Top COSAM Stories of 2016
2016 was a busy year for the College of Science and Mathematics. Look back at our most important and favorite stories of the year.
Microsoft Deploys Underwater Datacenter
Back in February, it was announced that Microsoft had completed a 105-day trial of an undersea data center, codenamed Project Natick. The datacenter, a high-powered and instrumented capsule, spent those 105 days submerged at the end of the Cal Poly Pier in Avila Beach. Full story on Project Natick.
Bio Student Conducts Groundbreaking Seal Research
Melissa Voisinet and biology professor Lars Tomanek set out to understand how the cyclical land-to-sea transition of elephant seals influences the species' physiology. To do so, the two used a protein analysis technique called proteomics, marking the first time the technique has been used on a marine mammal. Full story on seal research.
Cal Poly Connected to Gravitational Waves
"I think you could argue it's probably the biggest observation related to the field [of physics] since general relativity." That was Cal Poly physics professor Steven Drasco's reaction to the February announcement that researchers had detected ripples in space-time, confirming Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity. Cal Poly and gravitational waves full story.
Cal Poly Helps Make Gravitational Waves Data Available
Cal Poly and UC Berkeley helped make the data and analysis for the groundbreaking gravitation waves observation (see above story) available to anyone who wanted to verify it. Scientists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory released the information on Jupyter, an open-source software package developed by the two California universities. Project Jupyter and gravitational waves full story.
Kinesiology Dept. Study Sheds Light on Campus Food
Marilyn Tseng, a kinesiology professor, was interested in determining the scope of Cal Poly's nutritional environment. So she and a group of students spent five months analyzing Cal Poly's dining options and nearby food stores. The results, published in February, helped put Cal Poly's food environment into perspective. Full food survey story.
New Marine Sciences Major Welcomes First Class
This fall, the Biological Sciences Department welcomed its first group of marine sciences majors. Full story on new major.
Alumnus Makes $20M Pledge for Research Center
Back in May, it was announced that William L. Frost, a Cal Poly alumnus who graduated with a degree in biochemistry in 1972, and his wife, Linda, pledged $20 million toward the construction of a planned research and technology center on campus. Read the full story on the pledge.
COSAM Dean Announces Retirement
Philip S. Bailey, Cal Poly's College of Science and Mathematics dean for the last 34 years, announced in June that he plans to retire at the end of the 2016-17 academic year. Read more about Dean Bailey's retirement.
