I M A G I N A T I O N

A N D I N G E N U I T Y …

I M P R O V I N G T H E P R E S E N T ,

I N V E N T I N G T H E F U T U R E

AP

PL

IE

D

RE

SE

AR

CH

A

T

CA

L

PO

LY

A

PP

LI

ED

R

ES

EA

RC

H

AT

CA

L

PO

LY

RESEARCH AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS

CALIFORNIA POLY TECHNIC STATE UNIVERSIT Y

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93407

WWW.CALPOLY.EDU/~RGP

RESEARCH AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS

CALIFORNIA POLY TECHNIC STATE UNIVERSIT Y

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93407

WWW.CALPOLY.EDU/~RGP

C O N T E N T S

I N T R O D U C T I O N

A E R O S P A C E

A G R I C U L T U R E

A G R I C U L T U R E & F O O D

B I O T E C H N O L O G Y &

B I O E N G I N E E R I N G

C O M P U T I N G &

C O M M U N I C A T I O N S

C O N S T R U C T I O N &

T R A N S P O R T A T I O N

E N E R G Y & T H E

E N V I R O N M E N T

M A N U F A C T U R I N G

T H E C A L P O L Y

D I F F E R E N C E

4 - 5

6 - 7

8 - 9

1 0 - 1 1

1 2 - 1 3

1 4 - 1 5

1 6 - 1 7

1 8 - 1 9

2 0

2 - 3

I N T R O D U C T I O N INT

RO

DU

CT

ION

T h e r i g h t c h o i c eCal i fornia Polytechnic State Univers i t y—commonly

k nown as Cal Poly—is a nat ional ly rank ed, four-year

publ ic univers i t y with more than 18,000 students

and facult y.

What di f ferent iates Cal Poly f rom other univers i t ies

i s our unique focus on appl ied research and “ learn-

by-doing” phi losophy. This approach creates a

superb environment for business par tnerships.

Moreover, Cal Poly ’s polytechnic, interdisc ipl inar y

focus sets us apar t f rom many other univers i t ies,

g iv ing us a great advantage in solv ing today ’s

sc ient i f ic and technical chal lenges, which of ten

cross t radit ional academic disc ipl ines.

Whether you need to solve a produc t development

problem, test appl icat ions for new technologies,

address an environmental chal lenge, or br ing your

produc t to mark et faster, Cal Poly can help you f ind

a v iable solut ion.

T h e r i g h t p a r t n e rAt Cal Poly, we want to mak e i t easy for you to do

business with us. We a im to create a t imely and

cost-ef fec t ive solut ion to your research projec t

through:

Streamlined pro cess. We of fer s impl i f ied

contrac tual ar rangements for long-term

relat ionships—and, for ever y projec t ,

s t ra ightfor ward contrac ts with c lear del iverables

and mi lestones.

Low overhead costs. Cal Poly has more favorable

indirec t cost rates than many other univers i t ies,

leading to lower research costs for our industr y

par tners .

A natural al ignment with industr y. Cal Poly ’s

learn-by-doing approach produces faster, more

prac t ica l results . We focus on near-term (one-

to-three year) solut ions for ex ist ing technology

areas, but we a lso do cutt ing-edge research in

new areas, such as nanotechnology.

Results-oriented facult y. At Cal Poly, facult y

members are interested in solv ing the real

problems fac ing industr y today.

•

•

•

•

Varied work ing arrangements. Cal Poly of fers

businesses a var iet y of opt ions for univers i t y col -

laborat ion, inc luding:

Research and development par tnerships

Contrac t research

Facult y consult ing

Streamlined produc t test ing and evaluat ion

ser v ices

Smal ler projec ts to f i t into smal l company

budgets

Student projec ts that can evolve into other

research re lat ionships.

Favorable terms for intel lec tual prop er t y

( IP) ownership and l icensing. Cal Poly is ver y

f lex ible in l icensing IP back to i ts industr y

par tners . We can a lso tak e on projec ts to val idate

or bui ld on a company ’s ex ist ing IP. In addit ion,

Cal Poly ’s local management of IP enables more

rapid resolut ion of IP i ssues.

T h e r i g h t r e s o u r c e sCal Poly has ex tensive facult y, fac i l i t ies and

equipment resources to suppor t appl ied research

projec ts . You can f ind detai ls on speci f ic technical

and sc ient i f ic resources in the fol lowing sec t ions,

but for a l l projec ts, resources inc lude:

Sp ecial ized centers of exp er tise. Industr y

research par tners have access to a number of

specia l ized centers of fer ing exper t ise ranging

f rom automotive research to i r r igat ion and

environmental b iotechnology.

•

–

–

–

–

–

–

•

•

Sp ecial ized equipment and faci l i t ies. Industr y

research par tners can a lso access a wide range

of specia l ized equipment and fac i l i t ies, inc luding

Cal Poly ’s Nor throp-Grumman Aerospace System

Laborator y, Swanton Paci f ic R anch, and the

Parsons Ear thquak e and G eotechnical Engineer ing

Laborator y.

Ex tensive information technolo gy ( IT )

infrastruc ture. Cal Poly has a f iber-opt ic back bone,

v ideo distr ibut ion, and streaming media ser v ices to

meet the computing needs of our industr y par tners .

Technolo gy Park. Developed through the Cal i fornia

Centra l Coast Research Par tnership (C3RP) , the Cal

Poly Technology Park wi l l of fer f lex ible spaces for

technology-based businesses—par t icular ly for f i rms

engaged in research with Cal Poly.

In addit ion, Cal Poly facult y and students have the

ex tensive sk i l l s , exper ience and motivat ion to solve

your most complex research chal lenges. To f ind out

more, p lease see The Cal Poly Di f ference at the end of

this brochure.

•

•

•

“Research depar tments at

univers i t ies such as Cal Poly

provide our company with

a wonder ful entr y point

for appl ied research

that helps dr ive innovat ion

into new areas. Cal Poly ’s culture of

‘ learn by doing, ’ an engaged

facult y and committed student

body create just the r ight mix

for a technology leader such as

R aytheon. ”

Wil l iam H. Swanson, Chairman and Chief Execut ive O ff icer, R aytheon Company

—

l o o k o u t !Led by Aerospace Professor Dianne DeTurr is and I ndustr ia l Engineer ing Professor Sema Alptek in , a team of Cal Poly researchers has developed an inexpensive, por table parafoi l— or f ly ing wing—designed for autonomous f l ight and remote sensing/data gather ing. Weighing less than t wo pounds, the Autonomous Tac t ical Reconnaissance Plat form (ATRP) can be launched to an a l t i tude of 350 meters and remotely operated in rough terra in for a var iet y of mi l i tar y and c iv i l ian appl icat ions, inc luding reconnaissance, f i ref ight ing, and search-and-rescue ef for ts .

I n mi l i tar y operat ions, for example, the ATRP could provide soldiers with a c lose -range, real -t ime v iew of their immediate surroundings—highly valuable in rugged or jungle terra in and dur ing nightt ime operat ions. To help forest f i ref ight ing ef for ts , the ATRP could locate not only f i res, but a lso escape routes for f i ref ight ing crews. I t could a lso help search-and-rescue teams locate lost h ikers and avalanche v ic t ims. Another potent ia l use for the ATRP is to provide better long-range communicat ions in obstruc ted or rugged terra in . I n addit ion, the device shows great promise in helping land-management profess ionals determine areas of p lant stress due to drought , pests, sa l t intrus ion and disease.

