NEWS

A report from Chelsea, our Diversity Coordinator: I started off the summer with the largest group of STEM Advancement Program students to date - 14 students! They all spent a week together at New Mexico Tech then went their separate ways to their research sites in Albuquerque, Socorro, or Las Cruces. At the end of last month, their summer research concluded with presentations.

Check out their presentation titles below:

• The effects of salinity on Nannochloropsis salina in sol-gel and calcium alginate beads for use in biofuel and bioproducts – Lyndsay Ryan
• The Effect of Salinity of the Growth Rate of Nannochloropsis salina Algae Cells – Jennifer Thompson
• Effects of Reorientation on the Photosynthesis of Poplar Leaves – Michael Bennett
• The effects of light and rainwater on N.salina and G.sulphuraria's growth and metabolism – Shaleen Eickhoff
• The Effects of Geothermal fluids on Surface Water Quality in The Jemez River System in Northern New Mexico – Rayanna Benally & Vanessa Ward
• Assessing Uranium Contamination on Navajo Reservation – Brianne Willis & Sherwin Becenti
• Hearing the Voice: A Survey to Investigate New Mexican’s Water and Energy Preferences – Jon Plyley & Teverrick Chee
• Improving feasibility of algal biofuels – Elan Glendening & Matthew Green
• Magnetotelluric Survey and Hydrothermal Model of the Socorro Magma Body - Roger Grano & Michelle Sherman

Photos from the research conference as well as the STEMAP students' summer of research can be seen in the slideshow below. To download these and see other NM EPSCoR photos, visit our Flickr page.

I am also happy to announce that three of our NM EPSCoR scientists - Dr. Michael Heagy, Dr. Laura Crossey, and Dr. Juchao Yan – applied for the prestigious Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring at the beginning of the summer. All had wonderful and inspiring mentoring stories. Join me in crossing our fingers that one or all of them get the award!