Recent News
Creative Sustainability: Cal Poly Team Gets Global Recognition for Innovative Packaging Design
Mar 10, 2023
The Froot team, left to right, faculty advisor Javier de la Fuente, Fred Pastrana, Heather Lopez, Han Wong, Hannah Kraus and Thucmy Dang. Not pictured are Colter Pruyn and faculty advisors Irene Carbonell and Linh Dao.
Original story by Pat Pemberton
After setting out to design a sustainable package for produce, an interdisciplinary team of Cal Poly students looked to other packages for inspiration – including beer carriers.
“Once we decided on a product, we started the process of creating prototypes and built about 10 to 15 completely different ideas before we found the right structure,” said Heather Lopez, an Industrial Technology and Packaging (ITP) student on the team. “We drew inspiration from beverage carriers and lunch boxes for the structure, citrus slices and fruit bowls for the shape, and natural and geometric designs for the aesthetics.”
The final design impressed both national and global judges as the team’s Froot carrier won second place in two different prestigious competitions.
The project began as a collaboration between Fiber-Based Packaging, an ITP class, and Graphic Design III, from the Art and Design Department. The team initially pursued a 2022 competition hosted by the Paperboard Packaging Alliance (PPA) before advancing to the WorldStar Global Packaging Awards. For the PPA contest, students were challenged to design new paperboard packaging and packaging components for an existing product that is currently packaged primarily in plastic.
The project was especially timely in California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law in June 2022 requiring all packaging in the state to be recyclable or compostable by 2032.
The Froot package features colorful graphics, holes
so customers can see the actual product and a
structural design that transforms it into a box. (Courtesy photo)
Cal Poly’s Froot team looked at fruits and vegetables, which are often sold in mesh bags and plastic containers that are not recyclable.
“Those will end up most likely in landfills,” said Javier de la Fuente, one of the team’s faculty advisors and chair of the ITP area in the Orfalea College of Business.
Beginning last winter, the team initially focused on mandarins, then limes and lemons. The packages entailed both structural and graphic designs, so a team was formed for each focus.
Ultimately, Lopez sketched out a design that combined several different ideas, including a distorted cube shape and a recessed handle.
“The day when we cut out our design on the prototyping table and saw it folded for the first time was such a fulfilling moment,” Lopez said. “After everything we went through with the designing process, we had an actual package that we were proud of and that worked.”
The package features colorful, welcoming graphics and holes so customers can see the product inside. Meanwhile, the structure, 100 percent recyclable, was designed so it is stackable, easy to carry and could also be converted to a bowl upon purchase.
The Froot team, left to right: Fred Pastrana,
Thucmy Dang,Javier de la Fuente, Heather Lopez,
Hanna Kraus and Han Wong.
“It was important to our team that Froot appealed to all of its audiences – whether that be the person that shipped the flats, the person that filled the package with fruit, the person that displayed the product on the grocery store shelves, or the consumer that would be bringing Froot home with them,” said Thucmy Dang, an engineering/industrial management graduate student. “We wanted to create something functional, something that stood out on a shelf, and something that would be environmentally friendly.”
There was other specific considerations, such as a structure design that allowed it to be flattened for easy shipment.
“For us, ease of manufacturing is important,” de la Fuente said.
The package had to be original, practical and, of course, sustainable.
“Because our project was intended to be marketable to industry professionals, we had to consider the production of our package, such as the cost, materials, and shipment, which opened my eyes to both the importance and the complexity of sustainability,” Lopez said. “It helped me realize that while phasing out single-use plastic packaging might seem like the answer to all our problems, there’s so much more to consider than just getting rid of plastic when its barrier properties are unnecessary.”
Froot packaging was designed for mandarins, lemons
and oranges. These photos show how the packages
would appear in stores. (Courtesy photo)
Other members of the team included Colter Pruyn (consumer packaging), along with graphic design students Han Wong, Fred Pastrana, and Hannah Kraus. Other faculty advisors included Irene Carbonell (ITP) and Linh Dao (Art and Design).
During the PPA competition, the Froot team was one of three that advanced to the finals in Austin, Texas, this past fall, ultimately earning second place and a chance to compete at the WorldStar Global Packaging Awards – what de la Fuente referred to as “the World Cup of packaging” — where the team won second overall, along with a gold medal for marketing appeal and a bronze medal for sustainability.
The project was a quintessential Learn by Doing lesson.
“It introduced me to working with a dedicated design team on a project that has real world implications,” Lopez said. “Learning how to interact with team members, to communicate expectations, to divide work, and to practice accountability is crucial to preparing for industry work.”
For Dang, who earned a packaging minor as an undergraduate, the Froot project also provided lessons on sustainability.
“It has made me more aware of the impact I make on the world when I buy fruit packaged in nonrecyclable plastic,” she said. “Learning sustainability lessons like this raises awareness and pushes people to make choices that leave the Earth the way we found it!”
Read the story from the Orfalea College of Business
Chinese New Year Parade Represents Homecoming, Traditions for Mustang Band Members
Mar 6, 2023
By Larry Peña
As first-year saxophone player Allen Forte marched with the other 200-odd members of the Mustang Band through the streets of San Francisco during the Chinese New Year Parade, it felt like a big welcome home.
Forte, a San Francisco native, played the parade with his high school marching band — but missed performing during his junior and senior years when COVID canceled the event.