The ATRP and i ts launch mechanisms are por table, a l lowing i t to be set up and launched in a matter of seconds. I t can be launched by rocket , compressed a i r or ar t i l ler y shel l , or even f lown l ike a k i te.

“ The ATRP has the potent ia l to save l ives by mak ing remote data col lec t ion much eas ier and quicker in rugged environments,” sa id Professor DeTurr is . “And because i t uses of f - the -shel f components, i t ’s inexpensive to manufac ture. I t ’s the k ind of innovat ive yet prac t ica l invent ion for which Cal Poly is k nown.”

2 3

A E R O S P A C E AE

RO

SP

AC

E

Cal Poly ’s facult y exper t ise and resources make i t a leading choice for aerospace

projec ts. Our modern, mult id isc ipl inar y environment emphasizes a lab -based,

hands- on approach, integrated with a systems v iew of engineer ing and

team-based capstone design exper ience.

Te c h n i c a l E x p e r t i s eCal Poly aerospace facult y members have ex tensive

exper t ise in many areas :

Aerodynamics and Aerothermodynamics

Aerospace propuls ion and systems engineer ing

Composite struc tures

Computat ional f lu id dynamics and exper imental f lu id mechanics

Fl ight mechanics and s imulat ion

Frac ture, orbita l and sol id mechanics

Guidance and control

Spacecraf t des ign, thermal/ f lu id control and dynamics.

E q u i p m e n t a n d Fa c i l i t i e sCal Poly of fers specia l ized state-of-the-ar t

equipment and fac i l i t ies for appl ied research and

development projec ts in the aerospace industr y,

inc luding:

Aerodynamics and aerothermodynamics labs

Aircraf t des ign lab

Fl ight s imulat ion laborator y

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Propuls ion laborator y and test stand

Spacecraf t des ign, manufac tur ing and test ing labs.

In addit ion, the Nor throp G rumman Aerospace

Systems L ab orator y i s avai lable for a wide var iet y

of mult id isc ipl inar y projec ts . Current projec ts range

f rom composite mater ia ls to a i rcraf t des ign.

And, us ing i ts Multidiscipl inar y Space Technolo gy

L ab orator y , Cal Poly can design, develop and

manufac ture space-re lated hardware, f rom smal l

components to complete spacecraf t .

R e p r e s e n t a t i v e P r o j e c t sCompanies such as Bo eing, Lo ck heed M ar tin,

M cD onnell-D ouglas, Nor throp G rumman and

Ro ck well—as wel l as government agencies such as

NASA and the U.S. Air Force—have work ed with Cal

Poly to create cost-ef fec t ive solut ions to aerospace

research quest ions. Notable examples inc lude:

Professor David Niebuhr work ed with the Jet

Propulsion L ab orator y on enhanced R aman

spec troscopy, a technique under considerat ion to

detec t l i fe on Mars ; a lso, Professor Al L iddicoat led

a team to develop ef f ic ient interplanetar y com-

municat ions protocols that were used on both the

Messenger and Deep Impac t miss ions.

For Lo ck heed-M ar tin , Professor Dan Biezad

developed a model that s imulates the physical

interac t ion between the a i rcraf t ’s wheels and the

ground, enabl ing real - t ime s imulat ions of landing-

gear conf igurat ions on the overal l a i rcraf t .

Also for Lo ck heed-M ar tin , Professor K ather ine

Chen studied aging, h igh temperature, humidit y

and radiat ion ef fec ts on plast ic-encapsulated

microcircuits for space appl icat ions.

Professors David Hal l , Joe Mel lo, Dan Biezad

and Dianne DeTurr is are among the facult y

who have work ed with NASA on projec ts that

•

•

•

•

•

•

inc lude developing new airplane concepts for Mars

miss ions ; turbofan-powered, runway- independent

a i rcraf t ; reusable gl ide-back rock et boosters ; a

comprehensive system for ident i f icat ion of aer ia l

vehic les ; and ex tremely shor t tak e-off and landing

a i rcraf t .

Us ing infrared absorpt ion spec troscopy

combined with infrared emiss ion spec troscopy,

Sierra E ngineering and Professor Br ian Higgins

col laborated to use exist ing opt ical techniques to

measure temperature and species concentrat ions in a

rock et plume.

With a Smal l Business Technology Transfer award

f rom NASA, Roll ing Hil ls Research Corp oration

tapped into the aerospik e rock et-nozzle design

exper t ise of Professors Tom Carpenter and Bi l l

Murray. The projec t focuses on the opt imal approach

to thrust vec tor ing and thrott l ing of an annular

aerospik e nozzle for ef f ic ient f l ight-path control of

smal l launch vehic les achieving low Ear th orbit .

•

•

“Cal Poly ’s learn-by-doing approach

gave me the conf idence to pursue my

dreams rather than just a career.

I real ized ear ly on that I was

better prepared technical ly

than the other engineer ing univers i t y

graduates with whom I work ed. ”

Bur t Rutan (Aeronaut ical Engineer ing, 1965) , Founder, Scaled Composites, LLC. Winner of the Ansar i X Pr ize, 2004

—

Today ’s satel l i tes are of ten the s ize of refr igerators and come with mult imi l l ion- dol lar pr ice tags. But there’s a movement afoot to shr ink both the s ize and cost of modern satel l i tes for use as research plat forms—and Cal Poly is leading the way.

S ince 1999, when Cal Poly and Stanford Univers i t y teamed up to pioneer the mini -satel l i te or “CubeSat ” projec t , Cal Poly has worked with a mult id isc ipl inar y team of facult y and students f rom around the globe to design, bui ld, test , launch and operate the miniature satel l i tes.

Led by Cal Poly Aerospace Engineer ing Professor Jordi Puig-Suar i , the Cal Poly team also designed and bui l t a key deployment mechanism for putt ing CubeSats into space. This mechanism, k nown as the Poly PicoSat Orbita l Deployer, or “P-Pod,” i s cr i t ica l to e jec t ing these satel l i tes away f rom a rocket payload and safely into outer space. Univers i t ies wor ldwide use the Cal Poly P-Pod to deploy their CubeSat satel l i tes.

“ This projec t has placed Cal Poly at the center of an internat ional smal l -satel l i te revolut ion,” says Puig-Suar i . “ I t has a lso taught students about satel l i te projec ts in the real wor ld. I t ’s the epitome of learning by doing.”

“Cal Poly is a natural choice for this program,” sa id R ay Haynes, the direc tor for univers i t y technical a l l iances at Nor throp Grumman. “ With i ts learn-by- doing phi losophy, Cal Poly combines wel l with teams f rom Stanford and other top research univers i t ies. Theor y and prac t ical i t y—it ’s a n ice mix .”

The benef i t for companies is t wofold, he added. “ When graduates show up for a job, they have hands- on exper ience. They ’ve been tra ined in bui ld ing, launching and track ing satel l i tes, and that ’s a big deal .”

4 5

t h i n k s m a l l

A G R I C U L T U R E & F O O D AG

RIC

UL

TU

RE

& F

OO

D

With i ts modern, wel l - equipped fac i l i t ies, ta lented researchers and excel lent

industr y re lat ionships, Cal Poly is widely k nown for i ts exper t ise in agr icultural

research and development , both in produc t ion agr iculture and value -added

post-har vest agr iculture and food process ing.

