NM EPSCoR researchers Dr. Janie Chermak and Dr. Jennifer Thacher of UNM’s Department of Economics, assisted by PhD student Kara Walter, polled nearly 2,000 New Mexico residents on their opinions about energy sources, environmental policy, and the state’s energy future. The survey included questions about preferences regarding energy sources, such as renewable sources and extraction methods, as well as environmental and economic concerns.

When I first started with NM EPSCoR in 2013, one of my major tasks was to recruit students for our undergraduate research program, the STEM Advancement Program (STEMAP). Three and a half years later, I had traveled over 5,000 miles to visit 22 of 25 primarily undergraduate institutions (open to see the map). Those miles traveled and campuses visited resulted in 200 students applying for STEMAP from 2014 to 2017.

We are proud to announce this year's recipients of the NM EPSCoR Mentoring Award: Catherine Brewer, Assistant Professor at New Mexico State University; Marty Kirk, Distinguished Professor at the University of New Mexico; and Juchao Yan, Professor at Eastern New Mexico University. Mentors are able to create a professional and social relationship with students that encourage them to take the next step in their careers through listening, advising, supporting, providing feedback, increasing students’ networks, and solving problems, to name a few roles and characteristics. Click to learn more about these outstanding mentors.

Chelsea Chee, our Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator, was honored last week by the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE)with their 2018 Rising Star Award. She traveled to Washington, D.C. to receive this honor. This prestigious award honors a person at the beginning of their career who has demonstrated exemplary leadership traits promoting access, equity, and diversity in education and/or the workforce.

New Mexico depends heavily on revenue generated by oil and gas extraction throughout the state, but significant environmental concerns remain about extraction and production, especially with regards to water use. Oil and gas production generates billions of gallons of what is referred to as "produced water", much of it with very high concentrations of dissolved solids, and much of it originates as fresh groundwater, a precious commodity in the desert southwest.