Engineering Advantage | Spring 2018

Engineering C O L L E G E O F E N G I N E E R I N G | C A L P O LY S A N L U I S O B I S P O | S P R I N G 2 0 1 8

A D V A N TA G E

REVISITING HIS LEARN BY DOING ROOTS

HIS EXCELLENCY, ALUMNUS ABDUL AZIZ AL GHURAIR

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Engineering A D V A N TA G E

PUBLISHED BIANNUALLY BY THE Cal Poly College of Engineering 1 Grand Ave. San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 805-756-2131 engineering.calpoly.edu INTERIM DEAN James Meagher jmeagher@calpoly.edu INTERIM ASSISTANT DEAN OF ADVANCEMENT Tanya Hauck thauck@calpoly.edu EDITOR Charlotte Tallman ctallman@calpoly.edu

F E AT U R E S

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A WAVE OF INNOVATORS

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GLOBAL REACH

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A LEADER WITH A GLOBAL IMPACT

STAFF WRITER Galen Ricard gricard@calpoly.edu

Cal Poly’s expanded entrepreneurial efforts have produced optimal conditions for student creativity and viable ideas.

Engineering’s travel and study-abroad offerings have a proven track record of enriching students’ educational experiences and inspiring career paths that engage them in world affairs.

His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair returned to his alma mater to accept the Cal Poly Alumni Excellence Award presented by the Alumni Association. An industrial engineering alumnus, His Excellency is known worldwide for his involvement in business and philanthropy.

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Dennis Steers dsteers@calpoly.edu EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTOR Jo Ann Lloyd jloyd@calpoly.edu PUBLICATION DESIGNER Shirley Howell Graphic Design srhowell@earthlink.net JOIN US ON SOCIAL MEDIA facebook.com/CalPolySLOEngineering linkedin.com/in/CalPolyEngineering twitter.com/PolyEngineering Instagram.com/polyengineering

ON THE COVER: Industrial and manufacturing engineering student Wesley Powell shows his flexible hybrid electronics project to His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair.

Powell created the project during the Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Read about His Excellency on Page 26.

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His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair during his visit to campus in November.

D E PA R T M E N T S

4 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

4 There is always a sense of pride

within the College of Engineering, and for good reason.

6 BY THE NUMBERS

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4 College highlights 4 Cal Poly Gold Tree Solar Farm

8 IMPACT

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4 A transformational partnership with Granite Construction

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30 RESEARCH 4 Summer Undergraduate Research Program eyes real-world needs 4 Analyzing crash test dummies 4 Underwater robots

34 INSIDE CAL POLY

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ENGINEERING

4 Honoring supporters Randell Iwasaki and John Nielsen 4 Listening Sessions: The College of Engineering gains fresh perspectives for the future

36 STUDENT SUCCESS

4 Students demonstrate their skills in competitions — and win

44 FACULTY UPDATE

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4 Graham Doig and Aaron Drake are named endowed professors

4 Jose Macedo and Zachary Peterson are Fulbright Scholars

48 ALUMNI NEWS

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4 Daniel Ansorge gets a Fulbright grant for his musical interests

4 Class Notes catch up with alumni

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A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

An Exciting Path to Be On THERE IS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF PRIDE that comes with being a part of Cal Poly, and more so, as part of the Cal Poly College of Engineering. I have felt it personally, first as a faculty member, then as a department chair, and finally as interim dean of the college. I have also seen that pride among my colleagues, our alumni and our students.

What makes that pride such a sure thing in the college? Certainly our faculty are recognized as exceptional leaders. They challenge our students and participate in applied research. Our facilities are points of pride, providing the space for students to carry on the Learn by Doing motto we hold dear — students who are selected because they are the best and brightest.

At the same time, the engineering profession and the world in which we live are experiencing an escalating pace of mind-bending change.

Cal Poly’s esteemed faculty, all practiced and highly dedicated educators, want to partner with industry and the broader community for support. I learned that through a series of Listening Sessions we held in 2017 during my tenure. (Read about our innovative approach to them on page 35.)

“It is an exciting time for engineering at this time of disruptive innovation in technology. Cal Poly

Following the sessions, I launched “Faculty on a Bus” — interdisciplinary field trips that allow our faculty to visit the sites of our most innovative industry partners. I believe these field trips will allow participants to have a hand on the pulse of industry. This is just one example of the opportunities we plan to provide our college with the awareness we have.

I know there is no limit to what we can do within the College of Engineering.

I also know there is no limit to what our graduates can do with the future that will become theirs.

Engineering is here to produce fearless innovators ready to

James Meagher | Interim Dean

contribute and thrive in this new society.”

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An EPIC Experience for Future Engineers

CAL CAL POLY POLY ENGINEERING ENGINEERING saw saw aa surge surge of of young young people people during during summer summer 2017 2017 as as 680 680 Engineering Engineering Possibilities Possibilities in in College College (EPIC) (EPIC) campers campers participated participated in in hands-on hands-on labs labs focused focused on on cybersecurity, cybersecurity, mechanical, mechanical, aerospace, aerospace, computer, computer, computer computer science, science, electrical, electrical, materials materials and and general general engineering. engineering.

Of Of the the 7th7th- through through 12th-grade 12th-grade campers, campers, 10 10 percent percent were were from from out out of of state state or or country, country, including including some some from from England, England, India India and and Costa Costa Rica.

Rica.

This This year’s year’s EPIC EPIC camp camp will will be be held held July July 88 to to Aug. Aug. 3.

3. For For details, details, visit visit https://epic.calpoly.edu/epic-2018/ https://epic.calpoly.edu/epic-2018/

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BY THE NUMBERS

College Highlights u U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT AMERICA’S BEST COLLEGES (2018)

#1 in State-Funded Best Undergraduate Engineering Program

#3 in Aerospace Engineering #2 in Civil Engineering #2 in Computer Engineering #3 in Electrical Engineering #3 in Mechanical Engineering

u POPULAR MECHANICS RECOGNIZES CAL POLY ENGINEERING

Popular Mechanics mentioned PROVE Lab, QL+ and

PolySat as

recommended STEM school on the Pacific Coast.

3 of the best examples why Cal Poly is the top

u NATIONAL RANKINGS (2017)

6 Cal Poly Engineering programs are among the top 20 in the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded. u TOTAL ENROLLMENT

6,448 u FACILITIES

80 state-of-the-art classrooms, labs and workspaces occupying 160,000 square feet.

The college has more than

u ENGINEERING STUDENT CLUBS Almost

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80 student clubs offer project, leadership, service,

conference and competition opportunities.

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Cal Poly Gold Tree Solar Farm

18.5 25 4.5 16,397 ACRES OF LAND ON CAMPUS NEAR HWY. 1

PERCENTAGE OF CAL POLY’S TOTAL NEEDS

MEGAWATTS (DAILY CAPACITY)

The The Cal Cal Poly Gold Tree Solar Solar Farm Farm will will both both generate generate millions millions of of dollars dollars of savings with with clean clean renewable energy, and renewable energy, and power power Learn Learn by

by Doing Doing opportunities opportunities for for the College of Engineering.

INDIVIDUAL SOLAR PANELS

Built by REC Solar, which was founded by Cal Poly graduates in 1997, the facility facility will will also also include include a separate 30-kilowatt 30-kilowatt solar solar engineering lab to be located in the campus core.

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I M PA C T

TRAN

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AL POLY’S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING and College of Architecture and Environmental Design have launched a unique partnership with Granite Construction to create a more robust pipeline of diverse Cal Poly graduates skilled in both construction management and civil engineering.

“This new partnership creates a path forward for talented and motivated students by helping them overcome financial barriers with the support of industry leaders and future thinkers,” said James Meagher, interim dean of the College of Engineering.

“It will also bring together two of our most reputable programs in a way that will supply distinctively skilled graduates to the industry.”

The Granite Heavy Civil Engineering and Construction Program is a unique cohort program, bringing together students from both colleges. Under this program, students in construction management will have the opportunity to become more proficient in heavy civil engineering fundamentals, and students in heavy civil engineering will have access to more construction management classes.

The uniqueness of the program is furthered by a series of classes that students in both programs will take together. Students will complete at least two internships during the program.

“With a Learn by Doing atmosphere, coupled with an excellent curriculum and high standards for student participation, Cal Poly has been able to help place highly qualified candidates throughout the u

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THE FUTURE OF

CAL POLY GRADUATES SEE GREATER JOB OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH THE COLLEGE’S UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP WITH GRANITE CONSTRUCTION

S FORMING INDUSTRY

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I M PA C T

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“We enjoy seeing bright, energetic, hard-working graduates coming out of the Cal Poly programs who have the desire to build careers and help Granite succeed.”

JAMES ROBERTS President and CEO Granite Construction Inc.

Granite organization,” said James Roberts, president and CEO of Granite Construction Inc. “We enjoy seeing bright, energetic, hard-working graduates coming out of the Cal Poly programs who have the desire to build careers and help Granite succeed.”