One of the most compel l ing benef i ts that Cal

Poly of fers industr y is the space i t provides for

agr iculture projec ts . The Col lege of Agr iculture,

Food and Environmental Sc iences Depar tment, uses

approximately 6 ,000 acres in the San Luis Obispo

area for animal and hor t icultural educat ion and

research projec ts . In addit ion, Swanton Paci f ic

R anch in Santa Cruz Count y provides 3 ,800 acres for

forestr y, watershed, environmental and agr icultural

research (see E nergy and E nvironment for more on

forest resource management) .

With the breadth of i ts exper t ise and fac i l i t ies, Cal

Poly can provide cost-ef fec t ive solut ions for the

supply, d istr ibut ion and safet y chal lenges fac ing the

agr iculture industr y, such as :

Pi lot ing new produc ts or procedures without interrupt ing commercia l operat ions

•

Test ing new chemical produc ts for crops or animals

Conduc t ing pharmaceut ical or nutraceut ical c l in ical research on farm animals

Evaluat ing seeds and new var iet ies on cer t i f ied organic land.

In a l l cases, industr y research par tners or industr y

associat ions reap the rewards, not only of Cal Poly

facult y exper t ise, but a lso of students who wi l l

enter the work force as t ra ined and highly sk i l led

employees.

Te c h n i c a l E x p e r t i s eCal Poly facult y members have ex tensive exper t ise

in ever y k ey area of agr icultural and food research,

inc luding:

Agr icultural business management and economics

Agr icultural safet y

Animal nutr i t ion and immunology

Biomass convers ion

Biodivers i t y management

Cer t i f ied organic agr iculture

Food process ing, safet y, nutr i t ion and new prod-uc t development

GIS and precis ion agr iculture ( inc luding sur veying and photogrammetr y)

Hor t iculture, inc luding biotechnology, v i t iculture, and plant propagat ion

Ir r igat ion and water resources

Mechanical agr icultural systems

Produc t ion management systems and cult ivat ion prac t ices

Publ ic pol ic y development .

R e s o u r c e sCal Poly of fers numerous state-of-the-ar t resources

for appl ied research and development projec ts

in the agr iculture industr y, inc luding specia l ized

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

research centers and inst i tutes that provide ser v ices

to pr ivate companies through contrac t research

and development, consult ing, t ra ining courses and

workshops. These resources inc lude:

Dair y Pro duc ts Technolo gy Center (DPTC):

An excel lent example of Cal Poly ¡ ¦s successful

col laborat ion with industr y, the DPTC includes 1 ,800

square feet of space for mi lk process ing, a 1 ,200-

square foot butter- and ice cream-process ing fac i l i t y,

refr igerated- and f rozen-produc t storage, modern

process ing equipment, four analyt ica l laborator ies

and a sensor y evaluat ion lab. O ther fac i l i t ies inc lude

a creamer y, a dair y, hei fer-housing and projec t barn,

hospita l/maternit y barn and a physiology lab.

B eef-Cattle Evaluation Center: S ince 1975, Cal

Poly ’s Beef-Catt le Evaluat ion Center has suppor ted

government- and industr y- funded l ivestock research

for progeny test ing and research tr ia ls with feedlot

catt le.

Cal Poly Organic Farm (CPOF): CPOF consists of

three acres of cer t i f ied land (with another seven

acres in t ransit ion to cer t i f icat ion) used for vegetable

and f ruit produc t ion, and ser ves as a research bed for

cer t i f ied organic agr iculture, inc luding compost ing,

natural pest control , nat ive plants, b io- intensive

agr iculture and permaculture design.

California Institute for the Study of Sp ecialt y

Crops (CISSC): C ISSC conduc ts appl ied research

on economic and publ ic pol ic y issues re lated to

Cal i fornia’s competit iveness in the area of specia l t y

crops.

•

•

•

•

Avocados f lour ish f rom Mexico to Cal i fornia’s Centra l Coast—a region of ten dubbed “avocado countr y.” To research the latest and best avocado orchard management techniques, Cal Poly ’s Col lege of Agr iculture, Food and Environmental Sc iences Depar tment , and M iss ion Produce have planted a 50-acre avocado orchard on the Cal Poly campus.

For M iss ion Produce, a Southern Cal i fornia avocado and avocado produc ts company with annual sa les of more than $100 mi l l ion, the orchard is more than a showcase and f ie ld c lassroom; i t i s a lso a prof i table commercia l operat ion.

“ The orchard is a good investment for both Cal Poly and M iss ion Produce,” sa id the company ’s CEO, Steve Barnard, h imsel f a Cal Poly grad. “U.S . avocado consumption is growing, whi le the nat ion’s avocado - growing regions are l imited. This helps ensure a sol id market for Cal Poly avocados.

The orchard of fers students the chance to learn f i rsthand about large -scale commercia l avocado operat ions and ver t ica l ly integrated avocado market ing prac t ices. M iss ion Produce’s st rong pack aging, market ing, d istr ibut ion, g lobal sourc ing and value -added produc t operat ions are a l l par t of the orchard-to - consumer integrat ion the company can share with students,” Barnard sa id. “Cal Poly ’s locat ion and i ts st rong agr icultural program make i t an excel lent s i te for a showcase avocado orchard,” sa id the Col lege’s Associate Dean Mark Shelton. “Avocado operat ions and y ie lds in San Luis Obispo Count y are among the best in the ent i re Mexico - Cal i fornia region.”

6 7

g o o d p l a n t i n g

A G R I C U L T U R E & F O O D AG

RIC

UL

TU

RE

& F

OO

D

I rr igation Training and Research Center ( ITRC):

The ITRC conduc ts global t ra ining, research

and technical ass istance in modern i r r igat ion

prac t ices. Specia l t ies inc lude canal automation,

f low measurement, i r r igat ion ef f ic ienc y, energy

conser vat ion, and on-farm i r r igat ion methods.

Poultr y Science Unit : Considered one of the best

in the Western United States, th is newly designed

unit can accommodate 14,000 egg-producing

chick ens, 7 ,000 replacement pul lets, 7 ,000 broi lers

and 2 ,500 chick ens for test ing and research.

Sustainable Agriculture Resource Consor tium

(SARC): SARC works to fac i l i tate susta inable

agr iculture prac t ices as wel l as susta inable food

strategies for growers and consumers.

Swine Research and Educ ation Faci l i t y and

Sheep Unit at Cheda R anch: These units provide

smal l -scale animal industr y models for students

as wel l as oppor tunit ies for research in the areas

of nutr i t ion, physiology, reproduc t ion, and animal

behavior.

•

•

•

•

Fa c i l i t i e s a n d E q u i p m e n tSpecia l ized fac i l i t ies and equipment for agr icultural

research at Cal Poly inc lude:

Post-H ar vest Technolo gy L ab orator y : This

lab houses control led-environment ISO-9000-

cer t i f ied walk- in coolers, gas chromatographs,

a h igh-per formance l iquid chromatograph

(HPLC) , a vacuum-f lush t ray sealer, a scanning

spec trophotometer, a mix ing board for control led-

atmosphere research, and a color imeter for

measur ing the color of f ru i ts, vegetables and

wines.

