Time Capsule
Recording and Remembering the Semester Conversion - Matthieu Gol
This Fall, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo enacted a semester-based academic calendar, leaving behind over one hundred years of the quarter-system. Our campus is the last California State University (CSU) to adopt semesters, joining the other CSU schools in a harmonized academic calendar. Cal Poly’s ambitious change from quarters to semesters spanned four and a half years and required the efforts of every faculty and staff member.
The “Semester Conversion Time Capsule” is a 2025 Mechanical Engineering senior project designed and manufactured by Matthieu Gol, Viki Sarmasi, Maximus La Via, and Tuyetthuc “Diu” Nguyen, and sponsored by Dr. Rachel Fernflores, director and project manager of the Semester Conversion team. The time capsule walls are made of walnut and red oak with the front face featuring a framed photo of Engineering III among laser engraved texts. Inspired by the local terrain that SLO sits around, the lid features a topographic map of SLO on a glue up of lacewood and red oak. The interior features a SLO panorama and a custom Cal Poly logo made with purple heart wood. By placing the purple heart deep inside the time capsule, the beauty and dark purple color of the exotic wood is preserved from UV radiation for the next half century. The items inside range from administrative documents to “Learn By Doing” projects created by students. This project was completed entirely on campus with manufacturing machines in the student shops of Mustang ’60 and the Aero Hangar.
The “Semester Conversion Time Capsule” commemorates a legacy of, arguably, the largest change Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo has successfully implemented. Further, it demonstrates the strength of our engineering program through the Learn By Doing motto. The locking of the capsule marks both the end of tradition and the start of a new chapter here at Cal Poly.
Please find a video recording of the routing of the topographical map lid of the time capsule on YouTube.