Beavers Charitable Trust, having endowed other professorships at universities nationwide, joined Granite by making a substantial gift to support the Granite program at Cal Poly.

Roberts hopes others will follow Granite’s and Beavers’ lead.

“This partnership between Granite, Beavers and Cal Poly can be a leading opportunity for corporations and higher education institutions across the country to partner going forward as we build America’s infrastructure,” he said.

Under the program, the Granite Beavers Heavy Civil Engineering and Construction Endowed Chair will support one full-time faculty chair with academic expertise and professional background in the heavy civil construction and engineering sector. This role will provide leadership for the program through an innovative joint appointment to construction management and heavy civil engineering departments, and provide increased mentoring opportunities for students.

Granite Construction has always sought to be impactful. Beginning with early founders and those who built Granite bit by bit, one theme remained: to impact the world around them and the people within it. That is where their support for student success comes in.

“The idea behind the funds was based on a couple of principles,” explained Philip DeCocco, senior vice president, human resources, at Granite Construction. “Granite is an industry leader, and as such, we believe it is important to lead by example, similar to the Cal Poly Learn by Doing motto. It is also important to us to have Granite’s name and reputation tied to a top-notch program like Cal Poly.

“Lastly,” DeCocco added, “Granite is passionate about creating a program where we partner with Cal Poly. We want to ensure that students who mirror the many communities we serve across the country have an opportunity to succeed in our industry.” n

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From Surfing to Water Monitoring, Cal Poly Engineers Are Diving Into Careers Based On Entrepreneurship

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EMARKABLE THINGS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING on campus since Cal Poly boosted its students’ entrepreneurial efforts, adding another layer of experiential education to its renowned Learn by Doing methodology. The mix has unleashed a torrent of student creativity, innovations and transformational startups.

That’s especially true for College of Engineering students, whose projects include a “smart home” product for water management; a nonprofit agency to help fund student startups; an online publication aimed at shining a light on global humanitarian issues, a redesigned surfboard and a hemp-based building insulation material.

These, and other student efforts, are getting a hand from Cal Poly’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). Created in 2010, the CIE has the resources, funds and programs to turn ideas into viable businesses. In addition to its Faculty Fellows program, which includes

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WAVE OF OVATORS teachers from across campus who are promoting entrepreneurial activities, the CIE oversees the Innovation Sandbox, The Hatchery, SLO HotHouse Accelerator, SLO HotHouse Incubator and the Small Business Development Center, among others.

Students selected for the highly competitive Accelerator program — the first step to launching their own startups — are given $10,000, office space and access to seasoned professionals who serve as mentors.

Graham Doig, an aerospace assistant professor and Faculty Fellow, is passionate about helping students transform their inspirations into startups.

His efforts are mainly focused on the transportation industry, which he said is “exploding” in California. “Things are happening with autonomous aircraft and self-driving vehicles, and there’s a tremendous amount of money being thrown at these technologies,” Doig said.

He helps students get involved in startups that create commercially viable products, but “those take money to get off the ground,” he said. “Students u

ABOVE: Lost Coast Surf Tech partners Shaun Wixted (left) and Brandon Baldovin — both enrolled in the aerospace graduate program — are prototyping and wind-tunnel testing the world’s first “smart” surfboard.

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F E AT U R E S

“My students think it’d be cool to work for Elon Musk. I ask them, ‘Why not be the next Elon Musk?’ I want them to make it, test it, break it, learn from it.

We want them to follow their ideas, even if they’re terrible.

They’ll learn and go on.”

GRAHAM DOIG Aerospace Engineering Assistant Professor | Faculty Fellow

can apply for PROVE (Prototype Vehicles) Lab Go! grants to buy equipment to test their creations. I want to help get their prototypes working.“ “My students think it’d be cool to work for Elon Musk,” Doig continued. “I ask them, ‘Why not be the next Elon Musk?’ I want them to make it, test it, break it, learn from it.

We want them to follow their ideas, even if they’re terrible.

They’ll learn and go on.”

SMART SURFBOARDS

With CIE’s help, Lost Coast Surf Tech co-founder Shaun Wixted and his team are using smart technology to show buyers what to expect from the performance of their surfboards compared to leading brands.

The startup’s website describes its “cutting-edge analysis on hydrodynamics, revolutionary designs in morphing fins, integrated aerospace composite board structures and the world’s first tech prototype surfboard.”

“The surf industry is a $50-billion-dollar global industry, between brands, travel and board manufacturing,” said Wixted. Noting that surfboard manufacturing, design and shapes haven’t changed in the last 100 years, he added, “The industry is just waking up to the capabilities that advancements in technology bring to enhance the surfboard.

Lost Coast Surf Tech is changing the way surfboard and surfer interact with each other and the ocean.”

Wixted gets additional support with product research as a student in the aerospace graduate program.

For more information, see https://www.lostcoastsurf.tech/

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GOT WATER?

The students who created Flume, a device that lets homeowners manage their water consumption 24/7, agree that it takes time to get things right.

Since graduating, founding team members Eric Adler (Mechanical Engineering, ’15), James Fazio (Software Engineering, ’15) and Jeffrey Hufford (Electrical Engineering, ’15) have recruited Alan Beverly (Electrical Engineering, ’82), Warren Woolsey (Biomedical Engineering, ’15) and Henry Dorfman (Computer Science, ’17).

The impetus for Flume was California’s historic drought.

“We wanted people to know how much water they were using before their water bills arrived,” Adler said.

A by-product of that technology is the ability to detect water leaks, and this sparked an interest from insurance companies. “They spend $9 billion a year on residential water-damage claims just in the U.S.,” Adler explained.

Flume is considered a smart home product, like Google’s Nest thermostats and Amazon’s Echo. “There are products on the market for security and fire-risk mitigation, but

there was nothing for water,” Adler said. “We are now the leading solution.”

The group partnered with four insurance companies to launch the test program. “During the pilot, we installed 130 units,” Adler said. “We’ve gotten really good feedback. We’re in the process of closing deals with two more insurance companies to sell an initial 1,500 units.”

Adler’s team got its start in CIE’s Accelerator program and moved on to the Incubator, a two-year program that helped them refine their design and business model. They’ve attracted $1.3 million from individuals and angel investors.

The biggest challenge, Adler said, was perfecting the technology — an easy-to-install device that would accurately monitor water consumption. “The ones already being sold required a plumber to cut pipes and install the device.

Flume simply straps over the water meter, and a base unit is placed in the home. A smartphone app provides real-time water consumption and leak-detection data directly to the customer. No plumber needed.”

For more information on Flume, see www.flumetech.com u

ABOVE: The easy-to-install Flume straps over the water meter, allowing homeowners to manage their water consumption 24/7.

TOP: The faces behind the water-saving device Flume include (from left) Jeff Hufford, Ben Lee (Sand Hill Angels Investor and ‘89 Cal Poly alumnus), Alan Beverly, James Fazio, Henry Dorfman, Warren Woolsey and Eric Adler.

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STUDENTS HELPING STUDENTS

Wanting to give back is the reason behind Poly Canyon Ventures (PCV), a nonprofit organization created to give student startups early access to funding, and a better chance of securing a spot in the CIE’s Accelerator program.

PCV, formed in mid-2016, is poised to reach its inaugural year’s funding goal of $18,000 — $15,000 of which will be allocated equally to three startups to develop prototypes and proof of concepts.

PCV has a seven-person student team, with aerospace engineering senior Sean Reilly serving as executive director. The team’s board of directors — all Cal Poly alumni — includes Nathan Johnson (Industrial Engineering, ’17), Francis Yuen (Software Engineering, ’17) and Nikhil Ahuja (Computer Engineering, ’17).

“We’ve seen good ideas with no way to grow. We started PCV because we saw a gap between idea and incubation.”

SEAN REILLY PVC Executive Director | Aerospace Engineering Senior

The organization encourages socially and environmentally responsible business and investing practices. Its core mission is education through experience.

“We’ve seen good ideas with no way to grow,” Reilly said. “We started PCV because we saw a gap between idea and incubation. Early-stage startups often don’t have a prototype. They might have a business plan and a timeline, but they require capital to develop a prototype.”

Electrical engineering junior Vlad Killiakov, a PCV team member, said they can help the CIE sort out dedicated people with the best ideas. “We do a rigorous interview and evaluation before we fund them,” he said. “We have procedures to measure and quantify team commitment.

We want to fund teams that will be successful because that directly affects our success.”

Startups that succeed use the $5,000 to get to the next level of growth and when able, work with PCV to return the investment to the organization. “The money we get back from investments will be reinvested in other startups,” Reilly said. “If they can’t, that’s OK too. We’re comfortable with the nonprofit business model and taking that risk.”

PCV plans to continue funding early-stage startups and developing ways to provide value to student entrepreneurs.

“We help students take advantage of campus and community resources,” Reilly said. “We help them prepare for applying to the Accelerator and can answer questions about entrepreneurial finance topics such as term sheets, cap tables, incorporation and fundraising.”