M erriam Irr igation Prac tices Field: This outdoor

fac i l i t y of about two acres is used for t ra ining,

prac t ica l demonstrat ions and exper imentat ion

with on-farm i r r igat ion hardware.

Nutrit ional G enomics and Proteomics

L ab orator y : This laborator y suppor ts ongoing

biotechnology research and is wel l equipped

for mammal ian and avian cel l culture, h istology,

f luorescence imaging, b iochemical analys is , and a

wide range of molecular analyses.

Water D eliver y Faci l i t y : This fac i l i t y, unique in

the United States, enables research and tra ining

in a l l phases of i r r igat ion water del iver y.

R e p r e s e n t a t i v e P r o j e c t sCal Poly has a strong histor y of col laborat ion

with industr y par tners such as E&J G allo, M ission

Pro duce and D ole , as wel l as appl ied research with

var ious state and nat ional industr y associat ions,

inc luding the Citrus Research B oard , the California

Cer tif ied Organic Farmers and the California

M ilk Advisor y B oard . These organizat ions have

benef i ted f rom Cal Poly ’s ass istance in address ing

their chal lenges, such as meet ing increas ingly

str ingent government regulat ions and tack l ing

environmental i ssues. Notable examples of

univers i t y- industr y par tnerships inc lude:

Agricultural Research Init iative (ARI) : Through

the ARI , the State of Cal i fornia funds high-pr ior i t y

appl ied agr icultural research with matching funds

f rom industr y. Recent projec ts have focused on

tomato-waste process ing, d iet-pi l l safet y, insec t-

pest management, f resh vegetable pack ing, dair y

•

•

•

•

•

air qual i t y, dair y produc t development, i r r igat ion

system eff ic ienc y, human and animal nutr i t ion,

agr icultural regulator y cost analys is , and range

management .

E&J G al lo Par tnership: Cal Poly and E&J G al lo Winer y

operate a state-of-the-ar t , commercia l -scale v ineyard

on 150 acres of Cal Poly land as a real -wor ld labora-

tor y for teaching, learning and appl ied research.

•

“ The Cal Poly/M iss ion Produce orchard

is a model for univers i t y/ industr y

par tnerships. Students benef i t

by work ing s ide by s ide

with seasoned profess ionals,

and companies are enr iched by

their interac t ions with young people in

a dynamic learning environment . ”

Warren J . Bak er, Pres ident, Cal Poly—

Professor Jef f Wong of Cal Poly ’s Hor t iculture and Crop Science Depar tment is work ing with Pic tSweet , one of the largest f rozen vegetable suppl iers in the United States, on a projec t to create a more ef f ic ient method of growing and har vest ing broccol i . To accompl ish this , Wong has under taken several var iet y str ip t r ia ls to grow and evaluate crops.

Pic tSweet is a lso a major producer of Fordhook L ima beans, which are used in i ts f rozen mixed vegetable bags. Wong is work ing on t wo genet ics projec ts des igned to increase the produc t iv i t y of the company ’s Fordhook l ines. The f i rst i s a shor t-term projec t to increase uni formit y within the l ines. The second projec t i s look ing at how to improve the beans’ produc t iv i t y, pest res istance and heat tolerance. To this end, Wong has begun to genet ical ly f ingerpr int the company ’s current produce l ines.

“ Work ing with Pic tSweet has enabled me to apply my exper t ise in plant genet ics to some of the company ’s ver y real and prac t ical considerat ions,” says Professor Wong. “ I ’ve worked in both the laborator y and in the f ie ld to address their research needs.”

Adds Alan Mar lowe, Pic tSweet Direc tor of Agr iculture, “Cal Poly has the agr icultural exper t ise, fac i l i t ies and physical space to conduc t the k inds of hands- on agr icultural research needed by Pic tSweet . Our research work with Professor Wong wi l l enable Pic tSweet to s igni f icant ly improve the produc t iv i t y, ef f ic ienc y and pest res istance of a number of our vegetable produc t l ines.”

8 9

f r e s h

B I O T E C H N O L O G Y & B I O E N G I N E E R I N G BIO

TE

CH

NO

LO

GY

& B

IOE

NG

INE

ER

ING

Because the new f ie lds of b iotechnology and bioengineer ing of ten merge tra-

dit ional sc ient i f ic d isc ipl ines, Cal Poly ’s interdisc ipl inar y, polytechnic approach

gives us an edge in solv ing today ’s b iotech research chal lenges.

Te c h n i c a l E x p e r t i s eCal Poly uses i ts mult id isc ipl inar y approach to create

solut ions in many specia l t y areas, inc luding:

Agr icultural b iotechnology

Bioengineer ing

Biof i lms and biomater ia ls

Biomechanics

Environmental b iotechnology

Medical devices and instrumentat ion

Nanotechnology

Tissue engineer ing

R e s o u r c e sCal Poly of fers numerous state-of-the-ar t resources

to suppor t biotechnology research:

Cal Poly ’s E nvironmental Biotechnolo gy In-

st itute focuses on bioremediat ion, b iodivers i t y

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

studies, habitat assessment and restorat ion, drug

discover y, func t ional genomics and mar ine bio-

technology.

The St. Jude Bio engineering L ab orator y pro-

v ides exper t ise in the design, development,

construc t ion and test of medical instruments for

d i rec t c l in ical and commercia l appl icat ion. The

lab can a lso carr y out research in biomater ia ls

and biomechanics .

The Biomedic al E ngineering Integrated Concept

D evelopment L ab orator y ( ICDL) ass ists industr y

in moving f rom concept to ear ly protot ypes in the

area of b iomedical engineer ing.

E q u i p m e n t a n d Fa c i l i t i e s Cal Poly of fers a var iet y of specia l ized instrumenta-

t ion and fac i l i t ies for b iotechnology and bioengi-

neer ing research, inc luding atomic-force, f luores-

cence and scanning-tunnel ing microscopes, an x-ray

spec trometer, a Typhoon imager for proteomics

research and an opt ical tweezer system. Specia l ized

fac i l i t ies inc lude:

The E mbr yolo gy L ab orator y , where embr yos can

be sampled at the blastomere stage

The Nanosc ale M icroscopy L ab orator y , which is

equipped with two atomic-force microscopes and

one scanning-tunnel ing microscope

The Optic al M etrolo gy L ab orator y , equipped

with lasers, opt ics and detec t ion equipment

The M icrofabric ation L ab orator y , which sup-

por ts a complete set of technologies for develop-

ing micro- or nano-scale struc tures in s i l icon.

R e p r e s e n t a t i v e P r o j e c t sMany leading companies and government agencies

have work ed with Cal Poly to address technical chal -

lenges in biotechnology and bioengineer ing:

•

•

•

•

•

•

For R aytheon , Phys ics Professor Peter Schwar tz dem-

onstrated that DNA can be used as a sequence-spe-

c i f ic “ Velcro®” to control lably and revers ibly assemble

struc tures in aqueous suspension. The results may help

guide the assembly of ta i lored “smar t mater ia ls . ”

Funded by the O ffice of Naval Research , Mater ia ls

Engineer ing Professor R ichard Savage developed and

charac ter ized the process steps required to fabr icate a

micro-ac tuator based on NiT i shape memor y a l loy thin

f i lms. M icro-ac tuators are a k ey component of many

micro-systems, which are capable of detec t ing bio-haz-

ardous agents, d ispensing drugs to combat cancer or

improving inter vascular surger y success rates.

