Cal Poly presidential candidate Carlo Montemagno is currently the dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. In the 30 years since he earned his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, Montemagno has worked for the Navy, received a doctorate and started his career in academia.
After earning his bachelor’s of science for agricultural and biological engineering from Cornell in 1980, Montemagno joined the Navy to serve in the civil engineering corps for 10 years. He then went to Penn State University, where he got a master’s degree in petroleum and natural gas engineering. He went on to get his Ph.D. in civil engineering and geological sciences from Notre Dame University.
Montemagno then returned to Cornell to start his academic career as a professor. He went on to become the chair of the bioengineering department at University of California, Los Angeles.
Under Montemagno, Cincinnati’s College of Engineering was ranked 75th in the nation among schools that offer a doctorate degree, by U.S. News and World Report. Cal Poly’s engineering program was ranked 6th for schools that do not offer a doctorate program. The University of Cincinnati is about twice the size of Cal Poly and is nearly 200 years old.
Montemagno was the recipient of the Feynman Prize for Experimental Work in Nanotechnology as well as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nanomedicine. He is also the co-director of the NASA Center for Cell Mimetic Space Exploration.
His research has focused on “building a blood cell-size ‘submarine’ intended for critical medical maneuvers inside the human body,” according to the Lifeboat Foundation.
Montemagno has numerous patents based on his research in nanotechnology.
Cal Poly Vice President of Student Affairs Cornell Morton said he hopes the next president will support students, noting that he was biased in his wish.
“I am hopeful that we get a student-centered president,” he said. “Like President Baker has been.”
Morton said while he doesn’t know too much about Montemagno, he hopes that no matter who becomes president, students still have a voice in the decision-making process.
Montemagno will visit campus today. He will be present to answer students’ questions from 10:50 a.m. till 11:30 in Chumash Auditorium. There will also be a faculty forum from 1:10 to 1:50 p.m. in Alex and Faye Spanos Theatre and an open forum from 4:10 to 5:30 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Laboratories.