For more information, visit www.polycanyonventures.org

Tali Pilip, Poly Canyon Ventures’ marketing director, left, and Executive Director Sean Reilly plan the logistics for an upcoming PCV event.

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ILLUMINATING ISSUES

Civil engineering senior Daniel Hornett and sociology student Nesrine Majzoub were accepted into the CIE Accelerator program as filmmakers, but as they examined their desired outcomes and long-term goals, they switched gears to create a digital publication called The Lens.

The Lens not only allows people around the globe to hear firsthand perspectives on critical political and humanitarian issues, it also provides subscribers with the tools they need to take action on issues they care about.

“Most media coverage stops before the issues have any resolution, so we cover stories as they develop over time and pair each story with action items to empower our audience to have an impact and get engaged,” Hornett said.

He hopes to launch the first issue this winter with “coverage of Venezuelans living through a democratic backslide.” Early coverage will also include interviews with Rohingya Muslims who have escaped a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign in Myanmar.

The Lens is partnering with local filmmakers around the world to tell these compelling stories. “The people affected

ABOVE: Cal Poly sociology student Nesrine Majzoub is working with civil engineering student Daniel Hornett on a startup digital news publication called The Lens.

by the issues will be the ones telling the story,” Hornett said.

“We want to change the political conversation to be more inclusive and empathetic.

“We don’t pretend to be completely objective,” he continued, “but we aim to be transparent about our perspective. We need to listen to each other. We need to understand before we can criticize.”

Hornett said Cal Poly and Learn by Doing “empowered” him. “The biggest lesson I learned was how much you can make happen with the right people around you.”

Subscribe to The Lens on Facebook at https://www.facebook. com/thelensonline/ or through the company’s website at https://www.thelens.online/ u

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ABOVE: Materials engineering graduate Tanner Jolly tests the industrial hemp-based insulation material he’s working on with his startup DTE Materials.

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

DTE Materials, created by civil engineering senior Jose Urizar and materials engineering graduate Tanner Jolly (’17), could shake up the building industry with its hemp-based, nontoxic, sustainable building insulation material.

It started as a research topic for the Green and Sustainable Structural Materials Club, whose members aim to create a more sustainable future and to make a difference, especially in the construction industry, a major contributor to environmental problems.

DTE Materials is now ready to launch an intermediatescale pilot run to develop batt insulation, which will then be subjected to the appropriate building code tests. At the successful conclusion of those tests, the product will be ready to market, thanks in part to VentureWell, an

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organization dedicated to helping early-stage innovators make it to market.

“The Accelerator is the greatest entrepreneurial program Cal Poly has to offer,” Urizar said. “It teaches you the startup fundamentals so that you can focus on validating and derisking your venture. It gave us the confidence to turn our idea and project into a legitimate, viable business plan.”

Getting to this point wasn’t always easy. “The manufacturing and logistics associated with creating our product have been a challenge,” Urizar said. “Navigating the industrial hemp industry for our supply chain has been difficult. The industry is just emerging, and significant players have not yet been established. Our startup is also capital intensive. Every iteration requires a significant amount of time, money and help from industry experts.”

ABOVE: Business partners Jose Urizar (left) and Tanner Jolly promote their startup at a trade show.

Their efforts have paid off. “We have the continued support of VentureWell, Energize California and Cal Poly’s SLO HotHouse,” Urizar said. “We’ve been gaining attention from the industrial hemp industry and the adjacent building communities in cities such as Denver and Seattle.”

Once Urizar graduates, he and Jolly plan to join the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator or Innosphere in Colorado.

“We will be working on developing our sales channel pipeline and begin plans to set up a manufacturing location where we can meet our supply chain needs to become profitable,” Urizar said. n

“The Accelerator is the greatest entrepreneurial program Cal Poly has to offer.

It teaches you the startup fundamentals so that you can focus on validating and de-risking your venture.”

JOSE URIZAR DTE Materials Co-Creator | Civil Engineering Senior

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GLOBAL W

When Cal Poly Students and Educators Engage Internationally, the Learning Experiences are Invaluable, the Rewards Limitless, and the World is Better Off

HEN TRICIA COMPAS-MARKMAN co-founded the Cal Poly chapter of Engineers Without Borders, she knew she would have an opportunity to build a better world. What she did not know was that her participation in the group would lead to a career with a global impact.

“I was exposed to what clean drinking water can mean to individuals, children, families and overall communities,” Compas-Markman said.

As a student during a string of international natural disasters that were publicized at the time, including the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Compas-Markman was motivated by the desperate need for portable, compact and easily deployable household water treatment tools. She worked with Environmental Engineering Professor Tryg Lundquist to design and develop what is now the DayOne Waterbag technology, and she didn’t stop there.

“Shortly after graduating, I founded DayOne Response to go beyond an idea and create a solution and thriving business in water treatment technologies for vulnerable populations.”

Her success was in part due to her use of the resources at the university — working with the plastics department to learn how to seal and design plastics; working with the manufacturing department to understand how things were made; and collaborating with a graphics student to design pictographic instructions. By using the resources at hand, Compas-Markman’s highly designed solution was simple and efficient to use; and at Lundquist’s recommendation she kept in touch with the team who assisted and supported her.

“In doing so, I received tenfold the help, and many of the selection committee are now close advisors and board members,” Compas-Markman said. “It was through the support system of advisors and mentors that I started DayOne Response in 2010, and built on my passion for clean water that grew into my vision to build a profitable company as the go-to leader in product and solutions for relief organizations and disaster preparedness agencies.” u

RIGHT: After an earthquake in 2015, children in Nepal used a DayOne Waterbag developed and distributed by DayOne Response. The company, co-founded by Cal Poly alumna Tricia Compas-Markman, produces clean water when water systems are compromised in a natural disaster.

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REACH

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Cal Poly alumna Tricia Compas-Markman

“I knew the DayOne Waterbag was a technology that could help worldwide in the aftermath of earthquakes, floods, typhoon, hurricanes and seasonal rain events ... . We have now provided over 30 million liters of clean drinking water in over 25 countries.”

TRICIA COMPAS-MARKMAN Co-Founder, DayOne Response

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In 2011, Compas-Markman traveled to Haiti to work with International Medical Corps and LDS Humanitarian Services on evaluating, testing and deploying the DayOne Waterbag.

“During this trip we worked with over 200 families who had been affected by the 2010 earthquake,” she said. “Seeing the need first-hand, and understanding how access to immediate, safe drinking water can avert a potential secondary crisis, we had to keep our focus and stay on course. I knew the DayOne Waterbag could help worldwide in the aftermath of earthquakes, floods, typhoon, hurricanes and seasonal rain events. Fast-forwarding to today, we have now provided over 30 million liters of clean drinking water in over 25 countries.”

Compas-Markman’s story is one of many that make Cal Poly Engineering internationally strong. During the 2016-17 academic year, 252 engineering students participated in a travel and study program, of which 208 counted for academic credit.

“The College of Engineering evinces its international engagement in the strong support of student and faculty exchange, study and service programs abroad and international students here for degree programs or on short-term exchange or visiting programs,” said Cari Vanderkar, director of the Cal Poly International Center.

THE ROAD TO MALTA

When faculty collaborate with students as they reach out internationally, the impact magnifies. Engineering faculty and students from Cal Poly and Harvey Mudd College proved that when their work helped lead to the discovery of a missing World War II plane found off the coast of Malta.

Zoë Wood, a Cal Poly computer science professor, co-led the expedition with Harvey Mudd College engineering Professor Christopher Clark, but the road to Malta was not easy. The duo worked tirelessly to create the International Computer Engineering Experience (ICEX) and apply for a $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation that funded the three-year project.

“More than ever, it is important for students ­— engineering students in particular — to have opportunities to develop a global perspective,” said Wood.

“The world is full of fascinating challenges and opportunities, and industry values individuals with experience and skills that showcase their ability to work in diverse cultural settings and in dynamic problem-solving environments. At its heart, ICEX provides the opportunity for students to encounter unplanned and unscripted situations. Such opportunities allow them to grow, fail and learn, be creative, take risks and ultimately persist through to a solution in a way that is difficult to emulate in a controlled classroom setting.”

When Wood and Clark formed ICEX, they knew students would have an opportunity to work with them on developing search and mapping algorithms, and they hoped students would also be able to conduct expeditions.

That hope became a reality when the team, including computer science students Amy Lewis, Roslyn Patrick-Sunnes and Sam Freed, led surveys of the seabed looking for shipwrecks and crashed planes using an autonomous underwater robot (AUV). As the AUV captured scans and images for data logging and 3-D modeling, the students found their way to the remains of Fairey Swordfish, a biplane torpedo bomber used by the Royal Navy in the 1930s and during World War II. u

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ABOVE: Cal Poly computer science student Amy Lewis prepares to launch an underwater robot off the coast of Malta to locate shipwrecks and crashed aircrafts in that country’s coastal waters.

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Cal Poly’s Engineers Without Borders Works On Thai Water Filtration System MEMBERS OF THE CAL POLY ENGINEERS Without Borders Thailand team spent their holidays in 2017 providing the Thai community of Pa Kloi with a slow sand filtration system (right).