For the Petroleum Research Fund , Chemistr y Profes-

sor Derek Gragson explored the design and fabr icat ion

of nanoscale architec tures us ing novel wet-chemistr y

techniques. Proposed appl icat ions include drug en-

capsulat ion and del iver y, control of sur face wetabi l i t y

and immunosensing.

With cont inued funding f rom the National Science

Foundation (NSF) , Mechanical Engineer ing Professors

Steven K l isch and Andrew Davol are developing analyt-

ica l models to quant i tat ively charac ter ize the complex

process of growth of car t i laginous t issue.

Direc tor of the Polymer and Coat ings Program R ay

Fernando work ed with BYK-Chemie on the ef fec ts of

a lumina nano-par t ic les on automotive c lear-coat prop-

er t ies, demonstrat ing s igni f icant improvements in the

scratch res istance and toughness of the coat ings.

In addit ion, Uno c al sponsors research at Cal Poly on

the bioremediat ion of their former Guadalupe Oi l Fie ld,

phytoremediat ion of hydrocarbon granulat ion contam-

inat ion, and anaerobic hydrocarbon biodegradat ion.

Why is i t that some people can jog regular ly without damage, whi le the rest of us develop stress f rac tures, shin spl ints and other aches and pains? The answer has to do with the body ’s abi l i t y to organize i tse l f to minimize or e l iminate bone damage.

To learn more about this process, Cal Poly Mater i -a ls Engineer ing Professor Lanny Gr i f f in is seek ing to unlock the myster ies of f rac ture and fat igue of cor t ica l bone and composite mater ia ls . Gr i f f in’s work focuses on the inter fac ia l proper t ies of osteons—microscopic struc tures within cor t ica l bones that seem to mit igate f rac tures.

“ These bone inter faces have been shown to def lec t micro - cracks and may contr ibute to the overal l f rac ture res istance of whole bones,” says Professor Gr i f f in .

The Nat ional I nst i tutes of Dental and Craniofa-c ia l Research (NIDCR) sponsored his work with a $450,000 commitment over three years. NIDCR is a pr imar y sponsor of research into how nature designs, processes, assembles and disassembles molecular bui ld ing blocks to fabr icate high-per-formance mineral -polymer composites.

“ I f we, as engineers, can determine what causes more f rac ture -tolerant bone struc ture, then bioscient ists might be able to f ind a way to strengthen that bone struc ture,” Gr i f f in says.

Work ing with Gr i f f in on this unique projec t are t wo graduate students, three undergraduates and a post- doc toral fe l low.

“ This work should provide ins ight into the prob -lem of bone f ragi l i t y and f rac ture,” Gr i f f in says. “M y hope is that the results wi l l help a l leviate stress f rac tures that af fec t people l ike athletes or mi l i tar y personnel and the e lder ly.”

10 11

t o u g h e n u p

C O M P U T I N G & C O M M U N I C A T I O N S CO

MP

UT

ING

& C

OM

MU

NIC

AT

ION

S

Cal Poly ’s exper ience with a wide range of net work ing and te lecommunicat ions

technologies—suppor ted by facult y exper t ise and key resources—makes the

univers i t y a strong choice for creat ing cost- ef fec t ive solut ions for computing

and communicat ions appl ied research chal lenges.

Te c h n i c a l E x p e r t i s eComputing and communicat ions facult y exper t ise

inc ludes :

Ar t i f ic ia l intel l igence

Data acquis i t ion and analys is

G eospat ia l imaging

Graphic communicat ions

High-per formance paral le l appl icat ions

Network technologies

Photonics

Polymer e lec tronics

Render ing and animation

R adio Frequenc y Ident i f icat ion (RFID)

Sof tware deployment, test ing, & qual i t y assurance

Ver y Large System Integrat ion ( VLSI )

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

R e s o u r c e sIndustr y par tners can access a number of specia l re-

sources for their appl ied research and development

needs, inc luding:

Collab orative Agent D esign Research Center (C ADRC): The CADRC focuses on the development of integrated decis ion suppor t systems for the solut ion of complex problems.

G eo graphic Information Systems Technolo gy (GIST ) L ab: The GIST Lab suppor ts the col lec t ion, manipulat ion, analys is , model ing and display of spat ia l ly re lated data .

G raphic Communic ation Institute (G rCI) : The GrCI of fers a var iet y of ser v ices for industr y

par tners, inc luding:

More than 33,000 square feet of laborator ies for e lec tronic ar t and copy preparat ion, e lec-tronic publ ishing and digita l imagingColor pr int ing presses for t r ia ls , produc t test-ing, and researchFinishing technologiesAn ink , toner and substrate test ing and analys is

laborator y.

RFID Research and Testing L ab orator y : The 4 ,000-square-foot lab - - the only RFID center in the western U.S . focused on appl ied research for industr y - - inc ludes an industr ia l conveyor capable of speeds up to 600 feet/minute and RFID-based rout ing; 15 di f ferent brands of RFID readers ; a spec trum of tags and pr inters ; and hardware and sof tware for data analys is , middleware, warehouse

management and design.

E q u i p m e n t a n d Fa c i l i t i e sAmong the fac i l i t ies avai lable to suppor t computing

and communicat ions research at Cal Poly are :

Antenna anechoic chamb er: Cal Poly has one

of the few anechoic chambers in the U.S . with RF

antenna test ing capabi l i t ies .

•

•

•

–

–

––

•

•

Cisco Systems Advanced Net work L ab orator y : This

laborator y is avai lable network design, engineer ing

and management research.

E lec tromagnetic compatibi l it y (EMC) chamb er:

This chamber enables systems engineers to

opt imize e lec tronic systems pr ior to cer t i f ied EMC

qual i f icat ion test ing.

High-p er formance computing resources: Cal Poly

of fers a 10-node gr id with 5 TB of storage, a h igh-

per formance Sun ser ver, and a quad-processor L inux

ser ver for computat ional ly intensive s imulat ions.

R e p r e s e n t a t i v e P r o j e c t sMany companies and government organizat ions have

benef i ted f rom Cal Poly ’s ex tensive computing and

communicat ions resources and exper t ise : .

Work ing with the Florida E nvironmental Research Institute , Professor Mark Mol ine uses hyperspec tra l

imaging to monitor harmful a lgae blooms on the

West Flor ida Shel f, and examine k elp forests and

shorel ine eros ion a long the Cal i fornia coast .

In a projec t for R andtron Antenna Systems ,

Professor Dean Arak ak i i s developing and test ing

a i r -die lec tr ic coaxia l t ransmiss ion l ines to t ranspor t

h igh-power s ignals that dr ive long-distance radar

systems aboard mi l i tar y a i rcraf t .

With researchers at UC Davis, and a grant f rom

the NSF , Professor Diana Frank l in is invest igat ing

architec tures for nex t-generat ion process ing

plat forms for embedded appl icat ions.

With funding f rom the O ffice of Naval Research ,

Professor Jose Macedo developed and tested meth-

ods to detec t subt le changes in registered images

of objec ts obtained over t ime. Appl icat ions include

sk in-cancer screening as wel l as mi l i tar y sur vei l lance.

In a projec t for Cisco Systems , Professors Jesse

Maddren, Chr is Pascual and Joe Mel lo designed,

analyzed and tested a “nex t-generat ion” cool ing

system for large routers .

