Cogswell Polytechnical College is pleased to announce that The Offering, the first animated, short film produced under the umbrella of the Project X class, has been selected for screening at the 11^th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival. The festival takes place from April 22 to 29, 2010.

The Offering will screen on April 25 at the Edwards Islands 2 Cinema inside the Fashion Island Mall during the A Short Toon Up program that begins at 7:15. For directions and to purchase tickets, please visit the Festival website. Film Director Michael Huber, will attend the screening and participate in the Q&A session following the screening.

The Newport Beach Film Festival seeks to bring to Orange County the best of classic and contemporary filmmaking from around the world. Committed to enlightening the public with a first-class international film program, a forum for cultural understanding and enriching educational opportunities, the Festival focuses on showcasing a diverse collection of studio and independent films. The Festival supports the creation and advancement of innovative and artistic cinematic works of both emerging and seasoned filmmakers and proudly embraces the passion, independent spirit and vision of these talented artists. With the integration of the local community and educational institutions into all aspects of the Festival, the Festival stimulates an interest in the study and appreciation of film and encourages people of all ages and backgrounds to participate.

Project X is a one-of-a-kind, project-based class – unparalleled in its scope and study as it incorporates every component of animation film production for the big and small screen. This class, under the direction of Animation faculty member and long-time professional animator Michael Huber, is only available at Cogswell. Students worked tirelessly for three semesters to produce this studio-quality short film. They were supported by a massive collaborative effort from faculty, staff, visiting artists, industry professionals and alumni. 

-Bonnie Phelps, Dean of Institutional Advancement

In 2009, Atlanta Film Festival (ALTFF) received over 1750 submissions from over 75 countries. ATLFF is an Academy Award® qualifying festival for the Best Live Action Narrative Short and Best Animated Short categories. Cogswell is delighted to be one of the films selected to participate in this distinguished festival.

Since 1977, the ATLFF has offered audiences the opportunity to experience the best in international and independent cinema, from works by emerging regional media makers to masterpieces from the world’s celebrated artists. The Atlanta Film Festival is one of the most respected and longest-running festivals in the United States.

The Atlanta Film Festival strives to introduce new talent to audiences and has been among the first places to show work by then new filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, and Victor Nunez. The Atlanta Film Festival is also a qualifying film festival for the Academy Awards for the Live Action and the Animated Short Film categories, and in 2002 “The Accountant” by director Ray McKinnon won the Oscar in that category after qualifying at the 2001 Atlanta Film Festival.

In 2007 the Atlanta Film Festival consolidated into a single venue – the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, conveniently located in Midtown Atlanta near many restaurants and clubs, to create a more synergistic festival environment.

Project X is a one-of-a-kind, project-based class – unparalleled in its scope and study as it incorporates every component of animation film production for the big and small screen. This class, under the direction of Animation faculty member and long-time professional animator Michael Huber, is only available at Cogswell. Students worked tirelessly for three semesters to produce this studio-quality short film. They were supported by a massive collaborative effort from faculty, staff, visiting artists, industry professionals and alumni.

-Bonnie Phelps, Dean of Institutional Advancement

The Beverly Hills Film Festival (BHFF) is an international competition dedicated to showcasing the art and talent of emerging filmmakers in the city globally recognized as the headquarters for VIPs to the motion picture industry. Dedicated to independent filmmakers, the BHFF creates a wonderful screening environment allowing participants to feature their films in the highest quality venues available to consumers around the world.

Designed to bridge the world of premiere independent cinema with the renowned city of Beverly Hills, the BHFF welcomes over 20,000 attendees annually who congregate for 5 days of screenings, poolside celebrity panels, special events, seminars, VIP after parties and deal making. On the fifth and final night of the Festival, the jury presents it awards. They honor the finest in cinematic achievement in filmmaking displayed during the competition at an exclusive and heartfelt black-tie Gala Awards held at the Beverly Hills Hotel each year.

Project X is a one-of-a-kind, project-based class – unparalleled in its scope and study as it incorporates every component of animation film production for the big and small screen. This class, under the direction of Animation faculty member and long-time professional animator Michael Huber, is only available at Cogswell. Students worked tirelessly for three semesters to produce this studio-quality short film. They were supported by a massive collaborative effort from faculty, staff, visiting artists, industry professionals and alumni.

