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. In July, Brian Horgan will join the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences as dean, bringing expertise in plant sciences and resource sustainability following a career at Michigan State University and the University of Minnesota.
We are making steady progress on our two new centers for learning: the George Wurzel Plant Sciences Building and the Charles and Claire Jacobson Animal Health Center, both of which will open in early 2026 and offer opportunities to students that promote discovery, with a continued focus on climate-smart research.
We are also celebrating the recent improvements made at the Howard C. Brown Horticultural Greenhouse Complex and the dedication of the Bryant Low Soil Analysis Lab — both of which will provide our students with Learn by Doing opportunities for decades to come. All of these projects are a result of the gracious philanthropic support of donors who know the value of hands-on learning.
In this issue you’ll read about students who are researching ways to improve efficiencies in the cider industry and learning what it takes to produce a marketable product like olive oil from the orchard to store shelves. You’ll also read about the advances being made using geospatial technology to better prepare and mitigate natural disasters such as wildfires and flooding.
I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as interim dean until Dean Horgan joins the college this summer and will continue to move forward all of the great work that is being done in the college.
4
4
7 Cover Story
10
13
CULTIVATE is published for alumni and friends by the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES).
Julia Jackson-Clark (Graphic Communication, '19) juliajacksonclark.com
Printer
Lithographix
Los Angeles, California
Contributors
Lauren McEwen Fourth-year agricultural communication major
Staff Photographers
In gratitude, Jeremy James | Interim Dean
Stay connected on:
Morgan Elia Fourth-year agricultural communication major cafes.calpoly.edu
PHOTO ESSAY
FROM TREE to TABLE
Student efforts are at the heart of Cal Poly olive oil production
BY LAUREN MCEWEN
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.
Students of the Plant Sciences Department produced their second batch of Arbequina extra virgin olive oil from the 230 olive trees at the Crops Unit in the fall — which is available for purchase on campus and in a number of retail stores across San Luis Obispo. The first batch, made from fruit harvested in 2023, flew off the shelves.
The delectable golden liquid is the final step in a process that has come full circle since the orchard was planted in 2020 as a senior project envisioned by Joni Shaffery (Agricultural and Environmental Plant Sciences, ’20).
Students and a contracted crew harvested the olives and Kiler Ridge Mill in Paso Robles pressed them into oil. Pomace, remnants from the milling, was then used by the Cal Poly compost program.
Students are involved in every facet of olive production, said plant sciences Professor Lauren Garner, providing numerous Learn by Doing orchard management opportunities that are unique to the crop. This includes pruning the trees to “ease the task of harvesting the olives by hand and balance the crop load to reduce alternate bearing,” Garner said. In doing so, the orchard will produce a more consistent crop each year. Other tasks done by students include pest management, irrigation and monitoring the fruit’s ripeness.
Pest management is a critical aspect of maintaining the orchard. Fourth-year plant sciences major Chrisann Perivoliotis explained that she was "involved in the biological control release of a small wasp that parasitizes the olive
psyllid. It’s definitely the most unique, and one of the most memorable experiences I’ll take with me.” Students enrolled in the course, Biological Control for Pest Management, determined that the release, which was done in coordination with the California Department of Food and Agriculture resulted in parasitism of all of the orchard’s olive psyllids. Additionally, students in several classes participated in the deployment, monitoring and maintenance of traps that were part of the Integrated Pest Management program that helped control a key pest of olives, the olive fruit fly.
Perivoliotis works with the orchard crew to maintain the various orchards at the Crops Unit, doing everything from pruning, harvesting, fertilizer injections and irrigation management for all of the campus orchards, she said.
Perivoliotis even acquired professional experience from Kiler Ridge Mill, the same company that pressed Cal Poly’s olives into oil, through her connections with Cal Poly’s olive orchard. “I was able to work at the mill for a few weeks last season and it was a great experience,” she said. “The environment was really high paced, but it was awesome to be able to gain the knowledge of pressing olives and making oil firsthand.”
Cal Poly Olive Oil can be purchased at the downtown farmers market on Thursdays, the Cal Poly bookstore, Cal Poly Meats, Village Market on campus, at the Cal Poly U-Pick events on Saturdays, at the Poly Plant Shop, SLO Ranch Market and through Talley Farms’ Farm Box program.
