November,
2008 - Hello ##First Name##
Alumni
News
Homecoming
Features
New Cal Poly Wine
Vintages
Cal
Poly Wine and Viticulture students poured samples of the new Cal Poly
wines Nov. 8 at the annual Cal Poly Alumni Association Wine Tasting at
Homecoming. The 2006 vintages are the first made by the university's Wine
and Viticulture program and the first Cal Poly wines in which students
have been involved with every step of the process, from the vineyards to
sales and marketing. More than 700 attended the CPAA Wine Tasting on the
Business Lawn. Another 3,500 attended the annual Tailgate BBQ on the
O'Neill Green. More than 10,000 fans turned out for the Homecoming
football game, filling Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
More
about the wines | More
on Homecoming
Astronaut,
Architecture Dean,
Top Printer Among
2008 Honored Alumni
An
astronaut, an architect, and the nation's top printer are among this
years Honored Alumni at Cal Poly. Honored Alumni recognized this year
are: Joe Bannon of Carmel, Ind.; Rebekah Gladson of Corona del Mar; B.
Quentin Lilly of Malibu; Christina McEnroe of Buellton; Gregory Chamitoff
of Pearland, Tx.; Robert C. Tapella of Alexandria, Va.; and Anne
Marie Bergen of Columbia. This year's Cal Poly Alumni Association
Distinguished Service Award Winner is Nancy McCracken of San Jose. They
received the awards during Homecoming's Honored Alumni Banquet on Nov. 7
and were presented during halftime at the Homecoming football game Nov. 8
on campus.
More
on the 2008 Honored Alumni
Mustang
Olympic Competitors, Medalists
Honored at
Homecoming
Also
recognized during halftime at Homecoming this year were Cal Poly's five
Olympians: Discus Gold Medalist Stephanie Brown Trafton (I.E. '04),
Equitation Silver Medalist Gina Ostini Miles (Crop Science, '97) Olympic
Track Team member Sharon Day (Kinesiology '08), Canadian 2008 Olympian
Jimmy Van Ostrand (Kinesiology and former Mustang Baseball standout) and
current Cal Poly student and Paralympic Swimmer Mark Barr. Cal Poly
alumna Deneen Smith (B.S., Ornamental Horticulture, '89) won the PolyLink
"Meet the Mustang Olympians" contest and got her photo taken
with the medalists at the close of halftime -- along with her husband,
UCSB Professor Stuart Tyson Smith.
More
on the Mustang Olympians
Alumni in the
News:
Top Lawyers, TiVo
Execs and More
Cal
Poly alumni made headlines again this month. One alum is on the 'Top 100'
list of California lawyers, another is now a top executive at TiVo, and
another has a booming 'green wall' landscaping business featured at a
West Coast conference as the backdrop for former Vice President Al Gore
during a speech. Do you know them? Find out
Read
about Cal Poly Alumni in the News
Alumni -
Nominate a
Professor for Distinguished Scholarship Award
Cal
Poly's Academic Senate is encouraging alumni to nominate Cal Poly faculty
for the Distinguished Scholarship Awards. The annual awards are intended
to recognize the scholarship and creative activity of both junior and
senior faculty across all disciplines represented at Cal Poly. Alumni,
students, faculty and staff can make nominations. Nominations for this
year's awards are due by Dec. 5. For details and the online nomination
form, visit the
Distinguished Scholarship Award Web site
Got a Business
Plan? It Could Win $250,000
There's still
time to enter the sixth annual Ray Scherr Business Plan Competition now
running at Cal Poly. The annual competition is open to alumni and the
public in addition to Cal Poly students. It offers two cash prizes of
$3,000 and one prize of $4,000. Judging will take place at Cal Poly in
the spring. The winning entry will advance to a competition sponsored by
Draper Fisher Jurvetson with a grand prize of $250,000. More than
money, the competition puts participants' business plans in front of
financiers and investors.
More
on the 2008-09 Ray Scherr Business Plan Competition
University
News
President
Baker, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences
Respond to Student Incident
Cal
Poly's administration, faculty and students came together to support
diversity and respond to reports of agriculture students displaying
racist symbols and signs with racial and homophobic epithets on campus.
