Richard Emberley is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Cal Poly, specializing in Fire Protection Engineering. With years of experience working in Structural Engineering and around Fire Safety, Emberley combined both fields to teach graduate courses in Fire Protection Mechanical Engineering. He provides numerous stories about various projects he has worked on, information about the field, and some advice for current students at Cal Poly.
Aug 12, 2019•30 min•Ep. 38
Themis Mastoridis is an assistant professor in the physics department with research interests including accelerator physics, beam dynamics, and control theory. He has worked with the Large Hadron Collider and Super Proton Synchrotron at CERN, bringing students with him to assist in his research.
Jul 30, 2019•23 min•Ep. 37
The Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship or (CIE) opens a world of entrepreneurial opportunity to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members and promotes entrepreneurial activity and dialogue across the university and throughout San Luis Obispo. The 12 week summer CIE accelerator program matches student entrepreneurs with a diverse pool of mentors and speakers who help guide and support them throughout the summer. In addition to hands-on mentorship and weekly workshops, comp...
Jul 16, 2019•18 min
Matt Maxwell is the CEO and co-founder of BoltAbout, an electric bike company based in San Luis Obispo. Having studied Business Administration and Finance at Cal Poly, Matt’s strong entrepreneurial drive and spirit has allowed him to build and grow start-ups such as BoltAbout, from an idea he had one summer his third year at Cal Poly into what it has become today. Utilizing his background in business, entrepreneurship and his positive attitude, he and his team are working hard to create sustaina...
Jul 11, 2019•28 min•Ep. 36
Stavros is an international student from Greece and is currently working towards obtaining his master's degree in aerospace engineering. He is a member of the aerospace team at the Cal Poly CubeSat laboratory, PolySat where he is highly involved in a variety of projects. Through his involvement on campus, he has gained lots of experience working in cleanrooms and performing hands-on work.
Jul 03, 2019•29 min•Ep. 35
Megan Rivoire is the coordinator for the campus Center for Service in Action. She first became involved with this program during her first year as a student here at Cal Poly. After graduating, she worked for various organizations in the nonprofit sector through Americorps before eventually coming back to work at Cal Poly.
Jun 27, 2019•29 min•Ep. 34
Kate Ballantyne is a Deputy Director at the County Public Works Department in San Luis Obispo. An alumnus from Cal Poly and University of California Santa Barbara, Kate has worked with different groups including CalTrans, Cal Poly, and the County of San Luis Obispo where she currently works. With a ton of experience under her belt, Kate’s expertise shines brightly.
Jun 22, 2019•23 min•Ep. 33
Hayley is one of the founders of SLO Motion Film, a new local film company and film festival organizer based out of San Luis Obispo, CA. With tons of experience in the film industry under her belt, Hayley and SLO Motion Film help give independent storytellers the platform to allow them to share their stories, ideas, and experiences to inspire and motivate their audiences.
Jun 16, 2019•32 min•Ep. 32
“Jedi Master” Jason Linn , as students call him, took many different career paths before ending up at Cal Poly as a lecturer for the History Department. From dreaming of running for state office to changing his area of study from classics to history, Linn continued to the next challenge of his life: becoming a history professor. Linn went to CU Boulder and UCSB for his Masters and PhD, and now shares his wide knowledge with Cal Poly students through story-telling with costumes and props....
Jun 12, 2019•25 min•Ep. 31
Amelia Meyerhoff is a senior at Cal Poly and will be graduating with a degree in English. For her Senior Project, she conducted a research investigation called “The Clapback” where she interviewed 61 survivors of sexual violence. Her research focused on the experiences of each survivor and how the lasting effects of sexual violence impacts their daily lives.
Jun 09, 2019•26 min•Ep. 30
Owen Main is the sports photographer for Cal Poly Athletics, shooting photography to showcase the best of what our athletics have to offer. An alumnus of Cal Poly, Owen has worked hard to establish himself as a creative and his passion shines through his stories and advice he shares throughout his time as a photographer and as a professional.
Jun 04, 2019•32 min•Ep. 29
Tyree is a SLO-native and Animal Science senior at Cal Poly. She began participating in rodeos at the age of 4 and has continued all the way through her college career. Recently, she won the title of Rodeo Queen at the Cal Poly Rodeo. Even after college, Cochrane hopes to continue being involved with pro rodeos.
May 30, 2019•27 min•Ep. 28
Rose is the founder of BooBees, a local surf company specializing in creating sustainable surf wax while working to empower women all around the globe. A former student at Cal Poly studying biology, Rose has worked hard to create a brand that is not only environmentally friendly and does the job right but also helps support women in the surfing industry all at the same time. Her passion for surfing and entrepreneurship shines very brightly and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for Rose ...
May 28, 2019•33 min•Ep. 27
Dr. Watts found her passion for science at a very young age through a science fair project regarding compost and was influenced by her parents who both have PhDs in science fields. She was a chemistry major during her undergrad, originally on the physician track, but switched to studying molecular discovery in natural products in graduate school at UC Santa Cruz. Dr. Watts is very interested in biological activity, isolating molecules and seeing what causes their activity, and enjoys studying ac...
May 23, 2019•29 min•Ep. 26
Victor J. Glover, Jr. was selected as an astronaut in 2013 while serving as a Legislative Fellow in the United States Senate. He is currently training for Crew-1, the first post-certification mission of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft – the second crewed flight for that vehicle – and a long duration mission aboard the International Space Station. Glover and his crewmates are working closely with SpaceX to develop their new spacecraft systems, which will provide roundtrip crew transportation serv...