Projec ts conduc ted by the GrCI inc lude pr int qual i t y

assessments for T ime Warner, and an examinat ion of

d igita l pr int ing workf lows, technology appl icat ions,

and mark et t rends in produc t ion pr int ing for

Hewlett-Pack ard.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Automatic target recognit ion (ATR) i s an appl icat ion of computer v is ion to ident i fy targets, such as tanks or a i rplanes, in an image.

Cal Poly E lec tr ica l Engineer ing Professor John Saghr i has received several grants f rom R aytheon Corporat ion to develop an ATR system for synthet ic aper ture radar (SAR) imager y.

“For stat ionar y target ATR, the t wo main chal lenges are to ident i fy and ex trac t a l l the discr iminat ing features, such as peaks and r idges f rom each geographical area in the image, and to match the ex trac ted features to stored references in order to ident i fy the potent ia l target ,” expla ins Saghr i . “ I f a match is found, the target is declared present .”

The matching process is of ten compl icated, however, by noisy c lutter background, target or ientat ion and scale var iat ion. SAR technology takes advantage of the long-range propagat ion charac ter ist ics of radar s ignals and the complex information process ing capabi l i t y of modern digita l e lec tronics to provide high-resolut ion imager y, regardless of the constra ints of t ime - of-day and atmospher ic condit ions.

“ We have developed a basel ine SAR-ATR a lgor i thm for stat ionar y targets and have explored numerous techniques for i ts improvement ,” says Saghr i . “ The nex t logical step for us is to develop a moving-target t rack ing a lgor i thm and eventual ly integrate both a lgor i thms into a combined SAR stat ionar y-target ATR and a ground moving target indicat ion (GMTI) system. For us, GMTI i s a new and chal lenging endeavor, as i t involves r igorous and complex space -t ime -adapt ive process ing.”

I n addit ion to mi l i tar y appl icat ions, Saghr i ’s projec t may a lso benef i t environmental monitor ing and ear th-resource mapping, which require broad-area imaging at h igh resolut ions, even dur ing bad weather or at n ight .

“Our goal i s to develop a robust SAR-ATR that i sn’t af fec ted by the posit ion or or ientat ion of the target ,” Saghr i says.

12 13

g o t c h a !

C O N S T R U C T I O N & T R A N S P O R T A T I O N CO

NS

TR

UC

TIO

N &

TR

AN

SP

OR

TA

TIO

N

Cal Poly ’s architec tural and c iv i l engineer ing programs are considered among

the countr y ’s best . Addit ional ly, Cal Poly ’s emerging leadership in integrated

bui lding-process management helps reduce cost and disputes bet ween owners,

bui lders and architec ts.

Te c h n i c a l E x p e r t i s eCal Poly facult y exper t ise in the construc t ion and

transpor tat ion industr ies inc ludes :

Acoust ics

Architec ture and architec tural engineer ing

Cit y and regional p lanning

Civi l , mechanical , and mater ia ls engineer ing

Construc t ion management

G eotechnical ear thquak e engineer ing

Indoor a i r qual i t y

Landscape architec ture

Transpor tat ion planning and management, h ighway design and construc t ion, and vehic le crash safet y.

R e s o u r c e sCal Poly of fers many resources for construc t ion and

transpor tat ion industr y projec ts, inc luding:

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

California Center for Construc tion Educ ation: This new center ser ves the research and

educat ional needs of the construc t ion

management industr y.

National Po ol Industr y Research Center (NPIRC): In col laborat ion with the Nat ional

Plasterers Counci l , th is one-of-a-k ind center

suppor ts research and new produc t development

re lated to recreat ional water fac i l i t ies .

Transp or tation M anagement Center ( TMC):

Researchers at th is center—a joint ef for t with

Caltrans and the Cal i fornia Highway Patrol—are

work ing to provide safe and ef f ic ient movement

of people, goods, and ser v ices in Cal i fornia .

Western Coatings Technolo gy Center: This

center, the result of a long-term relat ionship with

the paint and coat ings industr y, carr ies out state-

of-the-ar t research in polymers and coat ings.

Center for Sustainabil it y in E ngineering: This center promotes mult id isc ipl inar y,

environmental ly-conscious engineer ing design.

Fa c i l i t i e s a n d E q u i p m e n tFaci l i t ies and equipment avai lable to suppor t

construc t ion and transpor tat ion projec ts inc lude:

Architec tural Struc tures Design Laborator y

Intel l igent Transpor tat ion Systems Laborator y

Composites and Concrete laborator ies

Large-Scale Struc tures Test ing and Exper imental Construc t ion Laborator ies

Advanced Transpor tat ion Laborator y

Parsons Ear thquak e and G eotechnical Engineer ing Laborator y

Simpson Strong-T ie Mater ia ls Demonstrat ion Laborator y

Mater ia ls Test ing Laborator ies

Soi ls , Seismic and Stress/Models Test ing Lab

Transpor tat ion E lec tronics Laborator y.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

R e p r e s e n t a t i v e P r o j e c t sNotable examples of construc t ion and transpor tat ion

research projec ts at Cal Poly inc lude:

Professors Peter Schuster and Char les B i rdsong,

with suppor t f rom Lo ck heed-M ar tin and D elphi

Automotive , are developing a pre-crash sensing

system that wi l l detec t objec ts moving into a

vehic le’s path and decide the appropr iate vehic le

response.

For Caltrans , Professors Dan Jansen and Ashraf

R ahim examined us ing rec ycled mater ia ls instead

of soi l for roadway base, to decrease costs, improve

qual i t y and reduce landf i l l usage.qual i t y and reduce

landf i l l usage.

•

•

“ The Cal i fornia Air Resources Board

needed a hands-on par tner to help us

evaluate the environmental impac t of

var ious architec tural coat ings used in

the state. Work ing with Cal Poly

Chemists Al Censul lo, Max Wi l ls and

Dane Jones, we’ve formed an excel lent

par tnership. ”

Jim Nyarady, Manager, Strategy Evaluat ion Sec t ion, Cal i fornia Air Resources Board

—

One of the most f rustrat ing aspec ts of us ing publ ic t ranspor tat ion is wonder ing whether your bus or t ra in is running on t ime. I n a projec t for the Depar tment of Research and I nnovat ion at the Cal i fornia State Depar tment of Transpor tat ion (Caltrans) , Research Engineer Jef f Ger fen headed a mult id isc ipl inar y team to develop an advanced transit management and information system that helps t ransit f leets provide better and safer ser v ice.

Now operat ing in San Luis Obispo, the system - the Ef f ic ient Deployment of Advanced Publ ic Transpor tat ion Systems (EDAPTS) system - gives t ransit dr ivers real - t ime data to indicate i f they are ear ly, late or on-t ime when arr iv ing at and depar t ing f rom bus stops. This helps bus dr ivers stay on schedule, gives r iders better ser v ice, and helps operators better meet contrac tual obl igat ions for on-t ime per formance.

“Cal Poly had the r ight sk i l l s and fac i l i t ies to address this projec t for Calt rans,” sa id Ger fen. “Not only did we have the mult id isc ipl inar y focus necessar y to create EDAPTS, but we a lso l ive in a medium-sized communit y that provided an ideal locat ion to conduc t the f i rst system deployment .”

