Student Event Updates

AES Banquet Wrap-Up

The Agricultural Engineering Society's 2008 Annual Awards Banquet successfully took place Friday evening, May 16, 2008 at Marie Callendar's in Pismo Beach . Students, faculty, family, friends, and alumni came together to celebrate the accomplishments of the hard-working BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department students throughout the 2007-2008 school year! In addition to awarding scholarships and honors to certain students, the event also hosted a picture slideshow that exhibited the department events from the past year and giveaways. The giveaways included gift cards, gift baskets, t-shirts, tools, and much more donated by AES and the AES officer's families.

AES Banquet organizer, Daniel Holtz (BRAE Student), remarked that “the 2008 AES Banquet was a spectacular evening with awesome giveaways and a cool movie slideshow of all the year's events to conclude the night. I am really looking forward to next year and another great banquet.” Holtz also commented on how he “would like to thank the whole officer team for their help and hard work throughout the year. The banquet could not have been possible without help from Kevin Moules (BRAE Student), Jeff Carr (ASM Student), Sierra Orvis (BRAE Student), and Andrew Dasso (BRAE Student). A special thank you to Kathy Daniels and Nikki Heyer for their support and advice throughout the year.”

BRAE Department Students who were Recognized:

• Noelle Penner- Daisy J. Hudson Agricultural Irrigation Careers Scholarship
• Daniel Holtz- John Merriam Endowment
• Sierra Orvis- Provost & Pritchard Engineering Scholarship
• Kevin Moules- ASABE William J. & Marijane E. Adams Jr. Scholarship, Paul Etchechury Memorial Scholarship
• Daniel Bays- James F. Merson Memorial Award
• Nic Darr- Lionel Middlecamp Memorial Scholarship
• Craig Monteiro- Eric C. Twist Memorial Scholarship, BRAE Department Scholarship funded by Cal Poly Tractor Pull Endowment, Outstanding ASM Academic Student
• Alex Holland- Don Nikkel Memorial Scholarship
• Noe Gonzales- American Truck Historical Society ‘ Central Coast Chapter' Scholarship
• Willi Ortner- American Truck Historical Society ‘ Central Coast Chapter' Scholarship
• Joost Bulk- BRAE Department Scholarship funded by Cal Poly Tractor Pull
• Matthew Bassett- BRAE Department Scholarship funded by Cal Poly Tractor Pull, Michael T. Andrews Capstone Team Project: ASM
• Bradley Rahrer- BRAE Department Scholarship funded by Cal Poly Tractor Pull
• Lynn Groundwater- BRAE Department Scholarship funded by Cal Poly Tractor Pull
• Blake Plourd- BRAE Department Scholarship funded by Cal Poly Tractor Pull
• Brandie Feddema- BRAE Department Scholarship funded by Cal Poly Tractor Pull, Michael T. Andrews Capstone Team Project: BRAE
• Paul Smith- BRAE Department Scholarship funded by Cal Poly Tractor Pull
• Thomas Ostrowski- BRAE Department Scholarship funded by Cal Poly Tractor Pull
• Lindsey Tulloch- BRAE Department Scholarship funded by Cal Poly Tractor Pull
• Daniel Inks- BRAE Department Special Award
• Abram Bowman- BRAE Department Special Award
• Claire Miller- BRAE Department Special Award
• Casey Poff- Michael T. Andrews Best Senior Project: ASM
• Brett Perkins- Michael T. Andrews Best Senior Project: BRAE
• Neil Panziera- Michael T. Andrews Capstone Team Project: BRAE
• Will Pruitt- Michael T. Andrews Capstone Team Project: BRAE, Outstanding BRAE Academic Student
• John Van Ryn- Michael T. Andrews Capstone Team Project: BRAE
• Jeff Carr- Michael T. Andrews Capstone Team Project: ASM, Outstanding AES Senior
• Marc Metzer- Michael T. Andrews Capstone Team Project: ASM
• Bryan Ray- Michael T. Andrews Capstone Team Project: ASM
• Garrett Otto- Mary Ann and Ed Carnegie Scholarship

Quarter Scale Tractor Design Team Places First in Team Presentation at ASABE's International Student Design Competition

The BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department's PolyBuilt Team traveled to Peoria , Illinois to participate in the 2008 ASABE International Quarter Scale Tractor Student Design Competition. This competition was held from Thursday, May 29 to Sunday, June 1, 2008 and sponsored by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. This was the ninth year that Cal Poly participated in the competition. This year the team placed first in team presentation, 12th in the tractor pull, 17th for written design, and 13th overall.

The team's goal was to develop a vehicle that addressed all of the needs of the Pipeline/Aqueduct Industry. Thus the team designed the original PMT-50 or Pipeline Maintenance Tractor 50 Horsepower. The key features included in the vehicle were a 2 passenger offset seating, low profile frame, 4-wheel drive, joystick and electric steering, and throttle control. The 100% student run PolyBuilt Team began designing in October with construction beginning in January.

"Overall, it was a fantastic year with a great team and a good looking tractor to show for all of our hard work," commented Dan Holtz, Quarter Scale Team Member.