HONORED ALUMNI
Tracy Pezzini (Agricultural Business, ’86), sixth from the left in the above photo, was named the 2024 Honored Alumni of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. She is the director of livestock operations for Bengard Ranch, a multigenerational farm that has been a premier grower in the Salinas Valley since the 1850s and is one of the region’s larger grower-shippers with operations in California, Arizona, Florida and Mexico. Both of her children, Haley Pezzini (Agricultural Business, ’17), pictured second from the right, and Wesley Pezzini (Animal Science, ’19), graduated from Cal Poly, and she has served on the college's Dean's Advisory Council since 2017. Pezzini is extremely proud of her Cal Poly heritage and has provided the college with invaluable counsel on numerous issues.
ASPIRE TO GROW
The seventh-annual student-led Aspire to Grow Conference exploring innovation in the food, agriculture and natural resource sectors was held Feb. 5. Student committee chairs Averie Konefat and Angeli Morales, both agricultural science majors, organized the event. Featured speakers included Joe Del Bosque, owner of Del Bosque Farms; Bailey Pankratz, college recruiter at Land O’Lakes, Anna Leigh Peek, North America talent programs manager at Nutrien Ag Solutions, Maeve Pesquera, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of luxury at O'Neill Vintners & Distillers and Edgar Torres, owner and winemaker of Bodega de Edgar and Hug Cellars. The event was sponsored by Nutrien.
UNIFIED
The college hosted an Alumni and Friends Reception at the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento, with students staffing a tradeshow booth during the two-day event in January.
WORLD AG EXPO
A group of CAFES Ambassadors hosted an information booth at the World Ag Expo in Tulare in February, meeting with prospective students and their families. In addition, more than 200 alumni and friends joined the college for a reception sponsored by Dust Bowl Brewing.
Brian Horgan
will join the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences as dean on July 1. Horgan currently serves as a professor and associate dean for faculty affairs and development in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University (MSU). He brings a wealth of experience and innovative leadership to the college. His past positions include chair of the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at MSU, as well as several leadership roles in the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota (UMN), including interim head and extension program leader. An expert in urban green space conservation, Horgan’s academic work focuses on developing systems-based metrics for resource sustainability. During his tenure at UMN, he led the Science of the Green Initiative, which raised funds for infrastructure and endowed graduate fellowships. “I am honored to join Cal Poly and contribute to the continued growth and success of one of the nation’s leading institutions for agricultural and environmental education,” Horgan said. “I look forward to working alongside the college’s students, faculty and staff to build on its strong foundation of hands-on learning and impactful research.”
NEW DEAN
Pioneering Pacemaker Research
Research with pigs opens pathways for interdisciplinary connections
BY ANNMARIE CORNEJO AND LAUREN MCEWEN
For Emma Barrett, standing vigilant with surgeons and veterinarians provides a glimpse into a life of animal and human connection. On one such day, the fourth-year animal science major, along with Daniel Bermudez, Elena Valiaveedan, Elizabeth Beebe and Molly Azevedo, stood attentive as a pacemaker was surgically implanted into a pig at the Cal Poly veterinary clinic.
The team of students were on hand to aid the surgeons and veterinarians with x-rays, ultrasounds and the handing off of any surgical tools that the surgeons needed during the procedure. The students also monitored the pig’s vitals during the surgery and assisted in administering anesthetic.
Cal Poly Animal Science Professors Rodrigo Manjarín, Kim Sprayberry and Rachael Lyons, partnered with Cal Poly’s Biological Sciences faculty Magdalena Maj, Michael Jones and Tim Spade, abdominal surgeon Joseph Manuel, the University of Southern California and MEDIPACE are leading cutting-edge research to develop a new treatment for gastrointestinal disorders in humans. The project, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is studying the efficacy of using a pacemaker to relieve chronic constipation and other gastrointestinal issues in humans. Pigs are an ideal translational model of human disorders due to their similarities to humans in anatomical structure and physiology.
“Being part of this enterprise has taught me integral skills in pre- and post-op care of the pigs through handson experience, skills that I am thankful to have learned and can carry into my future career,” Barrett said. “These experiences have reinforced the notion that devotion to their health and welfare is of the utmost importance.”
The research is timely as an increasing number of Americans, particularly older individuals, are experiencing gastrointestinal disorders such as chronic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome, Manjarín said, adding that pigs are helpful in studying these problems because of their similarities with humans.