The Cal Poly team designed the system, located difficult-to-find materials and worked with community members to install the system, which provides 20 liters of clean water per minute. The system replaces the current water supply, which is very limited and contains harmful bacteria.

The team included project manager Nicolas “Cole” Cucinella (electrical engineering), project manager Ruby Lang (environmental engineering), Gabrielle “Abbey” Bullen (mechanical engineering), Jessica Dent (mechanical engineering) and Jonathan Owen (civil engineering).

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ENGINEERING IN CHINA

Cal Poly’s Engineering in China program is helping employers find graduates who can help their firms also profit by China’s dramatic economic growth.

In the summer of 2017, 16 program participants arrived in Hangzhou, China.

The faculty-led global program offers Cal Poly students a multidisciplinary, international team experience.

“The learning objective of the program is not only to have students apply learned engineering concepts to existing systems, but to educate our students to function in a multidisciplinary international team environment,” said Jianbiao Pan, an industrial and manufacturing engineering professor.

“It is a very, very important skill — being able to work in a team, understand different cultures and navigate language barriers. It’s important to calibrate with the industry.”

Cal Poly and Chinese students from Zhejiang University of Technology worked together on projects, applying what they learned to solve realworld problems. Through this experience they enhanced a slate of interpersonal skills: problem solving, communication and leadership in a multicultural setting.

Students put that experience to the test. While observing lengthy waiting times and an inefficient registration system at a Hangzhou hospital, they set out to create an engineering solution to improve a patient’s experience. They researched the number of patients by time of day, measured wait-time durations and made recommendations.

“The Engineering in China program allowed me to be immersed in a certain level of culture I wouldn’t have been able to experience on a typical trip to China,” said Leilani Loo, an industrial engineering student.

Plant tours were an important component of the program, teaching students more about China’s engineering successes as they toured Boeing, Plexus, Sunny Optical Technologies and Xio-Lift.

“These plant tours not only gave our students deep insight into manufacturing in China, but also strengthened the knowledge and tools they learn from the lectures, including control charts, check sheets, process flow diagrams, fishbone diagrams, process capability and accelerated reliability testing,” Pan said.

“The program whole-heartedly embraces the Learn by Doing motto,” said Louis Tran, an industrial engineering studen. “On top of that, in-depth cultural immersion was supported with paired Chinese buddies, insightful excursions to historic locations and a crash course in Chinese language and culture. Time flew by quickly — short and sweet — but the skills and memories will last for ages.” n

“The program whole-heartedly embraces the Learn

by Doing motto. On top of that, in-depth cultural immersion was supported with paired Chinese buddies, insightful excursions to historic locations and a crash course in Chinese language and culture.”

LOUIS TRAN Industrial Engineering Student

ABOVE, OPPOSITE: Paired with counterparts from Zhejiang University of Technology, Cal Poly students toured Plexus Manufacturing Solutions and other companies including Boeing, Sunny Optical Technologies and Xio-Lift in China.

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COVER STORY

A LEADER WITH A

GLOBA IMPACT CAL POLY ALUMNUS HIS EXCELLENCY ABDUL AZIZ AL GHURAIR’S PHILANTHROPY AND NONPROFIT WORK EXEMPLIFY HIS PASSION FOR IMPROVING LIVES u

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COVER STORY

Towers of Sierra Madre.

Hathway Avenue.

Old friends. Beloved faculty. The familiar buzz of a lathe. Learn by Doing.

Some things never change. Or, maybe they get better over time.

‘I

T’S AN EMOTIONAL MOMENT FOR ME when you talk about Cal Poly and visiting Cal Poly after such a long time,” said His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, a 1977 Cal Poly industrial engineering graduate from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, who hadn’t been on campus in decades. He was on campus last November to accept the 2017 Cal Poly Alumni Excellence Award. He was joined by his son, Abdulla, friends and former roommates Abdallah Morelli and Youssef Maala, who flew in from Morocco, and cherished mentor Jo Anne Freeman, an engineering professor emeritus. None had been together since graduation.

“I give credit to what I have been able to achieve because of that foundation Cal Poly gave to me,” His Excellency added, referring not just to his classroom education, but the leadership opportunities offered in clubs, such as the Cal Poly Muslim Students Association and Arab Student Association.

“The Cal Poly Alumni Excellence Award was designed to capture Cal Poly graduates who have made a huge difference in their part of the world,” said Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong.

His Excellency became CEO of Mashreq bank, the UAE’s largest private sector lending institution, was elected as the speaker of the United Arab Emirates Federal National Council (UAE Parliament), has been chairman of the United Arab Emirates Banking Federation, vice chairman of the

LEFT: Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong presents the Cal Poly Alumni Excellence Award to His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair.

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Higher Board of Dubai International Financial Centre, and chairman of the Masafi Co. and Oman Insurance Co. In addition, he serves as president of the Family Business Network Gulf Cooperation Council, a nonprofit international network that seeks to strengthen family business governance and ensure success across generations.

“I took over as the CEO of Mashreq Bank in 1991 when I was 34,” His Excellency explained during his keynote speech at the American University in Cairo, spring 2017.

“I was the youngest member of my management team, and I had a vision to reposition Mashreq as a world-class organization. During this process I was scoffed by my peers.

Today Mashreq is known as the most innovative trendsetter of banking in the United Arab Emirates.”

His passion and strong sense of community has now turned to philanthropy. His Excellency is chair of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, one of the largest privately funded philanthropic education initiatives in the Arab world. Established in 2015 with one third of the assets of the Al Ghurair Group of Cos., the foundation works to prepare young Emiratis and Arabs to fulfill their potential through access to higher education — specifically 15,000 students within 10 years.

ABOVE: His Excellency (front row, bearded) at 1977 commencement.

BELOW: His Excellency shares the stage with Professor Emeritus Jo Anne Freeman and friends Abdallah Morelli (center) and Youssef Maala.

“I believe that success in life cannot be measured by how much money we make or the position we have achieved, but rather by what we have done to improve the lives of other people who need help.”

HIS EXCELLENCY ABDUL AZIZ AL GHURAIR

“I believe that success in life cannot be measured by how much money we make or the position we have achieved, but rather by what we have done to improve the lives of other people who need help,” he said.

In everything he does, it’s clear that His Excellency puts people first: his family, employees, Emiratis and Arab youth.

“Abdul Aziz embodies Learn by Doing in a way I hope our students emulate — using their compassion and knowledge to make things better for others,” said James Meagher, interim dean of the College of Engineering. “When a successful alumnus comes back to campus, and you can see that special Cal Poly spirit overtake his smile, it’s pretty amazing. That is why we do what we do.” n

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RESEARCH

CHANGING THE WORLD

ONE PROJECT AT A TIME SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS FIND REAL SOLUTIONS FOR REAL NEEDS

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WO AEROSPACE engineering students spent the summer “studying and trying to mimic how birds have been doing it for millions of years” by testing the aerodynamics of a 3-D-printed pelican wing in the Cal Poly low-speed wind tunnel.

First, seniors Graham Rolph and Stavros Diamantopoulos went to NASA’s Ames Research Center, where classmate Katie Breitenstein was doing an internship, to 3-D-scan an adult white pelican taxidermy borrowed from the Cal Poly Biology Department.

Then, working with a grant from the Summer Undergraduate Research Program, they spent “30 to 40 hours a week for months” 3-D printing and testing their model pelican wing with smoke and lasers in the wind tunnel.

“We’re using a process called biomimicry and, obviously, people in aviation are always analyzing birds,” said Rolph. “We’re studying the idea that primary feathers at the end of the wingtips break up the wingtip vortex LEFT: Generating blood vessel cells in the lab was the focus of a project involving 11 biomedical engineering students.

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ABOVE: Students explored printing electronic circuits on various flexible materials for multiple uses.

created at the end of the wing and reduce drag and increase efficiency.”

Analyzing how pelicans fly was not the only research happening during the Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Eleven biomedical engineering students generated blood vessel cells in a lab, and a multidisciplinary team of Cal Poly Engineering students researched how printing electronic circuits on fabric could help people in a variety of settings: a soldier on the battlefield; a soccer player competing in the World Cup; or a heart patient recuperating from surgery.

“Monitoring of blood pressure, heart rate and temperature are the first applications,” said John Pan,

industrial engineering professor and project leader. “In the future, a patient in a hospital won’t have to wear a bunch of wires, but simply wear a smock that monitors everything.”

Sponsored by Jabil Circuit, DuPont and NovaCentrix, the project focused on flexible hybrid electronics.

Students developed and tested wearable electronic fabric with real-world applications.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Program launched in 2017 with an initial investment of $278,000 provided by the College of Engineering that supported 74 students working with 32 faculty members on 43 projects.

The program is unique. It features project partnering opportunities in an

accelerated time frame; real-world experiences for students; dedicated faculty research time to focus on emerging technologies and industries; and student and faculty access to state-of-the-art facilities not used during the summer. The college hopes to expand the program.