Cal Poly President Warren J. Baker and the entire Crop Science faculty
e-mailed all Cal Poly students as well as all university employees Oct.
30 in response. The President e-mailed the entire campus community again
Nov. 4. The president, in cooperation with Associated Students Inc.
President Angela Kramer, scheduled a public meeting in Harman Hall from
7-9 p.m. Nov. 12. "Over my nearly 30 years as president of Cal Poly,
I cannot think of another incident that has outraged and saddened me as
much as the hateful and intolerant displays reported last week at the
Crops House," Baker wrote.
Read
the Nov. 4 letter to campus from President Baker praising campus response
Read
the crop science students' letter of apology (SLO Tribune pdf)
Read
the Oct. 30 letter to campus from President Baker and the Crop Science
faculty
Know a December
Grad? Give a Grad Pack
Cal Poly's
Mid-Year Commencement Ceremony is set for Saturday, Dec. 13. If you know
a December grad, consider giving a Cal Poly Alumni Association Grad Pack
as a gift. Grad Packs include a one-year Alumni Association membership,
plus an exclusive Class of 2008 T-shirt and an Alumni license plate frame
at the special price of $20.08. For details, call the Alumni Association
at 805-756-2586 or visit the
Alumni Association Web site.
Marine Science
Pier Open to the Public Nov. 15
Back by popular demand, the Cal Poly Pier again will be open to the
public on Saturday, Nov. 15, from 9 a.m. to noon. Visitors can explore
the facility at their own pace during the free event, enjoying hands-on
displays and interacting with Cal Poly faculty and students who conduct
research at the pier.
More
on the Nov. 15 Open House at the Marine Sciences Center in Avila Beach
Visit the Cal Poly Center for
Coastal Marine Science Web Site
Kennedy
Library Expands with WiFi, Cafe, and Meeting Space
The
Robert E. Kennedy Library has renovated the entire second floor. It now
includes high-tech study rooms that feature whiteboards and big screen
TV's, brand new furniture for solo study or collective efforts, and a new
cafe. Library employees spent the summer moving and cleaning all the
books and materials formerly housed on the second floor to other
locations in the building. Kennedy Library still offers "library
style" quiet on the upper floors, with the fifth floor intended to
be a silent study zone.
See
the 360-degree video on PolyLink
Visit the Kennedy Library Web site
Athletics
Men's Water Polo Heading to
National Championships After Beating UCLA
The
Cal Poly Mustangs beat the UCLA Bruins 9-8 in overtime to win the Pacific
Coast Division Championship Nov. 2. The team will now travel Ohio
University in Athens, OH, to defend the National Championship in
tournament play Nov. 14-16. The Men's Water Polo team hosted the Pacific
Coast Division Championships at the Cal Poly Rec Center Pool on Nov. 1
and 2.
More
on the water polo tournament
Visit the
Mustang Men's Water Polo Web Site
Five Added to
Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame
Cal
Poly inducted five individuals into its Athletics Hall of Fame Oct. 31: a
former National Football League wide receiver, volleyball and wrestling
All-Americans, Cal Poly's athletic trainer for over 30 years and a
longtime university donor. Jimmy Childs, Ellen Bugalski-Ferreira, Steve
Yoneda, Scott Heaton and Richard Andrews will raise the total number of
Hall of Fame inductees to 97 individuals, a track and field relay
foursome and the 1960 football team.
More
on the 2008 Hall of Fame Inductees
Join Alumni
Heading to Wisconsin to Back Mustangs
Alumni from
California to Illinois are heading to Madison, Wisc., on Saturday, Nov.
22, to cheer on the Mustangs when they face the University of Wisconsin
Badgers. The Cal Poly Alumni Association is holding a pre-game tailgate
in Camp Randall Stadium at the University of Wisconsin. Some 60 alumni
from across the country are already signed up for the Tailgate. They're
making the journey from California, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin to show
their green and gold. Tickets are still available for the game and
tailgate and the purchase deadline has been extended to Nov. 14.
