Category: Workforce Development

This year was a year of firsts and lasts. Near the beginning of the year, we honored Dr. Michael Heagy and Dr. Jose Cerrato with our very first NM EPSCoR Mentoring Award.

November 2017 was one of our busiest months of the whole year! At the start of the month we had our annual Research Symposium in partnership with the New Mexico Academy of Science, and at the end of the month we held our final RII-4 All Hands Meeting, as well as a State Committee meeting. See below for recaps on the NMAS Symposium and the All Hands Meeting.

NSF recently announced 27 awards for their new program, Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES), and one award will go to a team that includes our very own Associate Director Anne Jakle! INCLUDES is a fresh approach to broadening participation in the world of STEM.

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 Meshack Audu (pictured center in the group photo) about his time as an extern at the Santa Fe Community College (SFCC).

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 University of New Mexico student Taylor Britton about his externship experience at the New Mexico Consortium in Los Alamos.

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.

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 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 University of New Mexico student Asifur Rahman about his time as an extern at the USGS New Mexico Water Science Center.

In order to put the focus on our amazing people in the Energize New Mexico project, we are continuing our NM EPSCoR Spotlight series! We feature someone in the project and learn a little more about where they come from, and what they do for Energize New Mexico. This month, we have Natalie Rogers, Public Relations Specialist for the NM EPSCoR State Office. Natalie has a Mathematics degree from the University of New Mexico and has been with NM EPSCoR for seven years. She helps create the face of NM EPSCoR to the public and makes us look good. Learn more about Natalie below.

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.