Category: Diversity

The National Science Foundation has awarded researchers at the University of New Mexico (UNM), New Mexico Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NM EPSCoR), and partner institutions a total of $739,619 in research grants to address the under-representation of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines and workforce.

Like most things, our annual summer undergraduate research program, STEM Advancement Program (STEMAP) shifted due to COVID-19 for summer 2020. Instead of placing students on campus to gain in-person research experience, STEMAP moved online and focused on professional development in addition to an online research experience. The 8-week program paired students with a SMART Grid mentor and another student.

We are delighted to announce this year’s NM EPSCoR Mentor Award recipients—Dr. Olga Lavrova and Dr. Ali Bidram. Nominated by their mentees, both of this year’s recipients stand out for their exceptional efforts to build strong professional and interpersonal relationships with students; advance their mentees’ academic, research, and professional goals; and create inclusive environments for diverse students. Please join us in recognizing Dr. Lavrova and Dr. Bidram for their outstanding work in mentoring the students who will define New Mexico’s diverse future workforce.

For ten weeks, University of New Mexico recent Law School graduate, Morgan Johnson, worked for the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) researching energy efficiency initiatives intended to support low-to-moderate income New Mexicans.  At the end of her externship, she provided this 'report-out' describing her NM EPSCoR Externship experience. Enjoy!

Presenter: Allison Brody, Director of Education, ¡Explora!

When UNM ADVANCE announced their Women in STEM awards on June 17th, the NM EPSCoR team was elated to learn that three of the eight women have NM EPSCoR ties.

In 2005, Heather Canavan was hired as an Assistant Professor by the University of New Mexico’s (UNM) Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering with support from NM EPSCoR through RII2 NM NEW – an award focused on developing nanoscience and hydrology capacity within the state. For Heather, EPSCoR functioned much like a wood brace does for a newly planted tree sapling.

Presenter: Christine Pfund, Senior Scientist, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison

In summer 2018, the National Science Foundation (NSF) called upon the scientific community, nonprofits, industry members, and general public to participate in the NSF 2026 Idea Machine competition, a contest designed to help set the U.S. agenda for fundamental research in science and engineering.

Presenters: Jeewon Choi, PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico (Research Goal 1), Jacob Marks, Masters Student, Computer Science, New Mexico Tech (Research Goal 2), Adnan Bashir, PhD Candidate, Computer Science, University of New Mexico (Research Goal 3), Shubhasmita Pati, PhD Candidate, Electrical & Computer Engineering, New Mexico State University (Research Goal 4)