Recent News
Cal Poly Center for Service in Action Launches Make-a-Difference Month
Oct 29, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO –– Cal Poly’s Center for Service in Action is designating the month of November as Make a Difference Month.
In response to increased demand, the center is extending Make a Difference Day — its traditional day of service — into a month-long service event for local organizations and community members. Make a Difference Day is a nationally designated service day in which local residents are matched with community service opportunities at nonprofit organizations throughout the Central Coast.
Cal Poly and Industry Leaders to Host Hackathon at California Cybersecurity Institute Nov. 3-4
Oct 29, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly’s California Cybersecurity Institute (CCI) will host a hackathon focused around the “internet of things,” sponsored by security and technology industry leaders Arlo and Bugcrowd, Nov. 3-4, at Camp San Luis Obispo.
Cal Poly students will compete against skilled “white hat” hackers from government organizations and the cybersecurity industry at the hackathon in “Red Team vs. Blue Team” training exercises. The CCI will also showcase a mock city complete with a staged hospital and business that participants will hack into and protect during the training scenarios.
Cal Poly’s Mustang Media Group to Host San Luis Obispo Mayoral Candidate Open Forum Oct. 30
Oct 25, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — San Luis Obispo mayoral candidates Heidi Harmon and T. Keith Gurnee will participate in an open forum hosted by Mustang Media Group, the Cal Poly Journalism Department’s student-run media organization, from 11 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Oct. 30, in the University Union Plaza on campus.
“The Mustang Media Group team is thrilled to host our first completely student-run mayoral forum with incumbent Heidi Harmon and T. Keith Gurnee. Both candidates have a connection to Cal Poly and are campaigning on issues that deeply affect the campus community,” said Austin Linthicum, business administration junior and editor-in-chief of Mustang Media Group.
Cal Poly Police K-9 Unit is a Finalist in Contest to Win New Police SUV
Oct 24, 2018
Officer Chad Reiley and his K-9 Bisant ask community residents to vote
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly Police Officer Chad Reiley and K-9 Brisant need your vote. The team, one of the department’s two K-9 units, needs the help of the community in its quest to win a needed new sports utility patrol vehicle. They are among 30 finalists in the Vested Interest in K9s’ K9 Law Enforcement Sports Utility Vehicle Giveaway.
“Winning this vehicle would be a huge benefit to our program,” Reiley said.
Mars-Bound CubeSat with Cal Poly Connection Snaps Historic Photo of Red Planet
Oct 24, 2018
Cal Poly engineers and engineering students helped conduct testing and preparation of the dual satellites on campus earlier this year
SAN LUIS OBISPO — A snapshot from a cosmic road trip has made history. Wall-E, one of two identical briefcase-size satellites that underwent testing and preparation at Cal Poly earlier in the year for an historic mission to Mars, took a photo of the Red Planet — nearly 250 million miles from Earth.
The two satellites are officially called MarCO-A and MarCO-B (MarCO stands for Mars Cube One) — but their engineering teams nicknamed them “EVE” and “Wall-E” respectively. Wall-E’s wide-angle camera captured the image of Mars on Oct. 3 as a test of exposure settings — the first image of the Red Planet ever produced by this class of tiny, low-cost spacecraft.
Cal Poly Architecture Students to Exhibit Furniture Designs in 15th Annual Show Nov. 2 and 3
Oct 24, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly’s Architecture Department is co-hosting the 15th annual Vellum Furniture Design Exhibition with Vellum Design Build, a San Luis Obispo design-and-build firm, on Nov. 2 and 3. The juried competition asks students to conceive and construct projects that range from tables and chairs to light fixtures, toys and other furniture design solutions that will be on display in downtown San Luis Obispo at 1185 Monterey St., between Santa Rosa and Toro streets.
Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to Host Elevator Pitch Competition Forum on Nov. 7 at the Performing Arts Center
Oct 23, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will host the ninth annual Elevator Pitch Competition Forum, a fast-paced contest for Cal Poly and Cuesta College entrepreneurs, Wednesday, Nov. 7, in the Performing Arts Center on the Cal Poly campus.
The forum — free, open to the public — will be held from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Students will have 90 seconds each to pitch their cutting-edge innovations and business ideas. Judges will select two winners; one from Cal Poly and another from Cuesta. Each winner will receive $1,000. The audience will pick an overall “audience choice” winner that will receive $500.
Cal Poly to Host Oct. 23 Tree Planting to Honor Arbor Day and Celebrate Campus Urban Forest
Oct 23, 2018
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly will host a tree planting Wednesday, Oct. 24, to honor the university’s commitment to its trees in what is the nation’s most-diverse urban campus forest.
The event will take place at 11 a.m. at the northwestern side of the Fisher Science Hall (No. 33) near North Perimeter Road near the heart of campus.
The university has been recognized since 2014 as an Arbor Day Foundation Tree Campus USA. It hosts its annual Arbor Day celebration each autumn because it is the ideal time of year to plant trees on the Central Coast.
Cal Poly Cybersecurity Expert Becomes a Fellow at Influential D.C. Think Tank
Oct 23, 2018
Associate Professor Zachary Peterson uses games to recruit and retain cybersecurity students
SAN LUIS OBISPO — A Cal Poly engineering educator was selected as one of 17 new cybersecurity fellows by an influential Washington, D.C.,-based think tank because of his use of fun and engaging games to draw students to the increasingly important cybersecurity field.
As a fellow with New America Foundation, Zachary Peterson, an associate professor in the computer science and software engineering department, will support the organization’s positions with research and personal input.
From Eelgrass to Mudflat: New Cal Poly Research Dives into Morro Bay Mystery
Oct 23, 2018
Morro Bay’s eelgrass beds nearly disappeared from 2007 to 2017; new study helps explain why levels remain low
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Water-quality conditions in some parts of Morro Bay estuary may be the key factor preventing eelgrass recovery after a recent decline, according to a new Cal Poly study and published in the journal Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science.
“The study shows that in many parts of the bay, environmental conditions likely limit eelgrass growth,” said ecologist Jennifer O’Leary, who started investigating the eelgrass collapse as a California Sea Grant extension specialist based at Cal Poly. (O’Leary is now Africa Oceans strategy director with The Nature Conservancy).