During the surgical procedure three cables with stimulator leads and accelerometers were inserted into the pig and connected to the pacemaker that was implanted into the animal’s back. The pacemakers are meant to stimulate indirectly the gastrointestinal tract by activating the vagus and sacral nerves at the neck and sacrum, respectively. Currently, there is no solution for individuals battling chronic gastrointestinal issues such as constipation. It has been established that a pacemaker can stimulate the vagus nerve and now researchers are hoping the same can be done through the sacrum to stimulate the colon –which could ultimately provide a plausible treatment. Manjarín specializes in research on colonic inflammation and intestinal issues, which led researchers at the University of Southern California to seek the partnership. The opportunity was a win for student learning, he said. “Our program provides many Learn by Doing opportunities for Cal Poly students who are interested in doing biomedical research on campus,” he said. The hands-on opportunities for students are abundant — from assisting during surgery and recovery to collecting data and caring for the animals involved in the study at Cal Poly’s swine unit daily. In addition, students are responsible for running neurobehavioral tests on the animals to understand the effect of electrical stimulation on pig’s memory, anxiety and activity. There are 46 animal science students and eight biology students involved in the research study.
Bermudez, a second-year animal science major, said he continues to learn new skills with each opportunity. “The skills learned in this enterprise are a once in a lifetime opportunity because there is a lot of trust built for us to be involved,” he said. Molly Azevedo, a third-year animal science major on the pre-veterinary track, said that this research has given her a deep appreciation for the level of attention and dedication required to maintain the health and welfare of the animals. “I’m thrilled to have applied my experience as a certified veterinary assistant to help care for animals in such an important study. At the same time this project has given me exciting insights into animal research and its impact on human health,” she said.
“I'm thrilled to have applied my experience as a certified veterinary assistant to help care for animals in such an important study."
Brewing Knowledge
Students spearhead research in untapped cider industry
BY LAUREN MCEWEN
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. From spending an entire weekend milling 200 pounds of apples fresh from a local orchard to conducting critical, time-sensitive tests during fermentation, there is no shortage of firsts for De Pelsmaeker to learn from. With each day of work, she is bridging the gap of knowledge in cider production, a field of study with scant research, but a fast-growing segment of the alcoholic beverage market in the United States.
De Pelsmaeker (Food Science, ’24), along with Associate Professor Luis Castro, fourth-year food science major Tessa Murphree and fourth-year chemistry major Elizabeth Grinstead, is researching cider production techniques. She is no stranger to the research, having participated in Cal Poly’s annual BEACoN Research Scholars Symposium as an undergraduate while studying the effect of yeast selection on the chemical and sensory properties of hard cider. “What makes the cider-making field very interesting to me is that the methods currently used in the industry don’t have a lot that’s known about them,” she said.
Her current research is focused on the methods used to process apples into pomace, allowing the pomace to rest for a period of time before pressing through a process called maceration, followed by an enzymatic treatment prior to pressing the pomace into juice, culminating in its influence on the final cider product. These methods impact the flavor and mouthfeel of the cider, especially as the maceration technique and enzymes influence the alcohol content in the fermentation process.
“Cider makers are given a variety of options for what they should do without clearly knowing which approach will yield what result,” said De Pelsmaeker. “Professor Castro and I are researching these methods so that future projects can have a clearer understanding of what results can be expected from their respective approaches.”
Castro said that the research is essential to the industry. “We hope to understand how different processing techniques will affect the cider’s chemical and sensory properties and be able to provide tools for cider makers to improve the quality of their products,” he said.
While De Pelsmaeker’s research is ongoing, some significant findings have already been revealed, such as an increased efficiency in the enzyme treatments, potentially saving cider makers nearly a day’s worth of work, she said. The research has also shown potential in increasing the antioxidant content of ciders — another possible positive marketing point for those in the industry.
No research is without its challenges. “In the fermentation process it is difficult to create and maintain the perfect conditions for these microorganisms to thrive,” said De Pelsmaeker, adding that if fermentation goes awry, it could set back research progress for weeks. The delicate balance is one that she and her team have spent countless hours, including weekends, managing.