“Our Summer Undergraduate Research Program will be the national leader in developing a diverse group of future engineering leaders with critical skills needed to solve big societal challenges,” said Rakesh Goel, associate dean.

“To do that, our goal is to reach 500 engineering undergraduate students by contributing research ideas and providing financial support.” n

ABOVE: Aerospace engineering student Stavros Diamantopoulos mounts his 3-D-printed pelican wing project in Cal Poly’s low-speed wind tunnel.

HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE With your support, the college can enhance Learn by Doing and inspire a generation of Day-One Ready engineers. For more information on becoming a part of this exciting educational initiative, please contact Tanya Hauck at 805-756-2163 or thauck@calpoly.edu.

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RESEARCH

Developing A Smarter Crash Test Dummy STUDENTS ANALYZE DEVICE’S PERFORMANCE TO ASSIST INDUSTRY WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Even at 10 mph, multiple collisions between a van and a mechanical pedestrian are surprisingly violent, sending the crash test dummy sprawling across the pavement in front of the Cal Poly AERO Hangar.

The dozen mechanical engineering students observing the impact expressed little shock because there was only serious discussion and analysis. The crashes were the point.

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“Daimler Trucks North America is developing autonomous, collision avoidance features for their vehicles and needs a dummy that they can crash into multiple times without being destroyed because they’re very expensive,” said mechanical engineering Professor Charles Birdsong, who is leading a threequarter senior project sequence sponsored by the German company.

“The tests today were a key part of the project, and we learned a lot about where we need to go.”

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ABOVE: Mechanical engineering students Chris Welch (left) and Tim Lee assemble the crash test dummy for laboratory exercises.

Birdsong said one part of the challenge is to develop a dummy that mimics the movement of a pedestrian that can be seen by Daimler’s advanced radar and video sensors. Another part of the project is designing a vehicle for use in “lane keeping” collisionavoidance tests. n

THE VALUE OF

Underwater Robots WILL HAVING ACCESS TO AN ECONOMY ROBOT SPARK A PASSION FOR ENGINEERING IN UNDERGRADUATES? ANDREW HOSTLER HOPES SO. ANDREW HOSTLER SET OUT to make a less expensive underwater robot after a year of working with remote operating underwater vehicles (ROV). The electrical engineering senior realized what a vital tool they are in exploring underwater environments and wanted to make them more accessible to undergraduates. Along with

mechanical engineering seniors Joshua Warner, Lisa Dischinger and Jesse Tambornini, he designed an efficient “budget price” ROV and an extracurricular workshop to introduce younger students to practical skills in the fields of engineering, robotics and marine technology.

“I started this workshop because I knew that when I was a

freshman, I didn’t have much project experience of any kind,” said Hostler.

“I didn’t love engineering until I saw what I could do with it, what I could build. I started this class because I wanted to give freshmen a love for building things.” n

BELOW: Electrical engineering senior Andrew Hostler with a budget-priced robot he helped to develop.

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HONOREES

Recognizing Dedicated Supporters Randell Iwasaki, John Nielsen JOHN NIELSEN IS NAMED 2017 HONORED ALUM John Nielsen, the 2017 Cal Poly Honored Alum for the College of Engineering, is known for his enthusiasm, skill and innovation, and a long history of giving back to Cal Poly for his Learn by Doing education.

In 2008, John and Connie Nielsen provided a grant to equip a new shop space in the Bonderson Project Center.

They named it the “Mustang ’60 Projects Shop,” honoring the Cal Poly football players, staff and team boosters killed and injured in the Oct. 29, 1960, plane crash during the fall of John’s freshman year.

Three years after making their original gift and watching the quick development of the shop, the Nielsens decided that “one gift was not enough” and established an endowment to fund the position of a Mustang ’60 Projects Shop technician, a safety mentor and guide for students through the “concept to design to finished product” cycle.

Fast forward to today and it’s easy to see why the shop is called “part of

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the DNA of Cal Poly.” With a capacity of 30 students and at least three shop technicians, more than 90 students per day use the advanced milling machines, and metal and woodworking tools in the 3,500-square-foot shop.

RANDELL IWASAKI RECEIVES OGREN LEADERSHIP AWARD Randell Iwasaki, a leading figure in the art and science — and future — of California transportation planning, received Cal Poly’s Sandra Gardebring Ogren Leadership Award, which honors “an accomplished leader in industry and indispensable supporter of the university.”

As former director of Caltrans and head of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, a hub of transportation innovation in the Bay Area, Iwasaki has become a trusted voice on new and next-generation transportation safety, technology and policy issues. Under his leadership, the test-bed facility GoMentum Station was launched, which has set the bar for safe autonomous vehicle road testing.

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ABOVE, RIGHT: Randell Iwasaki (center) with President Jeffrey D. Armstrong (left) and Alumni Association President Rik Floyd.

LEFT: John NIelsen (second from left) with President Armstrong, Engineering Interim Dean James Meagher and Rik Floyd.

These pivotal roles were not something he could have planned for, he observed, but grew out of almost 35 years of service in a variety of highprofile engineering, management and leadership positions.

Iwasaki has won numerous state and national awards, and is widely recognized for his innovative approaches to public-private collaborations, industry engagement and public policy. He is similarly engaged with the college, donating an Intelligent Transportation Systems Laboratory to the College of Engineering and serving on the advisory boards for both the college and the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. He supports the award-winning student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers through campus visits, guest lectures and mentorship. n

The Commission of 102 A Natural Time of Self-Reflection

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al Poly Engineering kicked off its first-ever Listening Session Tour in fall 2017 and formed The Commission of 102 to gain a fresh perspective on the future directions of the college.

The tour grew out of a deep desire to engage constituents in new ways, said Interim Dean James Meagher.

“From my point of view, there is no better gift an incoming leader of the college might receive than fresh, thoughtful feedback, and these sessions have certainly provided that,” he said.

Meagher stepped into his role as interim dean in February 2017 with a plan to prepare the college for a new direction — one that transforms the way graduates enter their careers and fuel their future.

“The Listening Session Tour was about answering one question,” he explained. “How might we best educate the next generation of Cal Poly engineers so they have the tools needed for the world as it will be, not as it is today?”

The Listening Session attendees included a diverse group of early career alumni; icons, visionaries and leaders in industry; venture capitalists and futurists; corporate partners; students and faculty, creating what the college called The Commission of 102.

Through the sessions, participants urged the college to build upon its core strengths to stress engineering fundamentals and continue to produce graduates known for technical ingenuity and confidence who start their careers Day One-ready.

“Tomorrow’s engineers will need to work in diverse teams to provide solutions to problems that lie beyond most of our imaginations.”

INTERIM DEAN JAMES MEAGHER Additionally, college leaders heard that the curriculum needs to prod students to keep an eye on the future.

“Tomorrow’s engineers will need to work in diverse teams to provide solutions to problems that lie beyond most of our imaginations,” Meagher said. “Society needs leaders who understand the broader picture and can drive people to solutions. We need to produce systems thinkers who are Day Two-ready on Day One.” n

ABOVE: Participants in one of the Listening Sessions discuss the future direction of the college.

2017 LISTENING SESSIONS AND HOSTS San Luis Obispo: Oct. 2 Tory Bruno – president and CEO, United Launch Alliance Silicon Valley: Oct. 23 Michael Bangs – vice president of Real Estate, Oracle East Bay: Oct. 24 Host: Paul Bonderson – president, Lone Oak Ventures Pasadena: Oct. 25 Ross Brown – CEO, Cryogenic Industries; Larry Bergman – retired, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab Silicon Valley: Nov. 8 Gary Bloom – president and CEO, MarkLogic Corp San Luis Obispo: Nov. 13 Culminating Session Bill Swanson – retired chairman and CEO, Raytheon

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STUDENT SUCCESS

Student Success Pouring It On IT TOOK MORE THAN STRONG PADDLING AND A FAST BOAT TO BECOME THE NATION’S BEST CONCRETE CANOE TEAM

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Cal Poly’s Concrete Canoe team — and a boat named Meraki — won the national championship at the American Society of Civil Engineers 2017 Concrete Canoe Competition at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo., in June.

“Meraki translates from Greek into ‘pouring one’s heart and soul into a project,’” said Ian Buchanan, the team project manager. “And seeing it translated into a major win at nationals was especially uplifting.”

While the races were the most dramatic aspect of the competition, they only accounted for a quarter of each team’s final score. Overall standings combined team performances in design paper, oral presentation, final product as well as the speed races.

Cal Poly earned second-place marks in its presentations and picked up a third in the final-product category.

On the water, men and women competed separately and in mixed teams.

The women were second in the final sprints and fourth in the slalom-endurance race. The men were runners-up in sprints — finishing 1.2 seconds behind the winner — and placed fifth in the slalom-endurance event.

Along with Buchanan, Cal Poly team members included Dillan Quigley, Carson Burand, Brandon Friedman, Hailey Bond, Jacky Loh, Jacky Mata, Michael McMahon, Amy Xu, Ashley Cruz, Kyle Aube, Scott Kaufman and Grace Melgard.