“I just loved going back and seeing my community again,” Forte said. The parade gave him the opportunity to reconnect with both old friends and an important hometown tradition.
And tradition was top of mind for fourth-year trumpet player Kaitlyn Duong, who just performed in her final Chinese New Year parade with the Mustang Band and is ready to hand off the experience to the younger members.
“I was excited to get one last go at it,” she said. “But my favorite part was seeing the new members participate in it for the first time, because it's not something you can mentally prepare for if you haven't seen it before. Just the sheer amount of people and the hype that is around it is wild.”
The parade, sponsored by Alaska Airlines and run by the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce, is part of the largest Lunar New Year celebration in the world outside of Asia. This past February marked the eighth time the Mustang Band has performed in the parade since 2014.
“This is by far our most exciting event that we play,” said Mustang Band director Nick Waldron. “It's one of the 10 largest parades in the world, and we had somewhere between three and four million people in attendance — we don't see these types of crowds in SLO.”
The day’s events included an annual “band off” between the Mustang Band and the marching band from UC Davis. The two bands faced off in the plaza in front of the Ferry Building and took turns performing rousing songs to a crowd of tourists and supporters alike.
Then it was off to the starting point in the Financial District, where the band joined floats, dancers and massive human-powered dragons for a nearly two-mile route around Union Square and up into Chinatown.
“It's very vibrant, it's extremely colorful, and people are always friendly,” Forte said. “No matter what your background is, it's just a time to celebrate and experience joy.”
To prepare for the parade’s grueling route, members of the band begin extra conditioning every Sunday through winter quarter. By the week before the event, the band was up to marching 2.5 miles each week. But even all that work doesn’t prepare students for the rush of hearing the enthusiastic crowds.
“The excitement and the crowds and the noise always raises everyone's endurance just a little bit as well,” said Waldron. “It's like a health potion that you're taking just hearing that many people cheer for you."
“I think it was the most engagement that I've seen compared to the previous times I've done it,” Duong said. “Everyone along the route was singing and jumping around along with us, and they all had huge smiles on their faces.”
After the parade, the cultural exchange continued as the students had a chance to explore the city and take part in the rest of the celebrations. Melanie Woo, a fourth-year cymbal player, saw her parents, who came into town from nearby Pleasanton. Her dad brought her Chinese treats that she can’t usually find in San Luis Obispo, which she shared with her fellow drumline members.
“Lunar New Year is tied for Christmas as my favorite holiday, and every year my family goes all out,” she said, adding that due to her college schedule, she’s not usually able to come home for the holiday.
Woo says she appreciates the opportunities that this event provides her and her bandmates: from the national exposure, to having fun playing music and being with friends — and the hidden lessons about being on time and working together to perform at a high level.
“On the outside it looks like just a fun experience, but really participating in these events is providing different little life lessons,” she said. “I think this event is really awesome because not only do I get to perform for San Francisco, but it's also a way for me to celebrate my own culture doing something that I love and share that experience with my bandmates.”
To listen to the Mustang Band in action, visit the Mustang Band Parents and Fans Facebook page for video highlights of the Chinese New Year performances.
Read the story from Cal Poly News
MLK Legacy Winner Talks Leadership and Community
Mar 6, 2023
By Gabby Ferreira // Photos by Joe Johnston and Dylan Head
At Cal Poly’s annual MLK Jr. Legacy Event last month, a student won the MLK Legacy Award for the second time ever. Nailah DuBose, a second-year psychology major, co-accepted the award with Professor Michael Whitt. DuBose is co-president of the Black Student Union (BSU), a volunteer trainer with Cal Poly Athletics, a recipient of the Black Student Scholarship and heavily involved with the Black Academic Excellence Center. She recently sat down with Cal Poly News to discuss her reaction to receiving the award, her leadership on campus and her dreams for the future.
MLK Legacy Award honorees Nailah DuBose
and Michael Whitt smile at the MLK Jr.
Legacy Event in January.
How does it feel to be receiving this award?
It’s honestly such an honor that my classmates, peers and friends would even consider me to be someone who could be adjacent to the legacy that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. left. I had no idea ahead of time and I cried. I couldn’t believe it! It's an honor.
Chloe Wardrick (the first student to win this award) texted me to say congratulations and I was like, “I’m just following in your footsteps. You laid it all out for us!” Chloe Wardrick has been like a mentor and big sister to me. I often like to say that she ran so I could walk. She worked incredibly hard last year as BSU President and inspired me to be a BSU leader.
Nailah DuBose gives a speech while accepting
her award at the MLK Jr. Legacy Event.
How did you get involved in BSU and in leadership, and what have you learned?
The summer before I came to Cal Poly, I did a lot of research on resources offered to Black-identifying students. At the club showcase during the Week of Welcome, my two friends and I were intentional about finding the BSU booth because we wanted to make sure that we connected with our community on campus.
BSU and the Black Academic Excellence Center (BAEC) played an integral role in shaping the memories and friends I made during my first year. Chloe Wardrick encouraged me to join the board, so I did, and it has easily been one of the best decisions that I ever made. Being in this role has taught me so much about myself and what it means to be a people leader.
I knew I wanted to offer those same opportunities to the next set of students coming to campus — and even those we have on campus now. A lot of students don’t know about the resources out there for us Black scholars and that should be our goal: for BSU be the central hub.