Support from the San Luis Obispo community plays a guiding role in the cider research at Cal Poly. Jeremy Fleming of SLO Cider Co. shared the importance of collaboration on research projects and has assisted Castro and De Pelsmaeker. “I’ve offered some professional advice on how to improve the fermentations, especially with regard to enzymes and polyphenols in traditional cider,” Fleming said. This adds a more robust flavor compared to modern ciders which offer a “cleaner style,” he added.
Fleming, who has also been a guest lecturer in Castro’s fermentation classes, said De Pelsmaeker’s methods for applying enzymes are also a “simple solution to a big project.” Her research fills a few gaps in knowledge on cider production. “It is always nice for cider makers to know how to improve their products,” Fleming said.
Advancing Wildfire Research Through LiDAR Technology GEOSPATIAL SYSTEMS
BY ANNMARIE CORNEJO
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.
The Geospatial Systems Lab at Cal Poly, launched by Professor Marc Horney, whose research is focused on rangeland ecology and management, uses LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology to scan complex, living landscapes and render them into virtual threedimensional representations of themselves at centimeter scales. Right now, the lab team is particularly focusing on fire-prone ecosystems along the Central Coast.
“We are leveraging high-resolution remote sensing to advance environmental science,” Horney said. “In the lab we have faculty and students from every college on campus with more than 15 majors represented working on research. That is the type of collaboration that is needed to solve problems as big as the ones we are facing.”
Research areas include fire and fuels behavior, ecosystem composition,
landscape-level biomass estimation, watershed management and multi-temporal terrain modeling. One such project was recently done for the city of San Luis Obispo to map potential creek obstructions in an effort to minimize future flooding. The lab’s advanced technology can penetrate below vegetation to the ground to see possible impediments to water flow.
To date, the lab’s research team, which includes more than 20 student lab assistants, has covered 1,500 acres of landscape varying from rangeland to forest and has provided more than 200 hours of training in using the advanced remote sensing techniques to students.
CROSS-CAMPUS COLLABORATION
Inspiration for the lab grew from an eightyear collaboration between Cal Poly’s Aerospace Engineering Department’s Autonomous Flight Lab and faculty and
"We are able to use a high-resolution camera that uses a multispectral imager to identify which plants are alive and healthy (doing photosynthesis) and which ones are dead or dying and drying out."
-MARC HORNEY
students in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. Currently funded by the Cal Poly Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) FIRE Institute, with additional support from the San Luis Obispo County Community Fire Safe Council, the majority of the research being done is fire focused but has many other ecological applications.
Horney’s most recent partnership with Inspired Flight, a local company manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles commonly referred to as drones, allows researchers to use sensor systems to gather data that can be applied to improve landscape level vegetation management and fire mitigation measures as a means to improve public safety and ecosystem health. The sensors attached to the aircraft contains a LiDAR (laser scanner) system, a digital camera and a multispectral imager. The laser produces 500,000 pulses per second. Photons from these pulses reflect off objects on the ground below. The system can recover up to five separate reflections from each pulse. If aimed at a tree or a shrub below the aircraft, the first photons in the pulse may reflect off a leaf at the top, the next off a branch within the canopy, after that off the stem below, then off another branch, and finally the last off the soil surface below the plant. A sensor on the scanner records the moment that each reflection returns and uses the position of the aircraft, the direction the beam was pointing and the time that elapsed between the pulse leaving and returning to the laser to pinpoint locations of the objects in a three-dimensional form. A 20-minute flight can easily generate a cloud of over a billion points with this system.
Faculty and students are currently operating this specialty system from two aircraft – the Inspired Flight Technology IF1200 hexacopter and an AeroVironment Vapor-55 electric helicopter. The lab’s student research assistants are also operating professional field survey equipment including two total stations and several GNSS survey systems for
establishing precise ground control, necessary for obtaining high levels of precision with the aerial LiDAR sensors. The research opportunities are endless, said Horney. “We are able to use a highresolution camera that uses a multispectral imager to identify which plants are alive and healthy (doing photosynthesis) and which ones are dead or dying and drying out,” he said. “The LiDAR directly gives us the physical dimensions of vegetation canopies on the land surface below — how tall, how continuous, how dense. Those are valuable metrics to firefighters. Owning this system allows us to re-measure these parameters as often as we like to discover how rapidly these parameters change over time and under different environmental conditions. That’s actually opening a gateway towards some exciting advances in fire ecology and mitigation and management.”
