Our second NM SMART Grid Center 2020 extern, Mara Yarbrough, just completed her 10-week externship with the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) researching practical policies state governments can implement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She shared her thoughts with us on the experience in this brief reflection. Enjoy!

On September 30th, the University of New Mexico announced a joint agreement with Siemens Industry to begin collaborations at the UNM-owned microgrid at Mesa del Sol. Located in Albuquerque, the Mesa del Sol microgrid is one of three NM SMART Grid Center project testbeds, the others being Southwest Technology Development Institute at NMSU and the greenhouse complex at Santa Fe Community College, where project team members can test research out on actual equipment.

The NM SMART Grid Center warmly welcomes five new faculty members to the project team this Fall. Included in this esteemed cohort of STEM professionals are Dr. Yuting Yang and Dr. Claus Danielson at the University of New Mexico (UNM), Dr. Sihua Shao at New Mexico Institute for Mining and Technology (NMT), and Dr. Fengyu Wang and Dr. Hamed Nademi at New Mexico State University (NMSU).   

New Mexico EPSCoR is excited to launch its Certificate Training in Entrepreneurship in partnership with the University of New Mexico (UNM) Rainforest Innovations and Innovation Academy. The primary goal of the Certificate program is to introduce participants to intellectual property (IP) generation and management, commercialization, and entrepreneurship and highlight additional resources and training opportunities leveraging the existing programs offered at New Mexico’s research universities. The Certificate program consists of 8 webinar training sessions.

We are heartbroken to share the news that Luke Spangenburg, a valued member of the NM EPSCoR research and education team, passed away earlier this month.