May 21, 2019•10 min•Ep. 25
Jason Reynolds is the founder of Jinxbot 3D Printing, a service business focused in hobby printing, rapid prototyping, and product design for businesses in the Bay Area and around the world! Graduating from Cal Poly in 2009 as an Industrial Technology major, Jason went on to work for a number of different companies before founding Jinxbot 3D Printing. His passion for not only 3D printing but entrepreneurship shines brightly throughout his work in various fields, including medical applications an...
May 17, 2019•22 min•Ep. 24
Haley Pavone was a student at Cal Poly when she had an idea for her very own startup, creating convertible shoes that can go from fancy heel to functional sandal in a matter of seconds. In just a few months, she began pitching her idea to the Hatchery and entering entrepreneurship competitions to progress her business plan. After many months of planning, prototyping, and finding funding, Pavone was able to launch Pashion Footwear.
May 14, 2019•30 min•Ep. 23
Dr. Bridger is an author and history professor at Cal Poly. She earned her undergraduate degree at Brown University and her PhD at Columbia University. Stemming from a postgraduate dissertation, she published “Scientists at War: The Ethics of Cold War Weapons Research.” Now, Bridger is focused on teaching several history classes at Cal Poly, including United States History since 1865 and Cold War Science and Society.
May 10, 2019•28 min•Ep. 22
Dr. Askay is a Communication Studies professor with a background in organizational science, a field that combines sociology, physiology, management and communication. Before coming to Cal Poly in 2013, he taught small group and business communication at UNC Charlotte as well as English in Japan. Dr. Askay shares an eclectic mix of stories from couch surfing across Europe, joining the Yelp Elite Squad and implementing design thinking in his classes at Cal Poly.
May 09, 2019•35 min•Ep. 21
Emma Chow is a conservationist for the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Her office is based in Santa Maria but covers all of Santa Barbara County. She graduated from Cal Poly with a Bachelor’s degree in environmental protection and management and has been working for the NRCS ever since. She has worked up and down the coast of California to help farmers make their farms more viable businesses. Chow is appreciative of her education and how it has influenced her in pursuing a f...
May 06, 2019•30 min•Ep. 20
Casey is a senior Journalism major at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. A former starter for the Cal Poly football team, Casey and a few other students created the SLO-based band Golfdads, a student funk rock band which has gained traction in the area. Casey is using his passion and his drive to turn his dream into a reality with the help of like-minded individuals, creating EPs on Spotify and even playing at events for the San Luis Obispo community.
Apr 30, 2019•30 min•Ep. 19
Peter Zwart graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in Business Administration, concentrating in Human Resources and Management. He stayed at Cal Poly to get his masters degree in Business Analytics. During his time at Cal Poly, Peter had two internships: one with Disney and one with Target. Both internships allowed Zwart to do what he is passionate for, communicating with others. Now, Zwart continues his passion for talking to people through his job at Cipher as a Client-Analytics Associate....
Apr 28, 2019•30 min•Ep. 18
David is a 4th year Finance major at Cal Poly and founder of Roopairs, an online platform that allows restaurateurs to connect with commercial service providers. David has lots of experience in the restaurant industry and passion for the industry itself. He and his brother are utilizing their knowledge and passion to build a platform that makes maintenance in restaurants that much easier.
Apr 23, 2019•31 min•Ep. 17
Dr. Abercromby is a professor in the Aerospace Department at Cal Poly. She obtained her undergraduate degree from UCLA in Astrophysics, and her masters and Ph.D. from University of Colorado, Boulder in Aerospace Engineering. Her thesis entails determining the material type of orbiting objects for material identification of orbital debris.
Apr 20, 2019•31 min•Ep. 16
Eric Dreischerf graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in mechanical engineering. During his time at Cal Poly, Eric and a group of other Cal Poly students built a drone and placed in second place at an international contest. Now, Eric pursues his passion for robotic-like tools such as a fluoro diving and wishes to explore further.
Apr 16, 2019•33 min•Ep. 15
Jolie Higgins is a graduate student at Cal Poly after receiving her undergrad in environmental engineering. She has been involved in Engineers Without Borders, taking on project leads, and traveling to Fiji with the group. Her current research focuses on the drastic decline of eelgrass in Morro Bay where she is taking a chemistry approach to help solve the problem.
Apr 13, 2019•20 min•Ep. 14
For the past two years, James Whelan has conducted research on the local rattlesnakes in the San Luis Obispo County. With a deep fascination for snakes since he was a kid, his work in the lab has been an unbelievable experience. He has devoted his time to working with these reptiles, fetching data on how climate change has affected them, in order to protect the future of this incredible species.
Apr 10, 2019•28 min•Ep. 13
Dr. Jenkins is a philosophy professor focusing on the ethics of new technologies. With multiple publications, he has spread his knowledge across the nation, presenting to large private firms. At Cal Poly, he challenges his students to explore the challenging questions that our society faces through our technological advancements.
Feb 14, 2019•26 min
Sidney is finishing up her degree in biomedical engineering with a focus in electrical and minor in applied math. Eager to work abroad, she conducted her own research while interning at Mensia Technologies in Paris, France. She is now the founder and CEO of De Oro Devices and created a device capable of alleviating and preventing the freezing of gait episodes experienced by patients with Parkinson’s.
Dec 07, 2018•23 min
Kieran is a recent graduate with a degree in business entrepreneurship. What started as a senior project has now turned into the company Clove, a product allowing users to grow fresh ingredients right in their kitchen. The smart device takes care of everything from watering to feeding to lighting. Kieran is one of the founders and takes the lead on the business development side of the company.
Dec 05, 2018•23 min