Students in the lab have a wide range of opportunities for hands-on learning. From learning how to earn a commercial remote pilot certification to learning how to fly different aircraft, students are exposed to the latest technology in the field. Students are also immersed in planning aerial surveys, creating and filing mission plans, preprocessing raw LiDAR and survey data and generating large-scale orthoimages from using professional photogrammetry software. Students are also learning how to organize and manage projects, assist with proposal development for project funding and manage and coordinate team activities.
Social sciences Associate Professor Andrew Fricker, who teaches geographic information systems (GIS) courses in Cal Poly’s College of Liberal Arts, spent more than eight years working for nonprofits, startups and multinational corporations in the commercial mapping and surveying industry and three years working as a researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He assists the project teams in data management.
“Not a lot of universities are doing the work that is happening in Cal Poly’s Geospatial
Systems Lab,” Fricker said. “It is new technology and has a lot of different applications across many disciplines and industries. Students are getting early exposure and a really valuable learning opportunity that not a lot of students have access to.”
STUDENTS AT THE FOREFRONT
Fourth-year environmental management and protection major Alex Lung has long been fascinated by seeing the world through a different perspective. “I was introduced to geospatial work in my classes and became interested in satellite maps and drone imagery and seeing the world that way,” Lung said, who has assisted in gathering survey points on the ground for the flights done by the research team. “Getting ground control points helps with improving accuracy and with LiDAR you want to be as specific as possible. When fire comes in, it starts low and goes high. In areas that are wooded, you can map the understory and get a clear understanding of what the fuel load looks like.” Lung said the experience he is gaining working with various equipment has furthered his career opportunities. “There will always be technical difficulties when working with equipment in the field and we are learning firsthand how to work through them,” he said.
BioResource and agricultural engineering Lecturer Rudy Schalk has a cadre of students, like Lung, who gather each Friday to learn more about surveying. It is those students who
are then trained to do ground control when drone data is collected. “We have specialized surveying equipment to very accurately measure things on the earth,” he said. “By using a GPS satellite network in orbit, we are then able to connect those points of measurement and determine the position of objects on earth within centimeters of their actual location,” he said. “Many of these students have a basic understanding of the process from their class labs, but going out into the real world offers challenges like downed trees, boulders and even rattlesnakes, that you wouldn’t encounter otherwise.”
The total stations used by students can cost upwards of $30,000 each, which means they aren’t often readily available in most programs for students to learn on. “It is a privileged opportunity to work with these stations,” Schalk said. “And because of that, these students have more skills coming out of Cal Poly than most.”
REVOLUTIONIZING WILDFIRE FUEL MANAGEMENT
Madison Muschetto, second-year graduate student in agriculture with a specialization in animal science, is focusing her research on the use of LiDAR and other technology for wildfire fuel classification.
“We are attempting to identify fuels in the landscape at a high resolution and large-scale using LiDAR for pre-fire management,” said Muschetto, who is interested in doing wildland work. “Both of my parents work for CAL FIRE, so fire
has always been a big part of my life. I’ve always been interested in fire and the landscape and Dr. Horney provided the opportunity to research in it at a highly technological level.”
Muschetto’s goal is to be able to use geospatial imaging to determine what vegetation exists and its characteristics such as height and density to allow landowners and other decision makers to determine priority areas for treatment. “This data can then be used to set the highest priority based on fuel loading and threat to a population,” she said. “It can be used to pinpoint which areas to focus on and to start there.”
She said the most rewarding part of the work is the opportunity to dive in and learn new skills like drone piloting and mapping with LiDAR. “I’ve been able to work with people from different backgrounds and majors and we continue to teach each other as we go along,” Muschetto said. “It is rewarding to work with a wide variety of people and gain and share knowledge with each other.”
The scope and magnitude of what can be accomplished with the advanced technologies is profound. “It is giving us the opportunity to survey and evaluate the land at a larger level,” she said. “On foot, you can only cover so many acres per day but with a drone you can cover more than 200 acres a day. As technology continues to advance with this lab and at other agencies, it will allow the environmental science arena to continue to flourish.”
DeanEmeritus HowardC . Brown
Nurturing the Future
Howard Brown's Impact with Named Facility BY
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, paying tribute to the former college leader whose mentorship many give credit to for their love of horticulture.