Transit managers now have detai led, archived vehic le -schedule information at their f inger t ips, a l lowing them to better plan routes and schedules. Meanwhi le, r iders at se lec ted stops see real - t ime bus arr ival information, lett ing them k now how long they ’ l l be wait ing for their bus.

The design team consisted of t wo engineers and more than 25 undergraduate students f rom Cal Poly ’s e lec tr ica l , c iv i l , mechanical , and computer engineer ing depar tments, as wel l as business and computer sc ience students.

14 15

o n t i m e !

E N E R G Y & T H E E N V I R O N M E N T EN

ER

GY

& T

HE

EN

VIR

ON

ME

NT

Cal Poly is k nown for i ts energy research exper t ise, inc luding power generat ion,

a l ternat ive/renewable energy sources and energy- ef f ic ient produc ts. I n envi-

ronmental research, interests inc lude urban forestr y, watershed and wi lderness

management , forest econometr ics, park administrat ion and mar ine ecology.

Te c h n i c a l E x p e r t i s eCal Poly facult y exper t ise in energy and

environmental research includes :

Alternat ive energy sources and improved energy ef f ic ienc y

Conser vat ion

Environmental b iotechnology

Forest resource management

Mar ine sc ience

Noise reduc t ion

Sustainabi l i t y

Waste management

R e s o u r c e sCal Poly has numerous resources to enable appl ied

research and development projec ts in energy and

environmental research. These resources inc lude:

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Cal Poly Organic Farm (CPOF): CPOF ser ves as a research bed for cer t i f ied organic agr iculture.

Center for Coastal M arine Sciences: This center fac i l i tates studies of coasta l mar ine systems to address environmental concerns and foster hands-on learning.

Center for Sustainabil it y in E ngineering: This center promotes mult id isc ipl inar y, environmental ly-conscious engineer ing design.

Coastal Resources Institute (CRI) : The CRI provides a wide range of natural resource management ser v ices, inc luding habitat audits, environmental/socia l impac t inventor ies, and pol ic y planning.

E lec tric Power Institute (EPI) : The EPI conduc ts power-re lated research and educat ion speci f ica l ly on power systems, qual i t y, and e lec tronics .

I rr igation Training and Research Center ( ITRC): The ITRC conduc ts global t ra ining, research and technical ass istance in modern i r r igat ion prac t ices.

Renewable E nergy Institute (REI) : REI promotes teaching, research, and development in solar and renewable energy technologies.

Power E lec tronics L ab/Renewable E nergy Research and Projec t Center: This fac i l i t y enables research into areas such as photovolta ic energy-ef f ic ient c i rcuit inter faces and more ef f ic ient energy convers ion c i rcuitr y, as wel l as qual i t y and control of solar panels .

Swanton Pacif ic R anch: One of only four cer t i f ied susta inable forests nat ionwide.

Sustainable Agriculture Resource Consor tium (SARC): SARC works to fac i l i tate susta inable agr iculture prac t ices as wel l as susta inable food strategies for growers and consumers.

Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute (UFEI) : The UFEI conduc ts appl ied research, technology transfer, and communit y ser v ice programs to ass ist landowners and publ ic agencies in improving management of urban forests .

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

R e p r e s e n t a t i v e P r o j e c t sCompleted or in-progress government and industr y

research projec ts in the energy and environmental

arena include:

In a projec t sponsored by the California Central

Coast Research Par tnership (3) , Professors

Char les B i rdsong, G eorge Delagrammatik as and

Bi l l Murray led a team to develop a homogeneous

charge compress ion ignit ion (HCCI) engine, an

advanced engine that could s igni f icant ly reduce fuel

consumption and engine emiss ions.

With suppor t f rom the O ffice of Naval Research

(ONR) , Professor Dean Wendt developed a f ie ld s i te

for test ing non-toxic mar ine coat ings that deter bio-

foul ing.

Also with C3RP/ONR funding, Physics Professor Bob

Echols explored the use of polymer-based solar cel ls

as a low-cost method to har vest solar power.

With funding f rom the NSF , Phys ic ist Tom Bensk y and

Mar ine Biologist Mark Mol ine used an autonomous

under water vehic le to precisely map phytoplankton

colonies, which have a large inf luence on global

c l imate.

Forestr y and Natural Resources Professor Walter Mark

and his Oak Mor tal i t y Team have received ongoing

suppor t f rom the U.S. D epar tment of Forestr y and

Cal i fornia’s ARI to invest igate the causes of Sudden

Oak Death.

•

•

•

•

•

Cleaning up petroleum contaminat ion is daunt ing and cost ly for the oi l industr y. Finding less expensive ways to do i t without inf l ic t ing fur ther ecological damage is the goal of research conduc ted for Unocal by Civ i l and Environmental Engineer ing Professor Yarrow Nelson and a number of enthusiast ic students, in conjunc t ion with Cal Poly ’s Environmental B iotechnology I nst i tute (EBI ) .

The projec t focused on the former Guadalupe Oi l Fie ld. Af ter producing oi l at the s i te for more than 40 years, Unocal found that approximately 8 mi l l ion gal lons of d i luent , a solvent s imi lar to a mix ture of kerosene and diesel o i l , had contaminated the soi l and groundwater.

“ The s i te represents one of the last intac t dune systems in Cal i fornia , with numerous threatened and endangered plants and animal species,” sa id Nelson. “M inimiz ing disturbance to the valuable ecosystem is impor tant , so restorat ion ac t iv i t ies inc lude tradit ional as wel l as var ious new and innovat ive remediat ion techniques.”

These new techniques include bioremediat ion, the use of natural bac ter ia to biodegrade the hydrocarbon contaminants, and phytoremediat ion, the use of p lants to st imulate biodegradat ion by bac ter ia .

“ The goal of our projec t i s to evaluate the phytoremediat ion of hydrocarbon groundwater contaminat ion by wi l low trees grown under control led laborator y condit ions,” Nelson sa id.

Nelson’s exper iments produced the f i rst quant i tat ive evidence that wi l low trees can enhance bac ter ia l b iodegradat ion to help c lean up petroleum contaminat ion.

Unocal l ikes what i t sees, too, and has funded s ix addit ional projec ts at Cal Poly involv ing several environmental and biochemical engineer ing graduate students.

16 17

c l e a n u p !

MA

NU

FA

CT

UR

ING

Cal Poly ’s learn by doing approach, combined with the qual i t y of our facult y, led

U.S . News & Wor ld Repor t to recognize Cal Poly ’s E lec tr ica l , Mechanical and

I ndustr ia l and Manufac tur ing Engineer ing programs as the best among U.S .

publ ic undergraduate engineer ing schools.

These disc ipl inar y strengths, combined with Cal

Poly ’s assets in mult id isc ipl inar y engineer ing and

projec t management, help address the chal lenges

fac ing the manufac tur ing industr y today – which

t ypical ly cross t radit ional engineer ing disc ipl ines.

Te c h n i c a l E x p e r t i s eCal Poly facult y exper t ise for manufac tur ing

research includes :

Automation, robot ics, and controls

D ynamic systems and v ibrat ion analys is

Fluid mechanics and power

Industr ia l and manufac tur ing processes

Instrumentat ion, measurement and sensors

Mechanical des ign and mechatronics

Pack aging

Physical system model ing and s imulat ion

Polymer e lec tronics

R apid protot yping

R adio Frequenc y Ident i f icat ion*

Thermal sc iences.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

R e s o u r c e s Cal Poly has a var iet y of specia l ized resources for

manufac tur ing and industr ia l process appl ied re-

search:

Cal Pack L ab oratories: Cal Pack Labs provides

unbiased evaluat ions of pack aging systems and

repor ts the results in compl iance with publ ished

industr y standards.