-Bonnie Phelps, Dean of Institutional Advancement

Cogswell College prides itself in providing students with the practical real-world learning opportunities and skills they need to be successful in industry. An innovative spirit is critical in the digital media and engineering industries and Cogswell focuses on preparing students to problem-solve and think as an entrepreneur. Cogswell graduates are unique in their ability to address the needs of society and employers by using a blend of science, technology and art.

Dean Sala graduated from Cogswell in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering. He returned to Cogswell and completed his second degree in Electrical Engineering Technology in 2009. He represents what Cogswell’s programs are designed to do – enable students to turn their dreams into productive careers.

Following, he describes his senior project:

1. Briefly describe your project.

My project is a portable solar powered generator that tucks away into in a small brief case. When you open it up, there is a large solar panel inside that can be unfolded to an 80 watt sized solar array. The device includes an AC inverter, 12volt DC power, LED indicators and power switches.

2. What was the inspiration behind developing this particular project?

Well, I have always had a passion for solar energy. I am very fascinated how light can be converted to electricity.  But my inspiration comes from long camping trips that my family and I go on every year with friends and where there is no grid power. I have a camper with 12volt batteries and it’s a challenge keeping them charged when out in the wilderness. You can start the vehicle’s engine to charge the batteries thus producing noise and eating precious fuel. I solved the problem when I installed a solar system I developed. I guess you could call it a mini, off-grid system. I thought why not build a small portable version of this system.

3. What challenges did you encounter in bringing it to a marketable stage?

We are still being challenged with the marketing stage. It is very difficult to know if your product will sell. You get caught up trying to decide whether to purchase more materials, put them together and take a chance that you can sell the product. How many should we make? How do we find customers? How useful is our product really? These are hard questions. I am an engineer not a marketing professional. But I am steadily becoming better at it. Luckily my business partner is better at this then I.

4. I understand that the project started as your Cogswell Senior Capstone project. Did you originally plan to sell a product based on the technology?

Yes, I actually had the product idea before I came back to Cogswell. I guess you can say this was an incentive to finish my second degree. The fact that I had already figured out a lot of the technical details before starting Senior Project I made the process easier but not simple by any means.

5. Tell us a little about the company you and your partner have formed and your plans for the future.

We are now about one year into this. Our company is in the business of providing portable solar power solutions and perhaps solar panels themselves. We can make our own custom high quality solar panels. I think these solar panels are our greatest asset.  They are different because they do not use glass. Instead, the panels use a special Teflon front sheet that is better than glass.

For now, we have taken a step back and decided to make a small product to get us off the ground quickly. We are currently producing a small, 5 watt, folding solar USB charger. With special circuitry, we have been able to charge many USB type devices like phones, GPSs, etc, including the iPhone and iPod!

Our big goal is to make small to medium-sized portable solar power generators that could be used for a variety of applications. One of which is disaster preparedness.

6. How do you feel running your own company?

I have been a software engineer for many years working for a big corporation. There have been good and bad times working in the industry. Although, our company has not made any money yet, I am very motivated. Failure is not in my vocabulary. Over the years many colleagues of mine have always discussed new ideas and products that could potentially form a new company. I am finally doing just that and loving it!

Please visit Suntactics for more info on the company’s future products.

-Bonnie Phelps, Dean of Institutional Advancement

The residency program is designed to give students the opportunity to complete required Fire Science degree coursework in a condensed timeframe in a classroom setting.

Offered classes:

FS344 Applications of Fire Research taught by Jim Miguel

SSC400 Topics in International Studies taught by Dr. Younes Mourchid

The cost per class is $675 plus food and lodging.

For additional information regarding the classes and accommodations, please contact Younes Mourchid, Director DDP/Fire Science Program.

-Bonnie Phelps, Dean of Institutional Advancement

Photo by Vicki Thompson

Cogswell College proves once again that it is on the cutting edge of educating students for careers in the Game Development field. When the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal needed information about how the video game industry is changing and the adjustments educators should make to prepare students for successful careers, Cogswell faculty, Albert Chen, had the answers.

Social networking, mobile devices and the internet have tremendously expanded the opportunities within the video game market. At Cogswell, students experience project-based classes that operate like an indie game studio in order to prepare them for the work environment they are likely to encounter.

Click here to read the article.

Explore the campus on a guided tour, talk to faculty and students, listen to an alumni panel – and find out the difference Cogswell College can make in your future!

Cogswell College prides itself in providing students with the practical real-world learning opportunities and skills they need to be successful in industry. An innovative spirit is critical in the digital media and engineering industries and Cogswell focuses on preparing students to problem-solve and think as an entrepreneur. Cogswell graduates are unique in their ability to address the needs of society and employers by using a blend of science, technology and art.