The 2008 Quarter Scale Tractor Design Team included students Mike Chase (BRAE), Paul Smith (ASM), Daniel Holtz (BRAE), Abram Bowman (ASM), Dom Tartaglia (ASM), Noelle Penner (BRAE), Travis Cox (BRAE), Spencer Bull (BRAE), Sam Sanchez (BRAE), Joost Bulk (ASM), Tom Gomes Jr. (Agricultural Science), Tim Van Beek (ASM), Lynn Groundwater (BRAE), Daniel Bays (BRAE), Noe Gonzales Jr. (BRAE), Tanner Torrano (ASM), Andrew Dasso (BRAE), and Seth Rossow (ASM). In addition, the team is advised by BRAE faculty member, Dr. Shaun Kelly.

For further information on the Quarter Scale Tractor Design Team, please visit their website.

BRAE Department Launches New Direction

New Faculty Member to Enter as Dr. Steve Kaminaka Retires

Exemplifying his commitment to students and our programs, Dr. Steve Kaminaka continues to teach a select number of classes for the department past his retirement.

During his teaching career, Dr. Kaminaka taught Engineering Design Graphics, Processing of Agricultural Products, Engineering Properties of Agro/Biomaterials, Finite Element Analysis Applications, Engineering of Agricultural and BioResource Systems, and Microcomputer Applications in Agriculture. He is also part of an interdisciplinary team that taught World Food Politics which utilizes a holistic systems approach to understand current issues in world hunger. His interests also include traveling and watercolor painting.

“Steve is a person who considers the big picture when tackling issues. His ability to think outside of the box and his non-linear approach make him an exceptional educator,” stated Dr. Richard Cavaletto, BRAE Department Head.

“Engineering Design Graphics was a great class to take as a freshman. Dr. Kaminaka broke the stereotype of the college professor who believes oneself to be above ones students. As a professor, Dr. Kaminaka never flaunted his degree, was very humble and was always concerned with student's comprehension of concepts,” expressed Noe Gonzales, BRAE student and former pupil of Dr. Kaminaka.

To ensure the future development of our program, the BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department will be hiring a new faculty member to replace Dr. Kaminaka, who retired at the end of last year after 23 years of service to the BRAE Department. The new faculty member will start teaching courses for the department beginning Fall Quarter 2008. This is an important step towards maintaining our department's strength while welcoming new ideas and innovation to keep our programs fresh.

Dr. Kaminaka received his B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from the University of California, Davis, M.S. in Ag Engineering from the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, and his Ph.D. from Cornell University.

Faculty and Staff Meet to Discuss Goals for Next Four Years

Earlier this month, the BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department faculty and staff met to discuss the department's vision statements, objectives, and tasks for the next four years. At this strategic planning meeting many key issues were discussed regarding the direction and future of our department.

Some important topics addressed were faculty development, enhancing our equipment and lab facilities, possibly adding new undergraduate majors with emphasis' in water engineering or biological systems engineering, developing a viable graduate program, increasing recruitment efforts, focusing on sustainability, and the development of relationships with industry and within the university.

Concurrently, the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences will begin another Strategic Visioning Process as the University closes in on yet another decade. This also coincides with Cal Poly's launch of a university-wide campaign to increase development.

New-Admitted Students Information

To-Do List for Incoming Freshman and Transfer Students

Fall Quarter 2008 is quickly approaching as the 2007-2008 school year comes to an end. Are you a newly admitted student? Are you unsure as to what you still need to complete before you arrive in September? Well we thought you might be, so we are providing you with a checklist of items we recommend you complete before coming to Cal Poly. Of course, if you have any specific questions or concerns, feel free to email us at brae@calpoly.edu or give us a call at (805) 756-2378. We look forward to seeing you in the fall and congratulations on your acceptance to our program!

• Wednesday, July 9, 2008 attend SOAR: Student Orientation, Advising & Resources where BioResource & Agricultural Engineering and Agricultural Systems Management majors will spend a day planning their fall class schedule based upon accurate information from their placement scores and with assistance from student, staff and faculty advisors
• For further information visit the SOAR website
• If you cannot attend SOAR, we recommend you schedule an individual meeting with one of the department faculty to ensure you get on track academically right from the start!
• Tuesday, July 15 DEADLINE for accepting transcripts: Official, final, high school and transfer transcripts with confirmation of graduation MUST be submitted by this date to the admissions office
• For further information visit the Admissions website
• Wednesday, July 30 REGISTRATION BEGINS for Fall Quarter 2008
• For information regarding registration rotations or new student registration please visit the Academic Records website
• Saturday & Sunday, September 13-14 MOVE-IN for Residence Halls Begins
• Sunday, September 14 MOVE-IN for Poly Canyon Village Apartments Begins
• Saturday & Sunday, September 13-14 Family Orientation Weekend
• Monday through Friday, September 15-19 Week of Welcome (WOW): New Student Orientation
• We encourage new students to participate in WOW as it is designed to assist new students with successful academic, social and emotional transition to university life
• For more information regarding the WOW program please visit the WOW website
• Monday, September 22 FALL TERM BEGINS
• JOIN the BRAE New Admitted Students Group on Facebook: this social networking site will allow you to connect with current BRAE students, ask questions, and meet other newly admitted students before you arrive on campus! Register for Facebook here!
• READ the BRAE Department's monthly eNewsletter to keep up to date on current events and happenings within the department