Click
here for details and to order tickets online
Faculty
& Staff
Eternal Vigilance
the Price of Being Buff, Prof Finds
People
who have lost a significant amount of weight and keep it off for years
are constantly vigilant about what they consume, rarely overeat for
emotional reasons and do about an hour a day of exercise, a new study shows.
"They are doing the behaviors that we know work, and they are doing
them every day. They don't give up," says Kinesiology Professor
Suzanne Phelan. She presented her findings at the recent meeting of the
Obesity Society, an organization of weight-loss researchers and
professionals.
More
on Professor Phelan's study
Professor
Presents at National Biomass Conference
Cal
Poly Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Tryg Lundquist updated
a study that looked at the economics of building a large-scale algae
production facility during the opening of the Algae Biomass Summit
conference in Seattle recently. Lundquist summarized the results as
"expensive." He projected algae oil will cost $9 to $16 a
gallon, not including the cost of processing it into biodiesel.
Read
coverage of the conference in Biodiesel Magazine
Discovery Channel Discovers
Professor Cano's
Ancient Ale
Microbiology
Professor Raul Cano's 'Ancient Ale' beer is picking up notice around the
nation -- and the World Wide Web. Its secret ingredient? Yeast made from
ancient microbes extracted from amber. The beer received good reviews at
the Russian River Beer Festival and from other reviewers. The Oakland
Tribune beer critic, William Brand, said the beer has "a weird
spiciness at the finish," and The Washington Post said the beer was
"smooth and spicy." Part of that taste comes from the yeast's
unique metabolism. "The ancient yeast is restricted to a narrow band
of carbohydrates, unlike more modern yeasts, which can consume just about
any kind of sugar," says Professor Cano.
Read
more of the coverage on Prof. Cano's Ancient Ale
Chemistry
Professor Tina Bailey Retires After 31 Years
Christina
(Tina) Bailey officially retired after more than 35 years of teaching in
the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She will continue teaching
classes part time in retirement. Bailey officially retired Aug. 31, but
the college celebrated her years of service to students and the
university with a special reception in October.
Wildfires,
Growth Place California's Water Supply at Risk, Professor Writes
"Many
Californians today take water for granted. Turn the tap and out it comes.
But our growing population has had an effect on water quality and
availability. California is putting unprecedented demands on its water
supply," writes Professor Norm Pillsbury of Cal Poly's Natural
Resource Management Department. Pillsbury teaches forest hydrology and
watershed management and has conducted research into watershed systems
for more than 30 years.
Read
his column on California Water Issues Union-Tribune
Today's
Students
Hundreds of
Cal Poly Students Volunteer
on Make a
Difference Day
About
400 Cal Poly students volunteered with nonprofit groups around San Luis
Obispo County on Oct. 25 as part of the annual Make a Difference Day.
Students helped more than 30 nonprofit groups with landscaping, painting,
fundraisers, food drives, gardening and other work for four hours. This
is the 10th year Cal Poly has taken part in Make a Difference Day, a
National Day of Service. Organizers of the local event estimate that
volunteers here performed about $35,000 worth of work in one day.
More
on Make a Difference Day
Cal Poly
Student Wins Soil Research Competition
Ian
Leslie, a Cal Poly soil science senior, won first place in the National
Undergraduate Oral Research Presentation Contest. The competition was
held at the joint annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy,
Crop Science Society of America and the Soil Science Society of America
International. Leslie presented a paper on research he and several others
did in spring 2008, focused on assessing concentrations of chromium and
nickel in the soil and vines at Cal Poly's vineyard.
More
on Leslie's award
CAED Students Take Silver in
International Design Competition
If
you were to sit down and design the personal residence for the President
of the United States today -- a residence that reflected the
architectural significance of the ultimate symbol of political power --
what would it look like? A team of students from Cal Poly's College of
Architecture and Environmental Design won second place in the
international competition, White House Redux, with their answer to that
question. The Mustang team's designs topped more than 500 submissions
from 42 countries.
Read
More about the White House Redux Competition
