New Mexico Research Symposium
The New Mexico Research Symposium (NMRS), collaboratively hosted with the New Mexico Academy of Science (NMAS), is an annual conference with oral presentations, a poster competition, and a keynote address. The conference is geared to undergraduate and graduate students from New Mexico’s colleges and universities. All accepted abstracts have the option to be published in the New Mexico Journal of Science. View past New Mexico Journal of Science issues on the NMAS Website.
2026 NMRS Agenda:
Keynote
Franz J. Freibert, PhD, is Director of the G.T. Seaborg Institute for Transactinium Science at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and a Laboratory Fellow, one of the Laboratory’s highest honors for sustained scientific excellence. He provides strategic leadership for the nation’s premier center for education and research in actinide science, technology, and engineering, advancing interdisciplinary programs and workforce development for the national and international research community.
Dr. Freibert earned his PhD in Condensed Matter Physics from Florida State University and holds graduate and undergraduate degrees in polymer physics, mathematics, and physics from the University of Southern Mississippi. Over a distinguished 30-year career at LANL, he has advanced plutonium science through research in microstructural characterization, mechanical and thermodynamic behavior, and the effects of self-irradiation and aging in actinide materials, strengthening predictive capabilities for national defense and energy security applications. He has also provided operational, financial, and technical leadership across major DOE laboratory initiatives and serves as a subject matter expert within the U.S. and international actinide science community, including as Lead Science Advisor for the Actinide Research Quarterly, LANL technical publication.