Date: Saturday, February 27, 2010
Time: 11:00AM to 3:00PM

Where:
1175 Bordeaux Dr
Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Check out the schedule of activities and RSVP.

The order set into motion the exclusion from certain areas and the evacuation and mass incarceration of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, most of who were U.S. citizens or legal permanent resident aliens. They were forced to evacuate their homes and leave their jobs and schools; in some cases family members were separated and put into different camps.

At the time, Executive Order 9066 was justified as a “military necessity” to protect against domestic espionage and sabotage. The causes for this unprecedented action in American history, according to the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, “were motivated largely by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.”

Cogswell Polytechnical College has long served the diverse community that makes up the Bay area. Among our student body in 1941 were many Japanese Americans. Following is a letter written by a former Cogswell student from the camp at Heart Mountain, Wyoming.

“Greetings from Heart Mountain, Wyoming! I arrived here from Pomona Assembly Center on August 18 (1942).

Michiko Imada (class of 1941), who was in the Tanforan Assembly Center wrote a few days ago that she is now in the Central Utah Relocation Center. Michiko and her sister, Tamayo (class of 1941), were working as senior clerks in the Administration Office, and Michiko wrote that she enjoyed her work very much. Before working in the office, Tamayo worked at the hospital as a nurse’s aid and Michiko as a mess attendant.

Sumiko Kasuya (class of 1941), according to Michiko, was working as a secretary to one of the recreation leaders.
In Pomona I had to work in the milk station because all the office jobs were taken by boys and girls from Los Angeles who were there before I was, but here in Heart Mountain I was able to get a position one week after arrival. I am working in the Administration Office as a senior typist/clerk. Five other girls – all from Los Angeles – and I are working in the Transportation and Supplies Commissary Mess Department. It is my job to receive the orders that are brought in every morning by the stewards representing each block, indicate the time, write the items and the amount to be delivered and pass the papers to the typists so that they may type the order on the requisition sheet and send them to the warehouse. There are many girls and boys working under different divisions, but we are the only ones working overtime. As the work cannot be completed during the day, it makes it necessary for us to work at nights.

Many people are leaving the camp every day to work for American families residing in Cody or Powell, or to work on farms. Also, many boys and girls are leaving to attend universities. To us who have nothing to look forward to, this camp life is pretty boring.

I am living in the northwest corner of the camp, and the entire view of Heart Mountain can be seen from the window.
There are two canteen stores and one dry goods store here. All prices seem sky high to us, but people from outside tell us that the prices here are reasonable. I imagine that everything is very expensive outside of camp. I can’t spend very much because my income is only $16 per month.

We have a very beautiful hospital here, located near the office. There are about sixty employees, including the chief medical officer, Dr. Irwin, and the head nurse. My former Girls High School (an early San Francisco school closed in 1952) friend is working under the head nurse, and she tells me that the work is very interesting. There are two San Francisco girls working in the hospital and about five in our office. I was told that many San Francisco people were working in the Tanforan Administration Office; the reason being that many San Francisco people went to Tanforan while few went to Pomona. Although I have met many people here, I still miss my friends in Tanforan.

How is our dear Cogswell? I do hope you will tell me how the school is getting along. Please tell me about Bo Quock Lowe, Anita Lee, Jane Mark, and the other Chinese girls who were my former classmates.”

Signed,
Ikuko Kawabata (class of 1941)

-Bonnie Phelps, Dean of Institutional Advancement

With such a small time frame – 48 hours – the games created tend to be innovative and experimental. This was definitely the case at Cogswell!

The group split up into eleven teams and produced 13 playable games. Teams throughout the world had to incorporate the theme of “deception” in their game. Games within the Pacific time zone were instructed to include the elements of “a Monk, a Punk, or a Skunk” in their game design.

Cogswell had one of the largest participation rates in the United States and produced the most playable games. When you add the other Bay Area locations – UC Santa Cruz and National University – our region had a whopping 82 jammers that produced an amazing 22 playable games!

(Based on an unofficial survey – USC had 52 jammers and produced 9 playable games, Digipen had 31 jammers and produced 10 playable games while Rochester Institute of Technology had 34 jammers and produced 6 playable games.)

By Sunday afternoon everyone was exhausted but felt rewarded by the results of their efforts.

Check out the games created at Cogswell and vote for your favorite!

-Bonnie Phelps, Dean of Institutional Advancement