Dean Wendt in a newly completed biological sciences lab inside the the William and Linda Frost Center for Research and Innovation. Photos by ALEXIS KOVACEVIC

Impacting students, communities and beyond

APRIL 2023
FROM DEAN WENDT, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

I am thrilled to announce the publication of the first Cal Poly College of Science and Mathematics Undergraduate Research magazine. 

This inaugural edition highlights outstanding scholarly contributions by students, faculty and staff in departments across the college, and it demonstrates that our students today have unprecedented opportunities to engage in one of the most powerful forms of Learn by Doing — the scholarship of discovery. 

Undergraduate research coupled with top-notch classroom and laboratory instruction distinguishes Cal Poly and our college as one of the nation’s premier institutions for undergraduate
education.

Undergraduate research coupled with top-notch classroom and laboratory instruction distinguishes Cal Poly and our
college as one of the nation’s premier institutions for undergraduate education. 

In this issue, you will learn about research conducted by undergraduates focused on breast cancer subtype diagnostic modeling, public perception of vaping, mathematical game theory, offshore wind energy infrastructure and seasonal changes in oceanography of the Central Coast.

The institutional growth of our college has been substantial, and I have witnessed that progress firsthand. I arrived at Cal Poly as a first-generation transfer student in 1989 and quickly grew captivated by the amazing science and mathematics faculty who engaged me in the highest quality classroom and laboratory settings. Through their care and intention, I discovered that I was a scientist.                         

While a few faculty had active research programs when I was a student, most had dedicated their professional careers to teaching. That dedication rightly built the reputation of this university, and it changed my life.

As an undergraduate, I worked to find a research opportunity in marine biology at Diablo Canyon Power Plant, where they studied how to control biofouling (the accumulation of plants and animals on human made structures) of the facility’s once-through cooling system. The experience was valuable and formative and served as an important springboard to gaining admission to several respected doctoral programs.

I can proudly say that research opportunities at the undergraduate level in our college are now the norm, not the exception — truly a mark of excellence that we set for ourselves and met with hard-earned results.

The investments of our faculty to curate research opportunities and seek competitive grants, the decades of dedication of Dean Emeritus Philip Bailey, and the vision of donors William and Linda Frost to support undergraduate research have enabled us to develop unparalleled capacity for undergraduates and faculty to collaborate in an activity  that produces deep learning, solves important problems facing society and extends our Learn by Doing curriculum
to explore the limits of knowledge.

In generating new knowledge, our students develop predictions about nature and society, and form robust collaborations with peers. They are faced with and solve unanticipated challenges. They build community and contribute new discoveries that create meaningful knowledge to support basic science, various industries, government agencies throughout California and the world.

We take pride in providing research opportunities for students because we are a community dedicated to their success. The growth in research in the College of Science and Mathematics has happened precisely because we understand how impactful it is on the learning and growth of our students — and our world is better for it. 

Sincerely, 

Dean E. Wendt
Dean, College of Science and Mathematics
 

Wendt in the Frost Center atrium spanning all four levels of the building's interior.