One essential lesson that I've learned in this role is that communication —especially effective communication — is key. Not everybody communicates like you or leads like you. Learning the specific niches of the team members has been one of the most valuable lessons.
Tell me about your studies. What drives you?
I’ve known I wanted to be a doctor since the third grade. I attended the Rex and Margaret Fortune Early College High School in Sacramento, which is focused on closing the African American achievement gap, and we had the opportunity to take college courses. I graduated with two associate’s degrees. The experience really helped me to understand what I want my future career to be like.
I also have a Black female pediatrician. She's my own superhero in a way that really drives my studies and my desire to be a doctor.
I’m majoring in psychology because I figured that to be the best doctor, you need to understand the human mind, why certain responses are coming up and why the patient is maybe not communicating that much about their care or illnesses or pain. When a patient can see the human in you and can see that you’re very empathetic toward them, they’ll trust you more and continue to foster that healthy doctor-patient relationship.
I’m also a volunteer student athletic trainer. I assist with preparing for games, treatments, tapings and just helping out around the training room. This quarter, I’m helping with women’s basketball and men’s basketball. I grew up playing basketball, but I knew I didn’t want to go collegiate or pro, so this is a way I can stay involved.
I want to become a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon and hopefully work in the NBA because there’s not a lot of women — particularly Black women — in that field, and I love the game. Being around it every day and getting paid to do it? That’s so fun!
Professor Camille O'Bryant and Nailah DuBose
smile as sheaccepts her award at the
MLK Jr. Legacy Event in January.
You’ve also written and published a few books. Could you talk about that?
During the pandemic, my mom told me and my little sister, “This is the perfect time for you guys to do what you’ve been wanting to do.” For us, that was writing a book. We’d been thinking about it for a few years at that point, we just never had time. We sat down and we wrote it together and that became "Above All Things,” a devotional book.
For our second book, we got a cohort of six girls together — some were classmates, one of them was my best friend Sierra — and we helped them through the process of writing and publishing what became “Surviving Our New Normal,” a memoir of how we are thriving in the pandemic. We wrote this book because when the pandemic came, chaos came, and everybody was wondering how to operate in our new normal. We wanted to bring some young voices to the stage and say, “This is how we’re thriving and changing the narrative and the language surrounding the pandemic.” The pandemic didn’t beat us; we’re going to beat it.
I understand you have a hair braiding service too. Can you talk about how that started?
Growing up, my mom was a licensed cosmetologist for over 20 years, and she had a salon in our house at one point. I loved seeing the way she’d make women feel so beautiful after getting their hair done and the laughter and joy throughout the house. I loved seeing my mom be so creative and in her element.
That’s something that’s lived in and was instilled in me and I thought, “OK, I’m going to learn how to braid.” It started because I wanted to take braiding mine and my sister’s hair off my mom’s plate, but by the time I was 16, I was braiding other friends’ hair.
When I went to college, I thought I’d bring it here because I know we don’t have any braiders nearby. I wasn’t expecting it to blow up the way it did. I thought it was going to be really small, just a few friends. I’ve been running it since my freshman year and if I had to scale it, I’m probably doing two or three clients a week. So that’s about 20 to 30 clients a quarter.
Music and water is key to a good braiding session, and I’m friends with a lot of my clients so we’ll talk. It’s always good vibes.
In the time you’ve been at Cal Poly, how have you seen things shift in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion? What makes you optimistic?
I definitely have seen things get better since my freshman year. I was telling my friends at the beginning of the quarter that I see more of us now than I did last year.
The way I feel the administration supports us as an organization and as Black-identifying students on campus and the scholarships that are being offered as well make me optimistic. My high school is a partner high school, which means students who apply for financial aid are given priority for scholarships. I feel that establishing partnerships with schools that have a predominantly Black student population is a great way to continue making Cal Poly more diverse and, in the process, help alleviate a common factor for a lot students of color who choose not to go to college: the financial burden.
I'm excited to see what the future holds and work with Cal Poly to make sure more Black students are coming here and know they belong here.
We went to the R.A.C.E. Matters SLO block party a few months ago because we wanted to be more involved in our community. We had a donation bucket out, and people kept coming by saying encouraging words, telling us how much they support us and want to help us. To see that we have the support not just on campus but off campus as well really means a lot. It made me really optimistic, not only as a leader here but as a student.
Read the story from Cal Poly News
Cal Poly Named a Top Producer of 2022-23 U.S. Fulbright Scholars
Feb 28, 2023
Original story by: Keegan Koberl
Cal Poly has again been named a top producer of U.S. Fulbright scholars by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The distinction was in the Master’s Colleges and Universities category for the 2022-23 academic year.
Three Cal Poly faculty were awarded grants for the 2022-23 academic year: Greg Domber, lecturer in the History Department, and Mira Rosenthal, associate professor of English, are teaching and conducting research at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. Nishanta ‘Nishi’ Rajakaruna, professor of biology, is teaching and conducting research at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Greg Domber (center) with family members
at the Kościuszko Mound in Krakow.
Domber and Rosenthal are a married couple who met in Poland while pursuing Student Fulbright Scholarships as graduate students. Domber’s research focus is a digital history project to better understand the influences of American exchange programs on Poland’s negotiated transformation away from communism in 1989.