Biomedic al E ngineering Integrated Concept

D evelopment L ab orator y ( ICDL)**

G uidant R apid Protot yping L ab orator y : This

laborator y of fers fac i l i t ies for creat ing, model ing

and f ine-tuning produc t designs, inc luding a rapid

protot yping machine that enables users to bui ld

plast ic protot ype models of their des igns.

Automotive Research L ab orator y : Focusing on

advanced engine design, th is mult id isc ipl inar y

laborator y addresses increas ingly str ingent fuel

economy and emiss ions demands.

RFID Research and Testing L ab orator y*

* See Computing and Communicat ions sec t ion for more

information.

** See Biotechnology and Bioengineer ing sec t ion for more

detai ls about this resource.

Fa c i l i t i e s a n d E q u i p m e n tAddit ional fac i l i t ies and specia l ized equipment to

suppor t appl ied research for the manufac tur ing and

industr ia l sec tors inc ludes :

Hydraul ics Laborator y

L i t ton Mechatronics Laborator y

Park er Hannif in Mechanical Controls Laborator y

Robotics Laborator y

Bent ly-Nevada V ibrat ions and Rotordynamics Laborator y

Trust Automation Advanced Automation Lab

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

R e p r e s e n t a t i v e P r o j e c t sA sampl ing of manufac tur ing and industr ia l appl ied

research projec ts conduc ted by Cal Poly inc ludes :

Led by Professor Tal i Freed, Cal Poly has conduc ted

many industr y- and government-sponsored projec ts

to use RFID solut ions to t rack a divers i t y of produc ts

(produce, chemical containers, hospita l syr inges) ;

to develop RFID-enabled supply chain and logist ics

management solut ions ; and to analyze and s imulate

RFID ut i l izat ion in var ious di f ferent industr ia l

operat ions and processes.

Mechanical Engineer ing Professor Joe Mel lo

conduc ted a projec t for R aytheon that determined

candidate f in i te e lement model ing techniques

to predic t deformations of th ick bonded s i l icon/

t i tanium composite struc tures in cr yogenic

environments.

In projec t funded by the ONR , Professors Rober t

Crock ett and David Niebuhr invest igated cost-

ef fec t ive, advanced manufac tur ing techniques for

creat ing mater ia ls and composites with meso-scale

struc tures.

In a projec t suppor ted by the So ciet y of

M anufac turing E ngineers , H enkel Technolo gies,

Flex tronics, S olec tron, and other sponsors,

Professor J ianbiao Pan has studied the ef fec ts of

pr inted c i rcuit -board f in ishes and under f i l l on lead-

free solder- jo int qual i t y.

•

•

•

•

To improve the design and ef fec t iveness of hear t pacemakers, a team led by Professor Rober t Crockett recent ly worked with St . Jude Medical to develop accurate computer and physical models of the human hear t .

Us ing a data set of opt ical s l ice images obtained f rom the Vis ible Human Projec t , the Cal Poly team created a computer-a ided design (CAD) model by ident i fy ing the most impor tant features of the hear t . The team then used rapid protot yping equipment to cast the result ing CAD model into a s i l icone mold.

This mold produced the f inal physical hear t model , which s imulated the proper t ies of an ac tual hear t , with medical ly accurate internal and ex ternal detai ls such as major veins and ar ter ies and the coronar y s inus.

St . Jude Medical i s now using both the physical model and the computer model to suppor t ear ly-phase produc t development ef for ts . The company has expanded the scope of the in i t ia l projec t to create a k inematic model that wi l l accurately s imulate the motion of the hear t throughout the beat ing c ycle.

St . Jude Medical has a c lose par tnership with Cal Poly in the area of b iomedical engineer ing, and has provided a grant to suppor t curr iculum and provide laborator y fac i l i t ies, facult y and student research oppor tunit ies and student internships.

Cal Poly ’s increas ing focus on bioengineer ing projec ts has led to the creat ion of a new Biomedical and General Engineer ing Depar tment , with Professor Crockett as one of the f i rst facult y members.

M A N U F A C T U R I N G

18 19

n i c e b e a t

T H E C A L P O L Y D I F F E R E N C E

To p - N o t c h Fa c u l t ySince 1992, U.S . News & Wor ld Repor t has rated

Cal Poly the best publ ic, largely undergraduate

univers i t y in the West . We owe this honor in large

par t to the excel lence of our people. Renowned

for the breadth and depth of their exper t ise in a

var iet y of areas—including engineer ing, agr iculture,

architec ture and graphic communicat ion—Cal

Poly facult y of fer companies invaluable, prac t ica l

exper t ise. They have ex tensive exper ience work ing

with industr y and are comfor table in pr ivate-sec tor

environments. Many of our facult y members have

received prest ig ious awards f rom industr y and

government for their outstanding contr ibut ions.

In addit ion, companies such as Unocal , Bank of

Amer ica , Foster Farms and Lock heed Mar t in , as wel l

as indiv iduals in the pr ivate sec tor, have created

more than 20 endowed professorships at Cal Poly to

encourage and suppor t our appl ied research ef for ts .

“Cal Poly ’s hands on,

‘ learn-by-doing’ approach guides how

Cal Poly conduc ts industr y research

projec ts, too. Industr y-savv y Cal Poly

facult y members are wi l l ing to rol l up

their s leeves to get the projec t done

to meet industr y schedules and

requirements. ”

—Wayne Gi lber t , V ice Pres ident of Operat ions, Seymour Duncan

T h e b e s t s t u d e n t sRenowned for the qual i t y of i ts student body, Cal

Poly has been producing leaders in engineer ing,

business, sc ience, mathematics, environmental

des ign and architec ture for over a centur y. The 3 ,000

to 4 ,000 students accepted each year are chosen

f rom a pool of more than 27,000 appl icants, mak ing

them the cream of their h igh school c lasses.

When they graduate, Cal Poly students are ready for

employment : 92 to 96 percent of Cal Poly students

are e i ther work ing ful l - t ime or attending graduate

school within one year of graduat ion. By the t ime

they earn their degrees, 95 percent of Cal Poly ’s

engineer ing graduates are employed in their f ie ld or

enter ing graduate school .

The qual i t y of Cal Poly ’s student body assures you

that you’re choosing f rom the best and br ightest

young minds when hir ing recent graduates or

staf f ing industr y-sponsored research projec ts . And

a research projec t with Cal Poly creates t ies with Cal

Poly students—ties that can help companies hi re top

students upon graduat ion.

Wo r k i n g w i t h C a l Po l yWhether your company is p lanning a smal l projec t

to solve a speci f ic research quest ion or look ing

for a col laborat ive par tner to study cr i t ica l

industr y issues, Cal Poly has the facult y, s tudents,

infrastruc ture, fac i l i t ies and equipment to meet your

needs.

In shor t , Cal Poly is ready for business. To learn

more about gett ing star ted with a Cal Poly appl ied

research projec t , p lease see the contac t information

in the pock et of th is brochure.

20