Winter 2026 - Cal Poly Magazine
The Magazine For Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Winter 2026
In This Issue
Past Issues
About the Magazine
Pitch a Story
Alumni Updates
The Magazine For Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Winter 2026
In This Issue
Past Issues
About the Magazine
Pitch a Story
Alumni Updates
Featured
Featured
What Leadership Looks Like
When Nailah DuBose completed her bachelor’s degree, she left a legacy of change and community. Now a graduate student, DuBose reflects on her leadership journey.
Featured
I Am Polytechnic
At a university whose name literally means "many skills," meet four students driven to excel in multiple ways.
Featured
This Class Is On Fire
In a unique class last fall, a group of students worked with fire professionals to set a portion of university land ablaze.
Polytechnic
Rose Float’s Grand Prize
Best in the West — Again!
A Refreshed Library
Blast Off
Form and Function
Harvest by the Numbers
Blast from the Past
Quarterly
About Campus
History on Display
A research team’s heartfelt historical exhibit tells the story of a Japanese American family who farmed the Central Coast — a capstone in more than a year of anthropological research.
Mustang Report
Connecting Six Continents
With one of the most internationally diverse rosters in Division I, the men’s basketball team is finding strength in their differences as it rallies around a common goal.
How I Learn by Doing
Making Memories with ASI Events
A student manager at ASI Events talks about how she creates unforgettable experiences that make campus feel like home.
Questions & Answers
What’s next for Swanton Pacific Ranch?
Five years after the CZU Lightning Complex Fire, Swanton Pacific Ranch’s director says the ranch is regaining its strength and building for the future.
Editor's Desk
The Meaning of Polytechnic
Editor Larry Peña discusses the value of being a jack-of-all-trades — and a master of bringing them all together.
Big Picture
One Giant Tree
In early July, a caravan of Cal Poly professors, students and renowned botanists went to Stanislaus National Forest to take updated measurements of the largest Sierra juniper tree on Earth for the California Big Tree Registry.
Alumni
Alumni
Getting Ready for Takeoff
Air Force engineer Ivan Cheng’s time as Cal Poly Scholar prepared him for a career fueled by a love of flight and a passion for service.
Alumni
What's Your iQ?
Generations of alumni entrepreneurs returned to celebrate 20 years of Cal Poly’s Innovation Quest — a critical launchpad for budding ventures.
Alumni
Craft Center Keepsakes
Hear from alumni who have held on to their handmade treasures they created at the ASI Craft Center long after graduation.
The Last Word
The Edge of Experience
As the requirements for entry-level roles get steeper, President Armstrong explores how Cal Poly is doubling down on practical experience.
Latest News
Five Top Stories from 2025
Plus five you may have missed.
Snakes on Screen
New study shows livestreams may improve rattlesnakes’ reputation.
Built to Fly
Aerospace engineering students transform sheet metal into a working airplane.
Rewind
Can 'The Martian' Get Us to Mars?
Media researcher David Kirby explores the intersection of science fiction and real life space exploration.
Opportunities in Orbit
Cal Poly’s CubeSat Lab broke barriers. Two decades later, students are still rewriting the story.
Victor Glover
As the engineering alumnus gets ready for a historic voyage beyond the moon, he shares how Learn by Doing prepared him to face the unknown.
SUPPORT CAL POLY
In This Issue
Past Issues
About the Magazine
Pitch a Story
Alumni Updates
Web Accessibility Statement
Privacy Notice