“For much of my first months in Poland, I have been focused on building out a relational dataset on the 570 Poles who participated in their country’s roundtable negotiations in February 1989 -- talks which set the ground rules for semi-free elections in June 1989 and basically gave meaningful political and economic power to Poland’s anti-communist opposition,” Domber said. “Much of my time has been spent tracking down information on the roundtable participants in the Jagiellonian University library and in government archives in Warsaw. As part of this project, I’ve also been building out a dataset with information on Poles who participated in East-West exchanges, funded by Americans.”
Mira Rosenthal at a memorial plaque for
Polish poet Zuzanna Ginczanka.
Rosenthal has focused on translating a selection of poetry by Zuzanna Ginczanka, an interwar Polish poet of Jewish heritage who was murdered at the end of World War II. Her work fell into obscurity until the last 10 years. Since then, there’s been a concerted effort to rediscover her poetry and establish her legacy.
“I’ve benefited immensely from being able to consult with Ginczanka scholars in my department at Jagiellonian University and utilize the research collections at the library here,” Rosenthal said. “During the spring, as I continue my translation work during the second half of my time here, I’ll be teaching a course on contemporary American documentary poetry, with the aim of having my students work on translations of it into Polish. I’ll also be giving a public lecture for the Jewish Studies Department at Wrocław University and working in Ginczanka’s archive in Warsaw.”
The couple has seen some of the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, most notably the Poles’ support of their neighbors. Domber and Rosenthal began volunteering at the Jewish Community Center of Krakow, a group that houses about 350 Ukrainian families and provides access to a food bank.
“Almost all our friends here have stories of opening up their homes to the women and children who streamed across the border in those first six months after Russia attacked,” Domber said. “They provided a warm room, food and comfort -- sometimes for months on end and often for multiple families over a series of months. Students at Jagiellonian University have talked about how they raised money to buy book bags and supplies so that Ukrainian kids would have what they needed to go to school in Poland.”
Fulbright is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. It is also among the largest and most diverse exchange programs in the world. Since its inception in 1946, more than 400,000 participants from all backgrounds and fields — including recent university graduates, teachers, scientists, researchers, artists and others, from the U.S. and over 160 other countries — have participated in the Fulbright Program. Fulbright alumni have returned to their home countries to make an impact on their communities, thanks to their expanded worldview, a deep appreciation for their host country and its people, and a larger network of colleagues and friends. For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit https://fulbrightprogram.org/.
Read the full story in Cal Poly News
Campus Community Talks Equity, Inclusion in Range of Topics At Teach In
Feb 23, 2023
Tracy Morgan, center, along with leaders Julie Lynem, left, and Courtney Haile, right, guide participants through a drum circle.
By: Cal Poly News writers Gabby Ferreira, Robyn Kontra Tanner, Larry Peña and Cynthia Lambert
At the seventh annual Teach In on Feb. 9, students, faculty, staff and community members gathered for a day of learning, discussion and deep thinking on equity and social justice topics.
It was clear how much the event has grown since its beginnings in the College of Liberal Arts. This year, the Teach In was separated into five different tracks focused on specific topics including Pop Culture and Media, Pathways to Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Reproductive Justice.
An Art and Design Activist Artmaking
Workshop taught participants how to make
different forms of activist art.
“We’re always looking to make sure we have a variety of topics across many different fields so that everyone can find something that they’re interested in,” said Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti, interim associate vice president for academic initiatives and associate dean for diversity and curriculum in the College of Liberal Arts. “It’s also a good opportunity to see that diversity, equity and inclusion touches every field in some way.”
Pop Culture and Media track sessions ranged from discussions on multiracial microaggressions in TV to resistance in the Star Wars universe.
A session called “’Killing Him Will Risk Eternal War’: Black and Indigenous Tensions and Solidarities in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” saw Ethnic Studies Department professors Lydia Heberling, Dan Castilow and Jorge Moraga leading a lively discussion about the Black Panther movies, representation in film and the limitations of corporate diversity and inclusion efforts.
Another session on the track, “Woman, Life, Freedom,” was presented by students Alla Albolhassani and Melissa Toussimer. Albolhassani and Toussimer, who are both Iranian-American, broke down the issues at stake in the ongoing protest movement in Iran that has gripped the nation since fall of 2022.
On the Pathways to Hispanic-Serving Institutions track, biological sciences Professor Alejandra Yep, liberal studies Professor Jasmine Nation and their students Hector Reyes, Chanel DeSmet and Evelyn Soto spoke about their experiences creating Nuestra Ciencia, a Spanish-language outreach program for school-age children that teaches them microbiology concepts. The goal of the program is to get kids excited about science, share it with their families, create relationships with college students and combat systemic inequalities and barriers to STEM education.
A panel of student leaders from College of Engineering
clubs lead a discussion on thriving in the college
as students with diverse identities.
In another session on the track, “We Have to See to Serve: Latinx Students On Being Seen in the Curriculum,” Latinx students from the Humanities in Chicano/a Culture (WLC 312) class spoke about seeing their experiences and culture highlighted in an educational setting. For some, it was the first time they learned about Chicano history in depth — and the first time they felt represented in the curriculum.
“It’s fascinating to learn all of these things that I hadn’t learned,” said Yarely de la Cruz, a third-year political science major and Spanish minor who grew up in Mexico and moved to the U.S. in high school. “I realized how much it mattered to me to hear the Chicano history. There are things we learn that I think everyone should know — why isn’t this basic knowledge?”