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Proof of Prowess RAINWORKS SOAKS COMPETITORS WITH FIRST-PLACE FINISH Cal Poly Rainworks won the WSP l Parsons Brinckerhoff Student Design Competition, a key student event during the annual World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, held by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The competition challenges undergraduate senior students to solve real-life infrastructure problems with “practical yet innovative” solutions.

BELOW: Engineering students (from left) Laney Nelson, Nathan Hanson and Patrick Nagle of Cal Poly Rainworks won the World Environmental and Water Resource Congress undergraduate student competition.

The site design team for the club’s project — a creekwide revival storm water management plan — was led by Laney Nelson and Patrick Nagle, both civil engineering majors.

Cal Poly Rainworks was founded expressly to involve students in environmental and water resources design competitions, according to founder Nathan Hanson, a civil and environmental engineering graduate student, who advises the club after serving as its first president in 2015.

“There’s no one class that can prepare you for this competition,” said Hanson, “so whether you’re a freshman or upperclassman, you’ll come out with a lot more design knowledge, creative problem solving and multidisciplinary team work experience than you came in with.”

Research honoree Julia Roche with CSU Assistant Vice Chancellor Ganesh Raman.

Win-Happy HONORS SHINE ON SPRINKLER RESEARCH Mechanical engineering student Julia Roche earned a second-place award at the 31st annual California State University (CSU) Student Research Competition.

The event, held at Cal Poly, attracted nearly 250 students from 22 universities statewide. The competition promotes excellence in scholarly research and creative activity by recognizing outstanding student accomplishments throughout the CSU. R o c h e w a s r u n n e r- u p i n t h e Undergraduate Engineering and Computer Science category for her work, “Reverse Sprinkler: Solved!” It addressed a long-lived debate about how a sprinkler-like device would turn.

Mechanical engineering Professor Russ Westphal was Roche’s advisor.

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STUDENT SUCCESS

Riding High AWARDS ROLL IN AT FLUID POWER CHALLENGE A Cal Poly mechanical engineering student team won the Best Paper/ Presentation award at the 2017 national Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge, and placed third overall.

The event, held in Ames, Iowa, and sponsored by Parker Hannifin Corp. and The Danfoss Group, challenged teams of college students nationwide to design and build fluid-powered bicycles.

The Cal Poly team received four awards, including second for its project cost analysis and third-place honors in the Reliability/Durability Challenge.

But the foremost challenge facing the

BELOW: Mechanical engineering graduate student Jonathon Sather (left) steers the Cal Poly bike toward a third-place victory.

team was having only one team member who could make the trip to Ames.

“All four members of our senior project team were integral in designing and manufacturing the humanpowered hydraulically driven vehicle,” said Jonathon Sather, a mechanical engineering graduate student who pedaled Cal Poly’s bike at the start of a race. “But two team members (Anthony Fryer and Daniel Schletewitz) had already graduated, and a third member, Tyler Momber, came down with severe flu on the eve of departure and was unable to compete.”

A support team accompanied Sather, however, including faculty advisor Jim Widmann, technical staff advisor George Leone and Aaron Garcia, a member of this year’s team.

Well Done!

CAPS OFF TO 2017’S OUTSTANDING GRADS OUTSTANDING MASTER’S DEGREE GRADUATES Aerospace Engineering Reed Danis Daniel Fugett Steven Maclean Matthew Richardson Biomedical Engineering Kristina Bishard John Gerrity Jennavive Lillie Tiffany Shen Computer Science Sean Bayley Katherine Davis Christian Skylar Durst Nupur Garg Christopher Hunt Brandon Livitski Ivan Pachev Electrical Engineering Travis Taylor Fire Protection Engineering Joakim Larsen Colin White General Engineering Zhaoci Hu Spencer Martinez Industrial Engineering Joshua Ledgerwood David OtsuNandan Thor Integrated Technology Management Alisha Bender Jonathon Chiu Austin Lynch Mechanical Engineering Samuel Artho-Bentz Ryan Baskett Nick Bonafede Kevin Carney Ruben Diaz Victor Espinosa III Michael Schier Connor Sullivan

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OUTSTANDING BACHELOR’S DEGREE GRADUATES Aerospace Engineering Derek Denardo Charles Aaron Ward Biomedical Engineering Corina Mary Espelien Samantha L. Smith Civil Engineering Steven Ellis Ambers Chase Redd Hemming Justina Tran Computer Engineering Matthew A. Coats Matthew T. Lindly Computer Science Cody Daniel Rhoads Andrew Trong Khuong Tran Electrical Engineering Dylan James Kirkby William Cary Tran Environmental Engineering Lauren Ingrid Miller Kimberly Ellen Pugel General Engineering Kendyl Jaclyn Cohn Anna Colleen Laird Industrial Engineering Fiona Catherine Blackburn Jesse Elliot Yap Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering John Francis Brown Joseph A. Hanacek Liberal Arts Engineering Studies Eric Colin Hill Jared Marshall Olson Materials Engineering Kenneth Blain Ainslie Cory Jacob Hughes Mechanical Engineering Christopher Michael Gonzales Alexander Rodney Nichols Software Engineering Brittany Ashley Berlanga Myra Cherise Lukens

Scoring Big-Time ... Again CAL POLY ITE CLUB NAMED CHAPTER OF THE YEAR For the third time in four years, the Cal Poly Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) club was named the institute’s international Chapter of the Year.

The student group received $2,700 in prize money for its outstanding activities and achievements reflected in its annual report at the 2017 ITE annual conference in Toronto.

“Our team brought home the Traffic Bowl trophy for the second year in a row — and that is a first,” said Ashley Kim, president of Cal Poly ITE. “The challenges of this contest are such that no other university has won it twice, and we did it!”

The Cal Poly ITE Traffic Bowl team also included Ryan Caldera, Jonathan Howard, Curtis Yee and Vanessa See.

ABOVE: Club members (from left) are: Jonathan Howard, Ryan Caldera, Ashley Kim, Curtis Yee, Vanessa See and Travis Low.

“The challenges of this contest are such that no other university has won it twice, and we did it!”

ITE PRESIDENT ASHLEY KIM

Other Cal Poly ITE members included Justina Tran, Brian Gaul, Sang Hee Cho, Jacob Friedhoff, Seitu Coleman, Calvin Chen, Travis Low and Krista Purser. Civil Engineering Professor Anurag Pande was faculty advisor.

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STUDENT SUCCESS

Driven CAL POLY TEAM SHIFTS BAJA CAR INTO FOURTH Competing against 90 teams from the United States and Canada, the Cal Poly Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Baja Team finished fourth at the 2017 Baja SAE California competition in Gorman, Calif.

The car was driven by mechanical engineering students Will Antes and Samantha Tran. Connor Kingsbury and Paul Swartz were the team leaders.

Fuel Efficient SUPERMILEAGE TEAM PROVES NAME-WORTHY Cruising 1,500.7 miles on a gallon of gas, the Cal Poly Supermileage team drove to a fourth-place finish out of 114 teams competing at the 2017 Shell Ecomarathon in Detroit.

“We had a 300 miles-per-gallon improvement from the 1,215 milesper-gallon third-place finish we had last year,” said Lucas Rybarczyk, team president. “Even though this is one place lower, there are now more teams overall in this combined category.”

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Focus On Vehicle Safety STUDENTS’ DESIGN INCLUDES DRIVER ASSISTANCE, CRASH AVOIDANCE FEATURES A multidisciplinary team of three Cal Poly engineering students earned second place in the 2017 Enhanced Safety of Vehicles International Student Design Competition in Detroit.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation since 2004, the student competition annually draws teams from around the world to compete with innovative projects that advance motor vehicle safety.

The project by Evan Phillips, a computer engineering major, and

mechanical engineering students Chris Grant and Jay Miley involved developing a 10th-scale vehicle platform that could be programmed by undergraduate students, with limited expertise in programming, to implement advanced driver assistance and crash-avoidance maneuvers.

“It was a great opportunity for our undergraduates to gain experience in this technology, which is critical in the development of future autonomous transportation systems,” said mechan-

ical engineering Professor Charles Birdsong, supervisor of the project.

“We beat out teams from the University of Michigan and Stanford, among others, and showed that our Learn by Doing approach prepares students to compete on an international stage at all levels.”

BELOW: The Cal Poly team’s design placed second in the international competition.

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STUDENT SUCCESS

Steely Determination CIVIL ENGINEERING TEAM CLAIMS BEST-IN-WEST TITLE IN BRIDGE CONTEST The Cal Poly Steel Bridge team stood out as best in the West at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) National Student Steel Bridge Competition at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore. Cal Poly was the top team in the categories of lightness and efficiency, and it finished third overall.

“Notably, this was the first year that Cal Poly has placed first in any subcategory on a national scale,” said Hannah Lancaster, project manager.

