Category: Diversity

 The NM SMART Grid Center continues to showcase its innovative prowess. During our 6th project year, we reported three significant achievements to NSF which underscored the Center's commitment to advancing energy technology and fostering community engagement.  Read our short (250 words or less) summary of each.... 
 A recent NSF EPSCoR-funded project highlighted a surprising gap between the goals and preparation of postdoctoral researchers. The study found that nearly seven out of ten postdocs considered explaining science to the public a key part of their future careers. Yet, a staggering six in ten reported little to no training in this vital skill.
The NM Women in Tech Awards recognize the remarkable women in New Mexico who are driving innovation and excellence in their tech-related fields and inspiring and empowering others to pursue careers in the tech industry.
What is the goal? To provide opportunities for non-tenured AND tenured investigators to develop their individual research potential through extended collaborative visits to the Nation’s premier private, governmental, or academic research centers. Only investigators from research universities and primarily undergraduate institutions in EPSCoR states (including NM) are eligible to apply. What’s new in 2024?Changes impacting both Tracks:
Three days of events! National Day of Racial HealingJanuary 16, 4 PM - 9 PM:Free to registerFree childcare providedFlamenco dance performanceTelemundo broadcastFacilitated discussionDinner providedTwo Worlds & High Desert PlaybackJanuary 17, 4 PM - 8 PM:
  On November 4th, researchers from across the state convened for the 2023 New Mexico Research Symposium (NMRS), an annual event jointly organized by NM EPSCoR, New Mexico Academy of Science, and the Central New Mexico Local Section of the American Chemical Society. 
This webinar will explore strategies for gathering input and feedback from current and potential stakeholders as well as explore how partnerships can be developed to attract new audiences. Participants will hear how the Southold Historical Museum used a survey to gather stakeholder input and thought strategically about the strategies, time, and effort needed to build mutually beneficial and trusting relationships with new partners and stakeholders.
This virtual panel discussion with harm reduction advocates examines community-academic research partnerships by investigating issues around power imbalances between the researcher and the researched cognitive social justice, and inequitable participatory burdens. In the end, the panel recommends promising practices that address research and academic practices, systems, and rules that can be changed to result in the equitable distribution of power and prioritize the voices and lived experiences of community groups such as harm reduction advocates and people who use drugs (PWUDs).
On August 8th, 2023, community leaders from around the state gathered at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque for a two-day Town Hall tackling issues of energy equity in New Mexico. The Town Hall was a capstone event for NM EPSCoR’s project—NM SMART Grid Center— a five-year, $24 million, NSF-funded project focused on research and workforce training for next-generation electric power production and delivery.