In “Sex Education @ Cal Poly,” one of the offerings on the Reproductive Justice track, Professor Joni Roberts shared research from the Sex and Reproductive Health Lab, which has explored attitudes and knowledge on campus through a lens of reproductive justice since 2021. After challenging the audience on some common myths and facts, Roberts and student researchers Gabriella Snow and Alexa Asson noted that any degree of sexual health education — whether abstinence-based or comprehensive — doesn’t always translate into healthy practices.
To help the Cal Poly community, the team developed the sexual education modules that will be available to every student through the Canvas course software by the end of spring quarter. The modules will feature comic strips, videos and graphics to explore relevant topics: consent, pleasure, queer sex, contraception, STIs and how to have tough conversations with partners and peers.
The other two tracks, DEI in Engineering and Restorative Justice: Beyond Incarceration saw professors and students alike speaking about social justice topics in engineering and incarceration, respectively.
But not all Teach In events fit into the tracks.
In “Why Does it Matter Whose Land We Are On?”, a discussion on Indigenous sovereignty and dignity, Ethnic Studies Department lecturer Becca Lucas, a member of the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini Northern Chumash Tribe, asked attendees to consider the relationship between the university’s Learn by Doing tradition and its connection to the land.
One of the shirts created at the Art and Design
Activist Artmaking workshop.
As so many students study land-based subjects, from architecture to agriculture, she asked how to reconcile the promotion and use of Indigenous land management practices in class — such as controlled burning, irrigation, weeding and intercropping — without acknowledging their roots, while living in a settler colonial society.
Land acknowledgement is a first step, Lucas said, but also needs a deliverable — for example, the yakʔitʸutʸu residence halls, which prompts students to learn about the Northern Chumash Tribe and language.
“Imagine what our future and present would look like if we did – if we didn’t ignore that past because it’s hard,” Lucas continued. “Once you have the knowledge, you have a responsibility. So, get that knowledge, recognize that power in knowing and then do something with it.”
Not all sessions were strictly presentations, either: one activity, titled “A Space of Our Own,” presented by Journalism Department lecturer Julie Lynem, R.A.C.E. Matters SLO co-founder Courtney Haile and drum circle leader Tracy Morgan, took the form of a drum circle. Within the circle, attendees talked and drummed about what they might want to see in Texture, a Black-centered, multicultural space that will soon open in San Luis Obispo.
Tracy Morgan leads a drum circle on Dexter Lawn.
While Morgan taught participants the basics of African drumming patterns, he noted some of the history, messages and community woven into the drumming experience.
“The Teach In represents a day for all of us to stop for a moment and take the time to learn something knew about topics related to social justice,” said Teramoto Pedrotti, adding that her favorite part of the Teach In is hearing snippets of conversations students, staff and faculty have about events they are planning to attend or have attended.
“In almost every talk, you also see students watching their professors join in and debate and discourse with each other about scholarly topics related to social justice. They're learning by listening and by jumping in themselves and seeing their professors in a new light as a scholar in addition to a teacher.”
Read the story in Cal Poly News
Cal Poly’s Student-Run Hackathon Builds Interdisciplinary Solutions to Local Challenges
Feb 15, 2023
Leticia Mezzetti, a liberal arts and engineering studies student, was part of the interdisciplinary team that won the top prize at Camp PolyHacks.
By Alyson Smith
A team of Cal Poly interdisciplinary students recently won the top prize at Camp PolyHacks for their anonymous blog space, dubbed Lumi, designed to help marginalized groups build community.
During the two-day hackathon Jan. 22-23, 70 Cal Poly students worked in groups to develop a solution to an issue impacting San Luis Obispo. Each of the 13 teams was assigned one of four categories, including inclusive digital spaces, transportation innovation, small business success and groundwater sustainability. Teams could develop solutions in the form of a product, service, information or marketing campaign, policy proposal or a demonstration or prototype of a mobile application.
The Stardust Team won $1,000 for Best Overall Solution. The team also won in the Most Impactful Solution for Inclusive Digital Spaces and Best Logo categories.
They developed and coded Lumi for Cal Poly students who belong to marginalized communities to post, seek advice and find companionship. Team members included computer science majors Sage Meadows, Hahns Pena and Bora Joo; liberal arts and engineering major Leticia Mezzetti; and computer engineering major Arjun Chopra.
The event was organized by student volunteers and Cal Poly communications professor and Cal Poly Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) Faculty Fellow David Askay.
“I feel lucky to be at Cal Poly alongside such wonderful students from across campus — from liberal arts to engineering — who join together their skills and creativity at this event,” Askay said.
The first day of Camp PolyHacks included a 90-minute team brainstorming session followed by opportunities for students to attend workshops and receive coaching and mentorship from industry professionals and Cal Poly faculty members. On the second day, teams were given just over two hours to fine-tune their projects before presenting their innovations to a panel of judges.
Awards were given to the teams who developed the most impactful solutions for each issue category. Special awards were also given for achievements such as Best Pitch or Most Sustainable.
Other awards included:
— Most Impactful Solution for Small Business Success: Team Shop SLOcal, which created an app that helps small businesses in downtown San Luis Obispo increase sales by implementing a customer-rewards system. The team included journalism major Madison Vernon, software engineering major Aaron Bettencourt, computer science major Kannan Jain and communication studies major Kat MacPherson.