The enhanced 18,000-square-foot ornamental horticulture facility, initially opened in 1969, is now named in honor of Dean Emeritus Howard Brown (Ornamental Horticulture, ’43). Brown served at Cal Poly for more than 40 years, growing the ornamental horticulture program exponentially.
Alumnus and longtime dean’s advisory council member, Charles Walton (Ornamental Horticulture, ’66), donated more than $1 million to update and modernize the complex, asking that it be named in Brown’s honor. “It is not often that you get the chance to salute someone who has been so important in your life,” Walton told the crowd gathered at the celebration, many of whom traveled from throughout the state, and further, to attend.
Additional donors also pledged their support, including Emil Yappert, the Sakata Seed Company, HeadStart Nursery and Radicle Seed Company, the Chan family, Roger and Deanna Van Klaveren, and alums Tom Courtright and Jacqueline Williams-Courtright. “He was well respected in the industry and students loved him,” said Professor emerita Virginia Walter, who was recruited to Cal Poly by Brown and went on to teach students for 43 years before retiring. “He believed students came first.”
Celebrating
ANNMARIE CORNEJO
The greenhouse complex is a hands-on learning hub for students learning about controlled environment agriculture, vegetable production, floral production and design and disease and pest control management. Improvements include updated heating and cooling systems, automated ventilation and controls, new shade curtains, a polycarbonate headhouse and a new entrance bearing the complex’s new name, among other enhancements.
“We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to contribute to this exciting and impactful project,” Justin Davis, senior sales and marketing director of Sakata Seed America said. “This educational greenhouse complex serves as a valuable resource for students and educators and aligns with Sakata’s commitment to promoting horticultural stewardship and mentorship for future generations of leaders in the seed industry and beyond.”
Karen Watts (Ornamental Horticulture, ’79), chair of the college’s dean’s advisory council, helped spread the word about the dedication ceremony. “We are gathered to celebrate the legacy of Howard Brown and the impact he had on generations of students,” Watts told the crowd. “On behalf of all past, current and future students, my sincere thank you to all the donors that made these enhancements possible.”
Alumna Jeannie Hume (Ornamental Horticulture, ’77) traveled from San Diego to attend the event, reuniting with friends and classmates she hadn’t seen in years. She just recently retired after owning and operating a floral shop called Crystal Gardens in Poway, California, for 40 years. “He was just so giving to his students and encouraging,” said Hume of Brown. “Because of that, we wanted to be the best we could be.”
“It is not often that you get the chance to salute someone who has been so important in your life."
- Charles Walton (Ornamental Horticulture, '66)
To leave your legacy and support Learn by Doing at the greenhouses, donate today at bit.ly/environmentalhorticulture or by scanning the QR code.
Kelly Schwenger
Forest and Fire Sciences, ’24
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. Then the LNU Lightning Complex Fires of 2020 happened, burning more than 360,000 acres across five counties, and she knew her path was set. Today, she is a member of an elite, specialized crew of CAL FIRE helitack firefighters at Boggs Mountain Helitack in Cobb, California, who respond to wildfires by helicopter.
What does a helitack firefighter do? Why did you choose that job?
Helitack firefighters provide an aggressive initial attack on fires in wilderness areas. They also do air rescue by deploying by a cable from the helicopter down to patients to retrieve them, passenger transport and assist in moving both cargo and crews to and around the fire. I chose this job because I love wildland firefighting and the aviation program. Helitack brings both sides together, as well as the air rescue component.
What thoughts are going through your mind as you are preparing to arrive at a fire?
When we get dispatched to a fire I always listen for the location because it will be a big indicator of the fuel model and, based on the weather, the fire severity. While en route I’m actively looking for the smoke column while we fly to prepare myself for a sprint or a marathon depending on the size of the fire.
Are you ever afraid?
No, we have very good pilots and our supervisors are highly trained and keep us informed.
Tell me a little about some of the experiences you have had so far? How many fires have you been deployed to?
Last year was a busy year and I got to go on numerous fires. During the peak of the summer, we could potentially go to more than two fires a day. This job is so rewarding and having the ability to respond to calls via helicopter is an incredible experience and allows you to see a different perspective of being a first responder.
California is facing a growing wildfire threat due to climate change, drought and increased fuel loads. So far this year, 58,108 acres have burned in California, with more than 578
wildfires. What is your hope for the future of California and what role do you play in that?
