Category: Research

On March 6, 2015, I had the privilege of listening to Uranium component team member José Cerrato (UNM) deliver a graduate seminar on his research, "Reactivity of Metals from Abandoned Uranium Mine Wastes in the Southwestern United States". With a background in biogeochemistry, José knows the value of geology, nanoscience, and interdisciplinary study; even though he is in the department of Civil Engineering at UNM, his research brings several disciplines together.

Dr. Karl Karlstrom (Geothermal component) was recently named the University of New Mexico's 60th Annual Research Lecturer. As part of the Provot's Shared Knowledge Conference, Karl will present a lecture, “It’s about Time: Forty Years of Geologic Work in the Grand Canyon- Rocky Mountain Region,” on Thursday, April 23 in the UNM SUB Ballrooms at 6:15 PM. The Shared Knowledge Conference is a two-day event, beginning at 9:30 AM Thursday and ending at 4:00 PM Friday, April 24.

Virginia Thompson, PhD candidate in Biology at UNM and project participant in the NM EPSCoR RII3 project (Climate Change Impacts on New Mexico's Mountain Sources of Water), delivered the Department of Biology's March brown bag seminar on her research on submerged aquatic macrophytes (SAMs). Virginia's research over the last several years, including the research she did under the EPSCoR banner, has focused on the plants that live in the waters of the Valles Caldera National Park.

On March 8-10, Dr. Laura Crossey and Dr. Karl Karlstrom lead their geothermal class (provided by funding from NM EPSCoR) on a trip to White Rock Canyon in northern New Mexico. The class looked at the timing of recent volcanics, as well as the expressions of faults and fluid flow exposed in the canyon. Keep reading to see pictures from the trip!

As part of an initiative to shine a light on the benefits of community college education, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Representative Ben Ray Luján toured Santa Fe Community College and it's new Trades and Advanced Technology Center.

The 2014 New Mexico Journal of Science, published by the New Mexico Academy of Science, is now available for public viewing. This year's Journal is subtitled "Water, Energy, and the Environment," and includes abstracts from participants in the 2014 NMAS Research Symposium.

NM EPSCoR and the New Mexico Academy of Science welcomed over 130 faculty, students, researchers, educators and community members at the Hyatt Downtown Albuquerque on November 1st.

Our Diversity Coordinator, Chelsea Chee, reports on the SACNAS National Conference. Chelsea attended with three NM EPSCoR STEMAP students, and helped organize and run an Education, Outreach, and Diversity exhibit booth with several EPSCoR jurisdictions.

UNM Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering Ricardo González-Pinzón is conducting research on rainfall-runoff processes and water quality modeling using parsimonious models. González-Pinzón was recently awarded a faculty water research grant by the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) to implement a hydrological modeling framework that allows estimates of water budgets from stream flow data.

During the month of July 2014, the NM EPSCoR Uranium Transport and Site Remediation component team mentored three minority undergraduate students at UNM by providing hands on experience on a geochemical extraction experiment of mine waste to understand desorption chemical concentrations and kinetics.