— Most Impactful Solution for Transportation Innovations: Team cYc presented its idea for a bike rental service that allows students to rent out their personal bikes to other students, as well as a “smart lock” that tracks the bike. The team included computer science majors Krishnanshu Gupta, Ishaan Sathaye and Nakul Nayak, and computer engineering major Ashwin Rajesh.
— Most Impactful Solution for Groundwater Sustainability: Team Permeable SLO, which proposed that San Luis Obispo use new building materials, such as permeable pavement, to assist with replenishing groundwater. The team included landscape architecture major Hannah Huntley, computer science major Grant Holland, history major Katarina Di Paola and computer engineering major Rockwood Frank.
— Best Demonstration of Teamwork: Team Shop SLOcal.
— Most Sustainable: Team Permeable SLO.
— Best Pitch: Team Fair Start developed an AI (artificial intelligence) algorithm that screens applications for employers in order to reduce biases associated with resumes and decrease the time it takes employers to read through job applications. The team included computer science majors Shehbaj Singh Dhillon and Anisha Raju, and industrial engineering major Michael Cassetti.
— Best User Experience: Team Fair Start.
— Best Prototype: Team WORK created a website for small businesses that finds job candidates that fit the qualifications that a business is seeking. The team included computer science majors Nathan Kang and Matthew Chak, business administration majors Wesley Lin and Zitao Guan, and graphic communications major Aidan Nesbitt.
The Cal Poly CIE HotHouse in downtown San Luis Obispo hosted Camp PolyHacks, which was cosponsored by Cal Poly’s colleges of Liberal Arts and Engineering, the city of San Luis Obispo, the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments, DRC Design and Red Bull.
Read the story from the CIE
Journalism Alumna Accepted into Prestigious Fellowship Program
Feb 15, 2023
By Nicole Troy
Grace Curtis
Last fall, Grace Curtis (Journalism, ’22) joined the prestigious Capital Fellows Program offered through California State University, Sacramento, making her one of only 18 fellows accepted into the executive branch of the 11-month program.
The Capital Fellows Programs are nationally recognized public policy fellowships, offering unique and in-depth experiences in policymaking and development in each branch of government.
With a concentration in public relations and a double minor in English and environmental studies, Curtis brings a unique interdisciplinary education to the program.
“Most of the students that apply to this program are political science majors, but coming from a journalism background gave me a more nuanced skillset in communication and writing, which is very applicable to so much of the work I’ll be doing,” Curtis said.
Curtis was accepted into the fellowship’s executive branch where she is working in the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development on the Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEV) team. She currently aids the ZEV team in their efforts to further develop the market for zero emissions vehicle sales as well as the charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure in California.
“A portion of what I will be doing for the ZEV team will be using my journalistic skills to help showcase important success stories from their work to stakeholders and to find better ways of communicating metrics on how the zero-emission vehicle market is currently doing,” Curtis said. “I am definitely benefitting from having all my public relations knowledge and data journalism skills at the ready.”
Curtis credits the classes she took with journalism Lecturer Kim Bisheff, journalism Assistant Professor Michael Park and natural resources management and environmental sciences Professor Anastasia Telesetsky as influencing her to pursue her passions of environmental law and policy.
“[With Kim Bisheff] I did projects on climate change and other environmental topics in her multimedia journalism and media innovation classes, and in these spaces my passion for environmental issues was born. Similarly, taking media law with Michael Park directed my interest toward the legal field,” Curtis said.
While taking both mass media law and copyright and advertising law with Park, Curtis would often stop by Park’s office hours to pick his brain about a potential career in law.
“Grace approached her university studies with a professional attitude. She was very curious, and these attributes helped separate her from the rest of the pack, to be among Cal Poly's best and brightest,” Park said.
The flexibility of the Journalism Department’s curriculum also allowed Curtis to take classes within the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences where she chose to minor in environmental sciences.
After taking a course with Telesetsky, Telesetsky persuaded Curtis to apply to the Capital Fellows Program where she could explore what a career working in environmentalism might be like and learn from California government leaders.
“With Grace, I was a fellow explorer. She knows that she wants to use law and policy to create positive social impacts. Together, we were able to explore potential pathways for thinking about how law works not just on paper but in reality,” Telesetsky said.
After her fellowship concludes, Curtis plans to continue her work in environmental law and go back to school to pursue either a law degree or master’s degree.
Reflecting on her time at Cal Poly, Curtis offered a piece of advice for current students.
“Never underestimate how important it is to get to know your professors and be an active participant in their classes. Building relationships with your educators is how you will find paths forward in life, not just as an undergrad, but in all settings.”
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Character Study
Feb 14, 2023
Alumna Kristen Sanzari brings your favorite animated characters to life designing toys for Mattel.
By Gabby Ferreira
As a student concentrating in graphic design at Cal Poly, Kristen Sanzari (Art and Design, ’11) dreamed of working in animation for a company like Disney or Pixar, bringing characters and stories to life.
Now, more than 10 years later, she’s doing just that — through her work as a toy designer at Mattel.
Sanzari, who also earned a master’s degree in visual development for animation from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, was working as a graphic designer and illustrator when she saw a job listing at Mattel.
“The position just said ‘designer.’ It didn’t specify graphic designer or toy designer. I read the requirements and thought I was a good fit, so I applied based on the job description,” she said. “During the interview I realized it was an actual toy design position and thought it was a really cool opportunity.”
