February 5, 2004

Contact: Amy Hewes
(805) 756-6402, ahewes@calpoly.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cal Poly Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Wins National Design Contest

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Teams from the Cal Poly chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers won first and third places in the national 2004 Design Contest sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Foundation.

The winning design and prototype was a “multifunctional wireless audio adapter,” a device that can broadcast the signal of a cell phone, MP3 player or CD player through a car FM stereo receiver. Because the "dock," or holder, also carries a microphone, it allows for wireless, hands-free cellular phone conversations.

First-place team members included electrical engineering graduate student José Becerra from Piru, Calif., mechanical engineering senior Angel Aleman from Los Angeles, mechanical engineering senior Hernaldo Gutierrez from Los Angeles, business administration senior Marianet Rodriguez from Salinas, electrical engineering senior Ruben Magana from Bakersfield, and engineering graduate student Sandra Fernandez from Watsonville.

“The submitted designs had to be for a commercially marketable product that improves the quality of life,” said team leader Becerra. “We think the adapter not only is very functional, but it can help reduce the number of driving accidents that are caused by cell phone use.”

The third-place team created an “automated hand cleanser” to improve sanitation in public facilities by combining a sensor-activated water faucet with an automatic soap dispenser. Team members included computer engineering senior Abi Arroyo from Watsonville, aerospace engineering sophomore Carlos Hurtado from Santa Clara, industrial technology major Lucio Castillo Escamilla from Temple City, mechanical engineering major Miguel Trujillo from Pixley, and civil engineering sophomore Salvador Heredia from Dinuba, plus two members of the first-place team, mechanical engineering senior Gutierrez from Los Angeles and business administration senior Rodriguez from Salinas.

The design contest was held during the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers' recent National Technical Career Conference in Chicago. The competition consisted of three phases: submitting a preliminary design, submitting a detailed design, and presenting the design to a panel of judges at the conference. Ten of the society's student chapters were chosen as finalists, including Cal Poly, Carnegie Mellon, UCLA, UC Berkeley and the University of Washington.

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NOTE TO EDITORS: For photos of the winning teams, contact Amy Hewes in the College of Engineering at (805) 756-6402 or ahewes@calpoly.edu.