Events
The Poly Plant Shop is hosting an end-of-the-year sale June 3-4, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A variety of succulents and tropical foliage plants will be available. Select greenhouses will also be open for sales.
Student News
Olivia McKay (Master’s in Environmental Sciences and Management, ’21) was selected by the Graduate Education program as the Outstanding Graduate Student in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. McKay, who earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental earth and soil science in 2020, is currently working as an environmental scientist at Arcadis in San Luis Obispo.
McKay was recognized for her academic achievements, drive, and curiosity modeling how students could and should develop new skills in the field, the laboratory, and in analysis techniques. Her work on the distinct habitat for soil microbial decomposers created by macroplastic pollution led not only to a new research direction but also directly to funding from CADFA.
Events
The annual Cal Poly Performance Horse Sale will be held June 17-18, with a meet and greet planned for Friday, June 17 and the sale on Saturday, June 18 at the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center.
Cal Poly’s Quarter Horse Enterprise is the ultimate Learn by Doing experience. Students are selected to participate in the program based on their work ethic, riding and training abilities. They gain valuable hands-on experience starting and preparing Cal Poly horses over the course of winter and spring quarters, working with some of the leading trainers in the reined cow horse and performance horse industries. The result is an annual sale that showcases the versatility, temperament and talent of these horses and celebrates our students’ achievements
Visit www.ranchhorse.calpoly.edu and or follow them on Instagram @cpperformancehorses for demonstrations and previews of the sale horses.
Student News
More than 50 students presented in the fifth annual CAFES Spring Student Research Symposium on May 20 at the JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture with undergraduate and graduate students from throughout the college presenting their recent research during a poster session. See a full list of the participants and their projects.
Undergraduate winners:
1st Hannah Shinnerl, Animal Science major, advised by Mark Edwards and Darin Bennett: “Evaluation of the Effects of Dietary Uronema spp. on the Growth Performance, Feed Intake and Feed Conversion Ratio of Broiler Chickens”
2nd Jasmine Moallem, Animal Science major, advised by Ike Kang: “Effect of Dietary Micro Algae Supplementation in Broiler Chicken Carcass and Meat Quality”
3rd Annika Malmstrom-Smith, Animal Science major, advised by Heather Harris: “Domoic Acid Exposure in Leatherback Sea Turtles Along the West Coast of North America”
Graduate winners:
1st Jack Koster, Master’s in Agriculture, specialization in Plant Science, advised by Shashika Hewavitharana: “An Integrated Approach for Controlling Verticillium Wilt in Strawberry”
2nd Evelyn Alvarez-Mendoza, Master’s in Agriculture, specialization in Crop Science, advised by Shunping Ding: “Fungicide Resistance of Botrytis cinerea Populations on Wine Grapes in the Central Coast of California”
3rd Nora Bales, Master’s of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management, advised by Yamina Pressler: “Investigating the Relationship Between Biological Soil Crust and a Federally Threatened Plant (Hooveria purpurea var. purpurea) Found on California’s Central Coast”
General News
Cal Poly’s Horticulture and Crop Science Department has formally changed its name to the Plant Sciences Department. The agricultural and environmental plant sciences major will also be renamed to reflect predominant employment opportunities more accurately for graduates and prospective students.
The department, which was formed in 2002, offers curriculum that is designed to train plant scientists who are ready upon graduation to make informed decisions and recommendations regarding sustainable farming or horticultural practices that maximize plant production and protection while minimizing economic, environmental and social impacts. The name change enables the program to clearly convey its academic mission and broaden recruitment of applicants who may or may not have a background in agriculture and allow them to be successful in robust careers throughout California and beyond.
Read more here.
Faculty News
Food Science Professor Amanda Lathrop was selected to serve as an administrative faculty fellow for Graduate Education and starting in June will serve as the interim dean through August 2023, or until the permanent dean appointment is made.
Lathrop joined the Food Science and Nutrition Department in 2009. She teaches Introduction to Food Science, Food Plant Sanitation, and Food Safety. Currently, her research interests include produce safety focused on leafy greens, citrus fruits, and the use of biofumigation for the control of food pathogens in agricultural soils. She is actively involved in a multidisciplinary project assisting underrepresented small farmers with on-farm food safety practices. During her time at Cal Poly, she has served as a thesis advisor to numerous graduate students and since 2019 has served as the Food Science graduate coordinator.
Student News
Food Science graduate student Isaac Ho won second place in the 36th annual CSU Student Research Competition on April 29-30 for his research on the mindsets of early adopters of insect-based food products in the Behavioral, Social Sciences and Public Administration division. Food Science Professor Amy Lammert is advising the project. Ho’s research, titled “Use of Preference Analysis to Identify Early Adopter Mind-Sets of Insect-based Food Products” seeks to identify early adopter mind-sets of insect-based food products and determine product features early adopters would prefer in an insect-based food product and the differences in mindsets in different countries. Ho, who is enrolled in the Food Science and Nutrition Department’s blended program which allows students to pursue a joint bachelor’s and master’s degree, was one of four Cal Poly students recognized with first or second-place awards in their divisions. To see a full list of the competition award winners, click here.
Faculty News
Stephanie Jung, professor and head of the Food Science and Nutrition Department, was elected to serve on the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Board of Directors. Jung’s role on the board will begin in September. The IFT is an international, non-profit scientific society of professionals engaged in food science, food technology, and related areas in academia, government and industry. It has more than 17,000 members from more than 95 countries and serves as a forum for food science professionals and technologists to collaborate, learn, and contribute all with the goal of inspiring and transforming collective scientific knowledge into innovative solutions for the benefit of all people around the world.
Student News
Students enrolled in the Marine Mammal Enterprise recently visited the main hospital of The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC) in Sausalito. Through this professional university-nonprofit partnership, Cal Poly students become trained TMMC volunteers who participate in marine mammal field response and rehabilitation. Students had a fantastic day of hands-on activities including helping the vets perform medical exams, weighing patients in the “sealbarrow,” helping with tube and hand feeds, and a hospital tour. The course is led by Animal Science lecturer and veterinarian Heather Harris by application only (available in mid-October) and requires a two-quarter commitment for both winter and spring.
Events
Let’s celebrate our colleagues and a successful year! Please join us for the annual CAFES Faculty and Staff Awards on Tuesday, June 7, from 4 – 6 p.m. in the JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture’s Conference Hall.
Guests are welcome and childcare will be provided by CAFES Ambassadors.