing was nerve-wracking,” said Tim Weise, a deputy mission manager for the project. “Reviewing the data from the spacecraft, reviewing the procedure, making sure everything was just so, and knowing that there was no time to fix anything.”
National Science Foundation Grant Will Extend STEM Program for Underrepresented Students at Cal Poly
Dec 5, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — A program to increase the number of underrepresented students participating in technical fields at Cal Poly will continue thanks to a federal grant.
The National Science Foundation awarded a nearly $1.3 million grant to the California State University system to increase the number of students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines. The grant, spread over five years, supports the Louis Stokes STEM Pathways and Research Alliance at CSU’s 23 campuses across the state.
Cal Poly’s Mustang Media Group Wins 17 National College Media Awards
Nov 30, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Mustang Media Group, the Cal Poly Journalism Department’s student-run media organization, received national recognition last month from two of college media’s most distinguished organizations — Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) and College Media Association (CMA).
“As we continue to integrate our media group, our team is honored receive these national awards,” said Austin Linthicum, business administration junior and editor-in-chief of Mustang Media Group.
Cal Poly Construction Management Students Sweep Invitational Competition
Nov 29, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly construction management students garnered four first-place trophies at the recent Associated Schools of Construction Region 3 Division Competition in Downers Grove, Illinois. This is the first year that Cal Poly’s teams have swept first place in all of the open national categories of Concrete, Electrical, Preconstruction, and Project Solutions.
“There was something special about all four of this year’s teams,” said Construction Management Professor Greg Starzyk, who has advised teams over the last six years in this competition’s open categories. “They worked so well together that they made the work appear effortless. You could feel the trust and support that they gave to each other.”