Cross-Institutional Writing and Professional Development Workshop for NM Postdoctoral Scholars

The objective of this workshop is to convene postdoctoral researchers from New Mexico’s academic institutions and national laboratories at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge to co-develop sustainable writing practices, cross-institutional research collaborations, and shared scholarly outputs that strengthen New Mexico’s workforce. This event will bring together postdoctoral scholars from the University of New Mexico, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico State University, Eastern New Mexico University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and related institutions to engage in structured writing activities, peer feedback, and collaborative research development. By centering writing as a core component of research infrastructure, this workshop addresses a critical gap in New Mexico’s research ecosystem: the lack of coordinated, cross-institutional support for postdoctoral productivity and collaboration. Postdoctoral scholars are essential contributors to high-impact research and innovation, yet they often operate in institutionally siloed environments with limited access to protected writing time, peer writing communities, or cross-disciplinary mentorship. These challenges are amplified in New Mexico due to geographic dispersion, the coexistence of R1 universities, primarily undergraduate institutions, and national laboratories, and differing institutional expectations around publication and independence. The workshop advances New Mexico’s vision of becoming a global leader in science and technology research and development while supporting long-term economic growth and workforce retention.