Event Category: Research

For the past four summers, I have visited our STEMAP students at the midpoint of their research experiences at UNM, NMT and NMSU. Over lunch the students share their experiences. For some it is their very first research experience, for others it is the first time they have been given a chance to explore their own research question.

This July, I had lunch with our fourth and final STEMAP cohort for Energize NM. 12 students from across NM make up our most diverse cohort yet.

Mark Person, co-lead of the Geothermal Team for Energize New Mexico, is currently working on a proposal that will fund research to find freshwater in the unlikeliest of places: trapped beneath the salty sea floor. Dr. Person's proposal focuses on drilling off the New England coast for a water sample to determine if there is a reservoir of freshwater hidden below the shelf of Martha's Vineyard.

The Externship Program is a research exchange program that allows New Mexico graduate students (with an existing assistantship) to spend a semester or summer doing research at a partnering New Mexico university or research facility. This report is from New Mexico State University student Tom Nakotte about his second externship experience, this time as an extern at Los Alamos National Labs.

On Thursday, April 27th at our All Hands Meeting, we recognized two faculty members with the inaugural NM EPSCoR Mentoring Award. The NM EPSCoR Mentoring Award is designed to recognize two NM EPSCoR participants who not only build relationships with students and support their academic, research, and career endeavors, but also work to create inclusive environments for our diverse students. I was honored to be the emcee for the Ceremony. The Award and Ceremony would not have been possible if it weren’t for three groups of people.

In preparation for the March for Science on Earth Day, April 22nd, Senator Martin Heinrich penned an essay touting his support of science and research in New Mexico. Earlier in the week, Senator Heinrich visited the University of New Mexico to visit with the Vice President for Research Gabriel Lopez as well as students and faculty to discuss the importance of federally funded research in STEM areas.

The November 2016 issue of the National Science Teacher's Association (NSTA) journal The Science Teacher features an article co-authored by Becky Bixby, one of our Bioalgal Energy component co-leads. Together with Molly Sultany, a high school science teacher in Portland, Oregon, Becky emphasizes the importance of including diatoms in lessons for students in biology, chemistry, and environmental science.

Dr. David Hanson, Bioalgal Energy co-lead for Energize New Mexico recently received two grants that fund collaborative efforts in energy and biology. These two grants alone will bring $1.2 million over 3 years into Dave's lab specifically, and a total of $3 million into New Mexico. Both grants were facilitated by EPSCoR.