Other team members, all civil engineering majors, included Matthew Ramos, design lead; Stephen Hager, fabrication lead; Jessica Ramirez,

machining lead; John Stern, construction lead; and Jonathan Diaz, software lead.

Cal Poly civil engineering Professors Garrett Hall and Eric Kasper served as faculty advisors.

Demonstrating Their Mettle

A team of seven Cal Poly environmental engineering students won the Intel Environmental Innovation Award and $2,500 at the 2017 WERC Environmental Design Contest for their use of ionexchange resins to filter metals out of stormwater. WERC, formerly known as the Waste Management Education and Research Consortium, sponsors the international competition to bring

industry, government and academia together in search of improved solutions to environmental challenges.

“What helped us win was the practicality and usefulness of our design,” said junior Andrew Ledezma, team lead.

“The client — the U.S. Navy — can simply attach our downspout extension to existing downspouts to prevent copper from exiting the base.”

CAL POLY TEAM TAKES INTEL ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION AWARD

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Smart Moves GE DIGITAL CHALLENGE INSPIRES APP SOLUTION Six Cal Poly computer science, computer engineering and electrical engineering students won the 2017 GE Digital CSU competition. The event challenged students to create a campus parkingrelated solution using Predix Platform, General Elecrtric Co.’s set of software applications for bringing smart data to the industrial world.

“A number of schools focused on easing the parking experience for the student, faculty or staff member, such as finding a spot or determining when’s the best time to commute,” said Joe Durand, a team member. “Our solution, on the other hand, was aimed at campus administrators and planning consultants who design how the campus operates in the first place. We developed an app, called Parkix, that gives real-time, realworld data that enables planners to design smarter solutions for making transportation options more accessible, convenient and desirable.”

RIGHT: The team (from left): Kris Campos, Brady Aiello, Professor Foaad Khosmood (faculty advisor), Benjamin Yee, Joe Durand, Charnpreet Singh and Joel Braun.

LEFT: Team members (clockwise from back left) are Nicholas Hardy, Hailey Aarsvold, Enrique Molina, Joey Velasquez, Andrew Kaneda, Joelle Arakaki, Emely Coreas, Andrew (Ernesto) Ledzema and Gavrielle Orman.

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F A C U LT Y U P D AT E

Their Passion for Teaching Aerospace Engineering’s Aaron Drake and Graham Doig Named Lockheed Martin Endowed Professors

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ECAUSE OF THEIR PASSION for introducing state-of-the-art concepts in the classroom, Cal Poly aerospace engineering Professors Graham Doig and Aaron Drake were named Lockheed Martin Endowed Professors by the College of Engineering’s Advancement and Advisory Committee. Awarded biannually in conjunction with Lockheed Martin, the $25,000 professorships provide time and resources for professional growth and development to enrich the educational experiences of Cal Poly students.

Since joining Cal Poly in 2014, Doig has involved undergraduate aerospace engineering students in aerodynamic research of near-professional quality. He

Pays Off oversaw the significant modernization of Cal Poly’s Low-Speed Wind Tunnel, and he has overhauled key courses in fluids, thermodynamics and applied aerodynamics to offer more project-based learning and foster increased student creativity.

“The professorship has helped me get face to face with new partners for the university, resulting in three California companies at the forefront of electric transportation — ES Aero, Tesla and Joby Aviation — sponsoring student research at the senior and graduate level,” Doig said.

It’s also expanding student opportunities in the PROVE Lab (Prototype Vehicles Lab), founded and overseen by Doig, where more than 100 students are involved in highprofile interdisciplinary projects ranging from building a solar-powered vehicle to break the land speed record to investigating seal flipper hydrodynamics and pelican wingtip aerodynamics.

Drake, in his third year at Cal Poly, has built a research capability in the Autonomous Flight Laboratory (AFL), involving students in emerging development and applications of unmanned aircraft. Central to the lab is a flight operations and testing capability that reflects the best professional practices. Under Drake’s leadership, the AFL has become operational with FAA-approved deployments of an unmanned Yamaha RMAX helicopter and a militarygrade fixed-wing aircraft.

Drake’s AFL work focuses on four goals: preparing students to work in the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) industry; facilitating multidisciplinary research; researching technologies for UAS; and performing system assessment and design studies of UAS concepts. His team is collaborating with agriculture faculty in the application of unmanned craft for vineyard monitoring. n

Lockheed Martin Endowed Professors Graham Doig (far left) and Aaron Drake.

Jose Macedo

Zachary Peterson

Fulbright Scholars JOSE MACEDO, ZACHARY PETERSON AWARDED GRANTS IN 2016-17 THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE’S Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs named Cal Poly a top producer of U.S. Fulbright scholars for the 2016-17 academic year. Five faculty members, including three multi-year recipients, received Fulbright grants — more than any other public or private masters-level university in the nation.

Two of Cal Poly’s Fulbright scholars are in the College of Engineering: Zachary Peterson and three-time Fulbright scholar Jose Macedo.

Macedo, a professor and former chairman of the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department, taught at the University of Technology and Engineering in Lima, Peru. His focus areas included quality, lean management, statistical analysis and automation, robotics and machine vision. In 2008, he received a Fulbright scholar award to work at the Universidad Tecnologica de Panama for seven months.

Peterson, an associate professor of computer science, visited at University College London, the United Kingdom’s largest postgraduate institution regarded as one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary research universities. Peterson’s project title was, “This Is Not a Game: Advancing Cybersecurity Research and Education Through Play.” He continues his ongoing research in the use of games and play for teaching computer security concepts to new, younger and nontechnical audiences. Peterson leads Cal Poly’s computer cybersecurity program. n

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F A C U LT Y U P D AT E

Sara Bahrami

Jacques Belanger

FACULTY SARA BAHRAMI Computer Science and Software Engineering Sara Bahrami takes special delight in the key role that human ingenuity plays in supporting large-scale, fast-evolving software systems. In addition to teaching fundamental classes in computer science and software engineering, Bahrami is introducing new undergraduate courses such as mobile programming and advanced programming in Java. For graduate courses she is attracting students who share her research interests in human computer interaction, mining software repositories, applied techniques in software engineering research and related areas.

JACQUES BELANGER Mechanical Engineering Jacques Belanger believes engineers will play a pivotal role in how society transitions to a more sustainable future, and “Cal Poly prepares nextgeneration engineers like no other.” With a doctorate in aeronautics from Caltech and a master’s in mechanical engineering from Laval University in Quebec, Belanger has technical expertise in

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Joseph Callenes-Sloan

Christian Eckhardt

all aspects of mechanical engineering, particularly in the solar energy field. He was co-founder and vice president of engineering/technology at Cool Earth Solar in Livermore, Calif., and was managing engineer of the consulting firm Exponent, specializing in thermal science. Prior to that, he was an assistant professor in the Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics Department at the University of Minnesota.

Christopher Heylman

WELCOMING

THE NEW THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING EXPANDS ITS TALENTED TEAM

JOSEPH CALLENES-SLOAN Computer Engineering/ Electrical Engineering

CHRISTIAN ECKHARDT Computer Science and Software Engineering

Cal Poly’s track record for excellence in teaching was a major factor in attracting Joseph Callenes-Sloan to the university, but it was the curiosity and caliber of the students that won him over. The newest faculty member of the Computer Engineering Program and Electrical Engineering Department, Callenes-Sloan hails from the Midwest, where he received master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include faulttolerant systems, computer architecture, low-power design and architectures, embedded systems, and high-performance and scientific computing.

Co-founder of the Game Research Lab at CSU Monterey, Christian Eckhardt’s 20-year career as a computer scientist and physicist morphed into the fields of 3-D graphics, simulation programming, human-computer interaction, virtual reality and game development. He received a doctorate in engineering and information technology and a master’s in computational physics at Vienna University of Technology in Austria.

“It’s an exciting time to be a computer science and software engineer,” he said, “and I encourage my students to be bold in pushing the envelope — that’s what Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing approach is all about.”

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Bruno da Silva

CHRISTOPHER HEYLMAN Biomedical Engineering A Cal Poly general engineering alumnus (’07), Christopher Heylman went on to earn a doctorate in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, including postdoctoral work with the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine and, more recently, heading the diagnostic instruments startup Velox Biosystems. As one of Cal Poly’s newest biomedical engineering faculty members, he hopes to foster innovative faculty and student collaborations throughout the college and across the campus, particularly in the interdisciplinary fields of regenerative medicine.

“New opportunities for multidisciplinary fields to interact can help us to

Carole Voulgaris

develop significantly superior materials and therapeutic strategies for healing major tissue defects,” he said.

BRUNO DA SILVA Computer Science and Software Engineering Bruno da Silva draws on a strong background in international industry and academics to help prepare students for careers in computer science and software engineering. “My courses integrate innovative topics where students can engage in real-world problems and learn from groundbreaking companies.” da Silva received a doctorate in computer science from the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil, and most recently taught at Brazil’s University of Salvador.