Even without any toy designs in her portfolio, Sanzari pivoted quickly and offered to send the team drawings for toy concepts, which she completed that night and sent in the next day. She was hired.
“I had never really considered toy design before,” Sanzari said. “I took the skills I learned studying concept art for animation into this new dream of toy design that I kind of stumbled into.”
Sanzari proudly designs toys for Disney and
Pixar movies. Image courtesy of Kristen Sanzari.
As a key lead product designer, Sanzari and her teammates primarily design toys connected to Disney and Pixar movies. They start work on these toys about two years prior to the movies’ releases in theaters.
Because of the logistics involved in toy production, Sanzari and her team are on a much tighter timeline than the studios they work with, but they still have to ensure that their products match up with the finished movies.
“In an animated film, they can keep changing things throughout the process,” Sanzari said. “For example, in the movie ‘Lightyear,’ they changed the colors of Buzz’s suits several times, so we were constantly trying to keep up and make sure that our toys matched.”
The team starts by brainstorming ideas for toys based on what they know about the movie and the characters. They spend their creative energy coming up with features to make the toy engaging, such as a movement activated by pushing a button or moving some part of the toy.
Sanzari and her team then draw concepts of the design ideas they liked best. Once they choose the concepts to move forward with, they work closely with sculptors, engineers, model makers, and the packaging team to bring the toy to life.
Throughout the process, they continue to check in with representatives of whichever company licenses the designs to ensure accuracy and approval. They also test out the toys with children and adults to make sure everything is working well.
“We’re just starting to work on toys for a movie Pixar will release in 2024 called ‘Elio’,” she said. “It’s very cool to see the concept designs before the movie’s even out, and it’s fun to be in the know.”
Thanks to her animation background, Sanzari is drawn to bringing things to life, and tries to bring that movement and animation into the toys she designs. One of her favorite toys she has worked on is the Indoraptor dinosaur, from the “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” movie.
“We knew it slunk around like a cat, could stand on either two legs or four legs, had four fingers it used like hands and red eyes,” Sanzari said. “I used what we knew about the dinosaur to make a quick animation that showed the movement we wanted the dinosaur to have and brought it to the model shop at Mattel so they could help me figure it out.”
With their help, Sanzari created a toy that could slink around using a mechanism on its tail. But when a button on the tail is pressed, the toy also clamps its arms together like it’s grabbing something. Another button makes its mouth chomp and eyes glow red.
The Jurassic World “Spinosaurus” toy.
Graphics courtesy of Kristen Sanzari.
“That was the first time I got to make a toy that really slinks and moves like it’s alive,” she said.
Throughout her time at Mattel, Sanzari has gotten to have brainstorm sessions at Disneyland, skip the lines at Universal Studios, attend San Diego Comic Con annually, and travel to Hong Kong and China to visit Mattel-affiliated factories. It may not be the path she envisioned as a student, but it’s better than she could have imagined. Her advice: Don’t pigeonhole yourself. Keep your options open.
“Sometimes things you don’t expect will fall into your lap and end up being even better than what you thought you wanted to do before,” she said.
And the Learn by Doing education Sanzari gained from Cal Poly still proves valuable every day.
“I don’t have a toy design background, while a lot of people I work with went to school for toy design,” she said. “The Learn by Doing attitude is, ‘If I don’t know something now, I am willing to learn, and I’m going to soak it in like a sponge.’ I’m always absorbing new things and continually growing, and what better way than by just doing it and learning from the amazing people around you?”
Read the story in Cal Poly Magazine
Meet the 2023 Cal Poly Rose Float Hydraulics and Engine Lead, History Student Collin Marfia
Feb 8, 2023
By Jay Thompson
History student Collin Marfia will be one of four students who will ride unseen aboard the Cal Poly Universities’ award-winning float, “Road to Reclamation,” as the float engineer at the 2023 Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA on Jan. 1.
Read more about his time working on, "Road to Reclamation," below.
Colin Marfia was one of the four
operators who rode unseen aboard Cal
Poly universities’“Road to Reclamation.”
What is your current role in the 2023 Rose Float?
I am the Hydraulics and Engine Lead as well as the Drive Engine Operator.
How long have you been involved with Rose Float?
My involvement with Rose Float began last year when I saw their booth set up during Club Showcase
Do you feel the weight of the legacy of Rose Float? There have been more than 70 floats since 1949, and this student project is perhaps the highest profile of any on campus in any given year.
It feels very heavy. So many people before me have worked on this incredible amalgamation of art and engineering and to be working in this capacity is such an honor and a privilege.
Which floats did you work on, and what was your role in each?
I was a construction team member focusing on hydraulics during the 2022 float “Stargrazers” and am now the Hydraulics Lead for the 2023 Float “Road to Reclamation.”
What skills have you learned as a result of Rose Float — such as with mechanics, use of power tools, electrical, growing flowers, working within a team?
I have learned so much about mechanics in this program, and the things that I get to do each weekend amaze me. I had no idea what hydraulics even were before joining. Now I’m in charge of every hydraulic system powering this program, and I am constantly left in awe. My teamwork capabilities have grown so much because of this program as well. We work with a leadership team of around about 45 people across two campuses along with all of our other team members, participants and volunteers. Keeping up communication between the two campuses is a necessity, and the ideas we’ve come up with to keep each other in the loop have greatly increased my communication skills.
What attracted you to join the group? And what keeps you coming back?
