Spring 2025 | Issue 23
From the Dean
Spring is in the air. There is a distinct sense of new beginnings in the college as our graduates prepare to enter the world this June, poised and ready to address the challenges they have been training for.
Cover Story
Geospatial Systems
Advancing Wildfire Research Through LiDAR Technology
The increasing frequency of extreme natural disasters such as wildfires and flooding throughout California and beyond is driving the need for innovative methods to assess and reduce risks. A new, multidisciplinary lab at Cal Poly is using advanced geospatial technology to find ways to meet those needs.
Features
Change continues as the college makes strides at enhancing the student experience.
From Tree to Table
The buttery texture and grassy, fruity profile of Cal Poly’s new olive oil is generating intrigue in the local community as the ideal product for marinades, spreads, drizzling and more.
Pioneering Pacemaker Research
For Emma Barrett, standing vigilant with surgeons and veterinarians provides a glimpse into a life of animal and human connection.
Nurturing the Future
Nearly 200 people, many of them alumni from the late 1960s and the 1970s, gathered on March 21 to celebrate the dedication of the newly renovated Howard C. Brown Horticultural Greenhouse Complex.
Q&A with Helitack Firefighter Kelly Schwenger
A daughter of a retired fire captain, Schwenger is no stranger to fire. Yet, when she first joined the volunteer fire department during the COVID-19 pandemic in her hometown of Esparto, California, she did it to get the medical experience to become a doctor.
Brewing Knowledge
For food science graduate student Manou De Pelsmaeker, hard apple cider production is a unique hands-on learning experience unlike any other she has had at Cal Poly.
Under Construction
Exciting progress is underway at both the Charles and Claire Jacobson Animal Health Center and George Wurzel Plant Sciences Building, both set to open to students in early 2026.
Preparing Students to Make Headlines
Cultivate is the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences quarterly magazine, sharing student Learn by Doing stories and exploring how our faculty, staff and alumni continue to positively impact the world.