My hope for the future of California is to prioritize fuel reduction through prescribed fire and thinning of overgrown timber fuel models. The forestry industry has a heavy focus on cutting and replanting to bring California forests back to their natural state before extreme fire suppression and devastating fires. Down the road, I hope to end up as a forester and continue to help promote healthy forests.
How did your time and experiences at Cal Poly help prepare you for the job?
My experiences at Cal Poly prepared me for the field I work in today. Knowing about fuel modeling and fire behavior is one of the many takeaways from Cal Poly that I apply to my job on a daily basis.
While a part of the Cal Poly Loggers team, how many times were you named the Belle of the Woods (top female competitor)? Did it give you skills that are helping you in the field today?
I was the Belle of the Woods three times — twice at the Annual Western Forestry Conference and once at Cal Conclave. The logging team opened many doors for me from networking to exploring multiple career avenues. I gained many skills on the logging team that I use today, from public speaking to running chainsaws.
What advice would you give to students who want to follow a similar path?
I would recommend attending every forestry conference and joining the logging team, as well as the Society of American Foresters and Society of Fire Ecology — all of which educated me on the forestry and fire sector, exposing me to endless career opportunities and reassuring me of the career path I wanted to pursue.
Progress Underway at Two New Centers for Learning
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.
Champions Tour
Six CAFES students were among the 27 outstanding students honored at the 2025 Champions Tour in Sacramento at the State Capitol, celebrating their achievements and impact. Jack Busch, Marc Cabeliza, Victoria Chau, Marlene Delgado, Reagan Denny and Caroline Kargenian proudly represented the college.
DRESSAGE TEAM CLAIMS TITLE
Cal Poly Dressage Team hosted its home show in February at the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center, claiming the Region U Intercollegiate Dressage Association Hight Point Team title. Animal science majors Lily-Rose Bacon, Kaileen Grace, Caroline Kargenian and Lucas Rupp advanced to the national competition in St. Louis, Missouri.
World of Pinot
Cal Poly students helped host the World of Pinot Noir Tech Symposium, setting up the tasting mats and glassware, participating in tasting and critiquing of flights and talking with industry attendees. Products tasted were wines with problems or defects from the 2024 vintage.
FRESH TRACKS
Four CAFES students shared their personal experiences of being first-generation college students at the annual Fresh Tracks event in January. Brooklyn McGruder, Maya Tjan, Luis Cruzgarcia and Dayana Santiago answered questions and gave advice on maximizing the value of a college education. Their stories and desire to improve the diversity of the college’s students are paving the way for future firstgeneration students to find their place at Cal Poly.
AGRICULTURAL COMMUNICATORS OF TOMORROW
Third-year agricultural communication major Andrew Angulo is serving as the National President of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT). In January, he traveled to Oklahoma State University for the National ACT Professional Development Conference, a student-led event focused on professional growth for ACT members nationwide. Angulo presented at one of the sessions on civic engagement in agriculture, sharing agricultural policies from California and their economic and political implications on American agriculture.
National Landscape Competition
A team of 12 students from the Plant Sciences Department competed in the National Collegiate Landscape Competition at Colorado State University in March, with two top-three finishes and several top-10 finishes in individual events. One student, Emma Whitehead, placed fourth overall out of 727 students. Cal Poly placed 17th out of 54 schools, the highest-placing school of teams with 12 or fewer members.
WESTERN BONANZA
More than 215 students took the reins to fully manage every aspect of the 40th annual Western Bonanza Junior Livestock Show. Students managed everything from the show rings and facility operations to sponsorships, awards and media coverage. Through the ASCI 212 and 412 classes, students gain hands-on experience each year in planning, organizing and executing the largest and most prestigious student-run junior livestock show in the nation.
Cal Poly AT THE CAPITOL
Students in the course AG 452: Current Trends and Issues in California Agriculture traveled to Sacramento, presenting comprehensive research on California agricultural issues including water, agricultural literacy, labor, policy and climate change to industry leaders and government officials. The students also met with California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross, assembly members and senators. This marks the 24th class since the program's founding in 2001 by George Soares, now having prepared over 500 students through this transformative professional experience.