CAROLE VOULGARIS Civil and Environmental Engineering Carole Voulgaris combines an interest in urban planning with engineering. She is a doctoral candidate in urban planning at UCLA and holds master’s degrees in business administration from the University of Notre Dame and civil engineering from Brigham Young University. Her research is regularly published in a range of transportation journals, and she is the

Michael Whitt

Charles Chadwell

recipient of numerous awards and fellowships. “Through my interests in urban planning and transportation, I hope to improve the ability of transportation engineers to find innovative solutions to the mobility and accessibility challenges of the communities they serve,” she said.

MICHAEL WHITT Biomedical Engineering An entrepreneur and academic, Michael Whitt has an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a doctorate in biomedical engineering from Rutgers University. In addition to founding Cortex Systems, a maker of cardiovascular diagnostic devices, he has taught business at the University of Notre Dame, chaired the engineering department at Miami Dade College and taught mechanical engineering technology at Purdue University. His research interests include early detection of cardiovascular disease and heat stress through non-invasive means.

He is also exploring the use of biomaterials and coatings to expand the use of nanotechnology in diagnostics.

Trevor Harding

LECTURERS (not pictured)

PETER BECKER Mechanical Engineering LAUREN COOPER Mechanical Engineering YONG HAO Materials Engineering DANIEL KAUFMANN Computer Science and Software Engineering

Jean Lee

Chris Lupo

DEPARTMENT CHAIRS (pictured above)

CHARLES CHADWELL Civil and Environmental Engineering TREVOR HARDING Materials Engineering JEAN LEE General Engineering CHRIS LUPO Computer Science

JOHANNEL MINTZLAFF Mechanical Engineering JOHN NELSON Materials Engineering JAKOB REICHL Computer Science and Software Engineering RYAN SMITH Materials Engineering SIDDHARTH VYAS Electrical Engineering

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ALUMNI NEWS

Granted DANIEL ANSORGE’S MUSICAL INTEREST IS FULBRIGHT-WORTHY

DANIEL ANSORGE, a 2017 Cal Poly mechanical engineering graduate with a music minor, was awarded a Fulbright student grant to study a unique family of string instruments in Slovenia.

For Ansorge, an avid guitarist who grew up in Elk Grove, Calif., his selection for the prestigious

Fulbright U.S. Student Program was the culmination of a longtime interest in mechanical tinkering coupled with a passion for music.

“I’ve always loved figuring out how things are made and how I could make them on my own,” Ansorge said. “This led me to mechanical engineering, because we study the mechanics and physics behind how things work — a subject I had been pursuing in my own time without really knowing it.”

In Slovenia, Ansorge is studying the tamburitza, a family of lutes that originated in Croatia and spread to other parts of the former Yugoslavia around the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Alumnus Daniel Ansorge majored in mechanical engineering, but he also has a passion for music.

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Class Notes 2010s

2000s

1990s

NICK LOVGREN (B.S., M.S., Electrical Engineering, ’11) has joined Dersch Design & Engineering as an electrical engineer. The San Diego-based firm specializes in electrical engineering, building construction and renovation, renewable energy and microgrids. In his new position, Lovgren designs electrical systems for commercial customers, government agencies and utilities.

VICTOR LUO (Computer Engineering, ‘08) was highlighted in Bloomberg Businessweek (“Victor Luo Is Making NASA Cool for Coders”). As the head of the agency’s VR-developing OpsLab, Luo works with everyone from astronauts to producers. As the lead project manager for the OpsLab at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, he works on the space agency’s virtual- and augmentedreality projects, enabling engineers on Earth to design virtual space shuttles in 3-D and then assist astronauts on the real shuttles orbiting outside the atmosphere.

PATRICIA MURRAY (Aerospace Engineering, ’94) is the new CEO of the Miss California competition. A winner of the 1992 Miss California competition while still an aerospace engineering student at Cal Poly, Murray is at home on a variety of runways: She has served as a California Air National Guard pilot with six tours in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan, and achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel.

For the last 16 years, Murray has been a pilot with American Airlines. The Redondo Beach, Calif., resident is married with three children.

AMY DEGENKOLB (M.S., Biomedical Engineering, ’12) is the lead engineer at InPress Technologies. Most recently the company created a device to treat postpartum hemorrhage, which is currently in clinical trial. The InPress Postpartum Hemorrhage Intrauterine Device facilitates the body’s natural mechanism for healing to address postpartum hemorrhage, without pharmaceuticals, hysterectomy or other invasive surgical procedures.

The InPress device works quickly and effectively and can dramatically reduce the cost of health care during childbirth and substantially reduce the risk of loss of life.

STEVE HOBUS (Mechanical Engineering, ’12) was named the Association of Energy Engineers Region V Young Energy Professional of the Year.

WILSON TAM (Electrical Engineering, ‘13) is working for Hitachi, commissioning the world’s first continuous wave proton beam therapy system for boron neutron capture therapy at the National Cancer Center of Japan.

JESSE ROND, Navy lieutenant (Mechanical Engineering, ’08), was named a Top 40 Under 40 military member by RecruitMilitary. Each Top 40 Under 40 recipient was selected based on exemplary military performance.

ROBERT MCINTURFF (Mechanical Engineering, ‘07) was the project officer for the 100th anniversary celebration of the U.S. Air Force 90th Fighter Squadron that took place in August. Previous squadron members, dating as far back as Vietnam, attended the celebration.

KEEP IN TOUCH with the Cal Poly Engineering community around the state, the nation and the world.

Submit your update to https://engineering.calpoly. edu/alumni/alumni-update/.

JOEL VAZQUEZ (Mechanical Engineering, ‘99) took an assignment as the in-kingdom construction project manager of a $3+ billion oil refinery owned by Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil in Saudi Arabia.

1980s Raytheon has named RALPH ACABA (Electrical Engineering, ‘86) vice president, program management excellence. Since 2013, he has managed Raytheon’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense portfolio, including all aspects of the global Patriot Air and Missile Defense System, Hawk Air Defense System and National Advanced Surface-toAir Missile System business. Acaba received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Cal Poly and his master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California. u

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ALUMNI NEWS

1980s

CONTINUED

KEVIN MEJIA (Aerospace Engineering, ‘88; M.S., Aerospace Engineering, ’91) was named Boeing Technical Fellow. The honor places him among the top 1 percent of Boeing’s entire technical force and in the top 4 percent of the company’s overall workforce.

STEVE DE MARCO (Industrial Engineering, ’89) has joined Malwarebytes as senior vice president of global sales.

De Marco has more than 25 years of experience in software sales, most recently as vice president of worldwide sales and alliances at Xactly Corp. and regional sales manager at Informatica.

Passage from India In the 1960s, the Cal Poly College of Engineering had more than 50 students from India nearly every year. After long and successful engineering careers in the United States, four of these Cal Poly Engineering alumni from India returned to San Luis Obispo in August with their families for a reunion. They included (from left) JOGINDER JATWANI (Mechanical Engineering, ‘65), INDAR SETHI (Electrical Engineering, ‘64), NAND K. AGGARWAL (Electrical Engineering, ‘66) and SATISH K. JAIN (Electrical Engineering, ‘66).

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JOIN THE

CLUB!

YOUR SUPPORT OF CAL POLY ENGINEERING STUDENT CLUBS enables our students to experience hands-on success as they become problem-solvers with experience in design, build and test sequences. Your gift will allow Cal Poly Engineering students to change the world as they: u Form innovations that improve the quality of life for those injured in the line of duty | QL + (QUALITY OF LIFE PLUS)

SUPPORT LEARN

BY DOING

u Design and build the world’s fastest solar-powered car CAL POLY’S PROTOTYPE VEHICLES LABORATORY u Give women a voice that will encourage them to achieve their full potential as engineers and leaders SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS u Contribute to the betterment of the human race by alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life MEDICAL DESIGN CLUB u ... And so much more!

TO SUPPORT CAL POLY ENGINEERING CLUBS, PLEASE CONTACT: Tanya Hauck | Assistant Dean, Advancement College of Engineering 805-756-2163 | thauck@calpoly.edu

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California Polytechnic State University College of Engineering 1 Grand Ave. San Luis Obispo, CA 93407-0350 PARENTS, PLEASE NOTE: If your son or daughter is no longer at this address, please share his or her current address with the College of Engineering.

2018 Project Expo JUNE 1 EVENT CELEBRATES STUDENT INGENUITY INNOVATIVE DISPLAYS and hands-on demonstrations that represent years of student-led project work will be presented at the College of Engineering Student Project Expo, scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. Friday, June 1, in the Engineering Plaza.

The annual event will feature more than 150 individual and team projects from seniors, graduate students and clubs. Visitors are invited to interact with

faculty, entrepreneurs, project sponsors and especially the students, who relish the opportunity to discuss their work.

An Outstanding Student Awards presentation will begin at 3 p.m.

For information about how you can work with student teams or sponsor projects, please contact Tanya Hauck, assistant dean of advancement, at thauck@calpoly.edu or 805-756-2163.

ABOVE: Members of Team Joseph presented their project, Aquabullet, at the Project Expo in 2014.