The booth they had set up and the people at the booth pulled me in and everyone else held me down. They presented it as essentially industrial arts and crafts with friends sprinkled in and I was hooked. They were so welcoming to me even though I was one of two Liberal Arts majors in the program at the time and if I didn’t know something they tried their best to teach it to me. Everyone is so welcoming and kind, and I have met some incredible people through this program.
What is the best experience you’ve had working on the float?
Definitely during judging last year. I was installing a replacement speaker cable because one of ours broke right before judging. As I was hooking it up I heard yelling from outside the float and every hatch and door in the float slammed shut — horror-movie style. Our Animations Operator and Drive Engine Operator from last year had dived into the float and pulled the door shut behind them without realizing I was there. I asked what’s happening and they both said: “The judges are here half an hour early. Stay put and stay quiet.” So last year, I got to be inside of the float during our judging time slot.
What is special about the 2023 float entry?
I think a lot of people are very passionate about this design. The concept was created by one of the people on our leadership team and it is so serene and calming. (Mechanical engineering student Benjamino Cruz, a four-year member of the Cal Poly team, submitted the original concept for “Road to Reclamation.” Cruz is the San Luis Obispo team’s construction chair who will be driving the float on this year’s 5-1/2-mile parade route.) There is something so nice about the forest and the cycle of life that happens there daily, and we're just so excited to bring this design to life.
Will you be riding aboard the float during the parade?
I will be in the float during the parade. As Drive Engine Operator it will be my job to maintain all drive and hydraulic systems on the float during the parade and ensure that we remain operable and in safe conditions for the entirety of the parade.
What do you look forward to about Decorations (Deco) Week (Dec. 26-Jan. 1)?
Deco Week is so exhausting but to see all of your hard work come together in this final stretch of time and see it all finished is a thing of beauty. I remember pulling an all-nighter to get the float moved into place in time for the parade to start and fighting sleep while watching our art (float) driving into its starting place was amazing.
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Work Local, Think Global: Student Serves Home District on Capitol Hill
Feb 6, 2023
By Keegan Koberl
In the fall, history major Ethan Gutterman headed to Washington to work in the office of Congressmember Brad Sherman as Cal Poly’s 2022 representative to the Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program.
Ethan Gutterman, left, with Congressmember Brad
Sherman, right. Photo courtesy of Ethan Gutterman.
Gutterman, who was selected for the program earlier in the year, made history as the first Cal Poly Scholar to be chosen for the prestigious opportunity.
One of the toughest parts of the program happened before Gutterman set foot on Capitol Hill. Gutterman and his fellow interns spent two weeks at the Panetta Institute in Monterey to prepare for the internship , where they heard from speakers including California State Sen. John Laird, former Vice President Dan Quayle, and Leon Panetta himself, the former Secretary of Defense.
“We had 14 days of information-dense, policy-focused classes – it was a lot of information to take in, but it was really amazing and rewarding," Gutterman said. “It was an intense experience and probably the hardest part of the internship.”
In addition to leading tours of the Capitol Building and taking phone calls from constituents, Gutterman was able to work on briefings and research related to Sherman’s position on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Sherman’s priorities aligned well with Gutterman’s interests in foreign affairs and regulation of cryptocurrency, he said.
He sat in on a meeting with congressional staff members and a group of Korean Catholic Bishops, who discussed the role of religion in finding a solution to the ongoing conflict between North and South Korea. Gutterman also assisted in the research on the ongoing civil war in Ethiopia and prepared the congressmember and his staff before briefings and hearings on the matter.
“I appreciated how much the congressmember and his staff focused on the needs and feelings of his constituents during these events that the whole world was watching – when talking about these issues, the first question was always, 'How do people in the district feel about this?'"
Gutterman was the only intern in the program to be matched with their own representative. Sherman represents the 32nd Congressional District, which includes Gutterman’s San Fernando Valley hometown.
Ethan Gutterman smiles for a photo with the
Washington Monument in the background.
Photo courtesy of Ethan Gutterman
“The San Fernando Valley has a large immigrant population from all over the world and I would hear a lot from constituents who were feeling the effects of these conflicts and events – either personally or through family members who lived in their home country,” Gutterman said. “There are many Iranian immigrants in the district, and I engaged with that community a lot in hearing their feelings and questions on the impact of the protests happening across Iran.”
In addition to his fellow interns that he worked, studied and lived with, Gutterman was excited by the opportunity to work with interns from universities around the world, including Georgetown and New York University (NYU) Abu Dhabi.
“It was overwhelming at first to be with so many fellow students who were all so well versed in policy and government, but it was great to get to know them, become friends, learn about their interests and see many of them get permanent jobs on Capitol Hill,” said Gutterman
Gutterman says his experiences through the Panetta Internship helped confirm that he wants to ultimately work in housing and transit policy. As part of the internship, he wrote a research paper on federal housing policy and studied Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants and the history of homelessness policy at the federal level.
Now back at Cal Poly, Gutterman is excited to use his experiences working in Congress and living in D.C. in his classes and activities. As a Cal Poly Scholar, member of the Cal Poly Debate Team, and student in the Cal Poly Honors Program, Gutterman says he sees many opportunities to make connections to his Learn by Doing experience in Washington.
“Through debate, my discussion-based courses in the Honors Program and courses I’m taking this quarter on discrimination in health and technology and global political issues, I hope these new lived experiences can help enhance the rest of my time at Cal Poly.”