California Agriculture Day
College Ambassadors Megan Dixon and Anna Bibby represented the college at California Agriculture Day at the State Capitol in March. The annual event, hosted in partnership with California Women for Agriculture and the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, celebrates the state’s agricultural industry by highlighting its diverse crops and commodities. Ag Day brings together farmers, ranchers, legislators and the public to promote agricultural education and appreciation. This year, attendees also had the opportunity to hear from California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass, who shared insights on the significance of agriculture in our state.
LEGACY OF LEARNING
Bryant Low Soil Analysis Lab dedication solidifies funding for soil science research
BY ANYA REHON
Tucked away on the second floor of the Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathematics , faculty and students in the Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences Department are hard at work conducting research in the newly named Bryant Low Soil Analysis Lab, examining and testing soil samples to determine environmental impacts and conducting soils research related to environmental, forest and fire health, production agriculture, carbon sequestration, and water quality. A gift from Cal Poly alumnus Bryant Low (Biology, ’58) provided generous funding for the lab in perpetuity — ensuring that the department has the financial resources it needs to support faculty-driven soil science research and maintain the lab’s analytical equipment.
The lab first opened in 2013, serving as a collaborative research space for faculty and students and featuring several pieces of highly specialized equipment used in soil analysis. For Assistant Professor Seeta Sistla, the lab is foundational to her research. “As faculty, we believe in the work we are doing for environmental health and wellbeing,” she said. “One of the reasons I came to Cal Poly was to have access to state-of-the-art-equipment.”
One area of Sistla’s research focuses on the accumulation of microplastics in soils of well-managed strawberry farms throughout California and its impact on the environment, food security and human health. For the project, soil samples from a dozen fields across the state were tested and processed in the lab, all exhibiting macro and microplastic contamination. Access to the lab’s equipment made
getting results much faster than having to ship the samples elsewhere for testing.
“One of the advantages of having this equipment is it allows us to specialize in our research. We are able to do analysis with a quick turnaround time,” said Craig Stubler, lab technician. “Mr. Low’s bequest allows us to have consistent funding for instrument maintenance and repair. We will also be able to better plan for instrument upgrades or replacements with this generous funding.”
Prior to Low’s passing in 2021, he had a successful career as a chiropractor and grew almonds on a 40-acre parcel in Le Grand, California, where he developed a passion for soil and plant health. In early March, the department unveiled the naming of the lab in honor of his legacy, bringing together Low’s closest friends with faculty and students from the Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences Department.
Assistant Professor Stewart Wilson, along with a team of students and faculty in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, is using the lab as he leads a multidisciplinary team researching and developing preventative fire-retardant products that are less toxic to soils, plants and the environment. Wilson is thankful for Low’s long-term vision in supporting soil science research at Cal Poly and expressed the gratitude that he and his colleagues all feel. “We are all incredibly grateful for Mr. Low’s generous bequest and are committed to fulfilling his legacy wishes to make Cal Poly the leader in applied soil science research in California," he said.
If you would like to make a lasting impact by adding Cal Poly to your estate plan, please contact Cal Poly’s Office of Gift Planning for more information at legacy@calpoly.edu or 805-756-7125.
Invest in STUDENT SUCCESS
Cal Poly is committed to student success. We bring learning into the field, the farm and the forest in order to help address the diverse agricultural and environmental needs of California and beyond. Your support strengthens student access to vital Learn by Doing opportunities.
I chose Cal Poly because of its strong emphasis on hands-on learning and its commitment to preparing students for real-world careers. The university’s Learn by Doing motto ensures that students gain practical experience in their field, equipping them with the skills necessary to succeed in the industry. The well-invested programs in agriculture provide invaluable exposure to real-life scenarios, allowing students to understand and apply their knowledge effectively. Your support directly contributes to my ability to take full advantage of Cal Poly’s resources, internships and research opportunities that will shape my future in the industry.”
URIEL FIGUEROA, fourth-year agricultural systems management major
CONTACT: Anya Rehon Advancement Coordinator
805-756-2161 | arehon@calpoly.edu
California Polytechnic State University
1 Grand Avenue
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407-0250
New beginnings at Cal Poly: Spring foals graze peacefully beneath Bishop Peak, representing the next generation of the college's renowned equine program. STAY CONNECTED /CalPolySLOCAFES /calpoly_cafes /calpoly_cafes /calpoly-cafes
