General News
The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Research Seminar Series has returned! A new session will be held every Friday from 12:10 to 1 p.m. of fall quarter via ZOOM.
General News
This week we celebrate College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Honored Alumnus Walter J. Ruzzo (Natural Resources Management, ’78) for the role he has played as a leader in environmental health and safety in the mining and biopharmaceutical industries. Ruzzo, who is a member of the Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences and the Swanton Pacific Ranch Advisory Councils, is a vocal proponent and supporter of Cal Poly students and programs. Ruzzo will join the 2021 Honored Alumni Speaker Panel on campus from 11 a.m. to noon, Friday, Oct. 1. Sign-up to attend by registering here.
Faculty News
Federico Casassa, associate professor of enology and sensory analysis in Cal Poly’s Wine and Viticulture Department, was awarded the university’s Distinguished Scholar Award. Casassa brought his passion for wine to Cal Poly’s Wine and Viticulture Department in 2015. He has since helped establish the department — the nation’s largest undergraduate program with 300 students — as a key research hub in California. Read more here: https://www.calpoly.edu/fall-conference.
General News
Monday, Sept. 13
CAFES Fall Conference General Session
Swanson Center of Effort Conference Hall, JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture
7:30 a.m. Check-in and boxed breakfast available
8 a.m. Meeting starts
1 p.m. Session adjourns and boxed lunches available
Student photographer available to take headshots outside facility
Tuesday, Sept. 14
CAFES Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Workshops
Swanson Center of Effort Conference Hall, JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture
9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Agribusiness, Animal Science, Experience Industry Management, Food Science and Nutrition, Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences, Advising Center
12:30 – 2:30 p.m. Agricultural Education and Communication, BioResource and Agricultural Engineering, Horticulture and Crop Science, Military Science, Wine and Viticulture, Center for Sustainability, Irrigation Training and Research Center, Strawberry Center, Swanton Pacific Ranch, Agricultural Operations, Dean’s Office
Events
Registration is now open for Cal Poly Homecoming 2021, happening Sept. 30 through Oct. 2.
This year’s schedule is packed with more than 25 events and opportunities to celebrate the best of Learn by Doing and everything you love about Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo.
University activities new this year include open lab hours, a panel discussion with our 2021 Honored Alumni and guided tours of the latest renovations on campus. CAFES specific events include a special Showcase Rodeo competition, tours of the Leaning Pine Arboretum, student equine demonstrations, a farm stand, and products available for purchase at both the Cal Poly Creamery and Cal Poly Meat Processing Center.
A full schedule of events and more information can be found here.
Student News
A team of eight food science students were among the finalists in the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Student Associations College Bowl Competition in July. Students competed in the virtual challenge which tested their knowledge in food science and technology, the history of foods and food processing, food law, and general IFT/food-related trivia. The College Bowl is designed to facilitate interaction among students from different universities and provides a forum for students to engage in friendly competition. The team, which began preparing for the competition in the fall, won the regional competition and advanced to a national competition to compete against four universities. Assistant Professor Luis Castro, who advised the team, said it is the team’s third time advancing to the finals in the last six years. “I’m very proud of the Cal Poly team, comprised solely of undergraduate students, who held their own against teams made up mostly of graduate students,” Castro said.
General News
Cal Poly was named one of the top five leading universities for sustainable agriculture degree programs by BestValueSchools.org. The Learn by Doing opportunities that bring students to the field, the farm, and the forest were highlighted as important factors in how our students meet the diverse needs of California and the global society.
General News
Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch was recently awarded a $4.7 million grant from Cal Fire’s Forest Health Program to assist with post-fire recovery efforts. The grant is the second of two Cal Fire grants, totaling nearly $9 million, recently awarded to further the ranch’s efforts to bring about sustainable, long-term solutions to the management and stewardship of working landscapes.
The grant funding comes one year after the CZU Lightning Complex Fire swept through Swanton Pacific Ranch in Davenport, California, destroying many of the structures and much of the surrounding forest.
Swanton Pacific Ranch partnered with nearby Cal Fire Soquel Demonstration State Forest to seek the Cal Fire Forest Health Program’s $4.7 million grant, which provides critical funding for fire resilience planning and creates key opportunities for students to assist in implementing treatments to restore and maintain healthy forests while enhancing carbon storage. The funding will facilitate increased efforts in forest health and resilience and increased wildfire safety by implementing treatments such as reforestation, forest thinning, removal of dead trees and other potential fire fuels, and tree pruning to more than 930 acres of redwood forest between the two sites, both of which are designated as outreach forests in coastal redwood systems.
Read more here.
Through this work, we are improving our forests and establishing leadership and expertise at the Central Coast’s premier outreach forests to create more resilient forests for demonstration, research and teaching,” said Grey Hayes, Swanton Pacific Ranch’s research and education coordinator.
Student News
A team of six food science students won second place in the annual Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Student Association Mars Product Development Competition held virtually in June. The Cal Poly team was one of six teams from colleges throughout the country including Cornell University and University of Wisconsin-Madison to compete — challenged to develop a new food idea and carry the concept through marketing and production, much like a commercial product development team. The Cal Poly team created an Earl Grey special tea sauce that thickens when heated and thins when cooled to be used on everything from ice cream to crackers. “We were pleased to hear a lot of judges had great things to stay about flavor and innovation,” said Julia Zoe, a food science senior. “One judge said that they purchased ice cream and ate our sauce all week. It felt good to know that the product we had been working on for months was one that people enjoyed.” It is the first time a Cal Poly team, which was advised by Professor Samir Amin, has placed in the competition.
General News
More than 330 people attended the Cal Poly Strawberry Center’s annual Field Day event on July 29 to learn more about the latest research and automation activities taking place at the Strawberry Center. Cal Poly students and staff discussed 13 experiments focused on disease and pest management techniques and offered demonstrations on current automation projects for strawberry production. More than 43 sponsors supported the field day activities. The center offers student work experience and internships, with as many as 20 students working on various projects at any given time. The Field Day handout packet can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/w26ky2t9.
