News

The presence of uranium in groundwater is an issue of great public interest in New Mexico. For many areas in the northeast quadrant of the state, the uranium in underground aquifers has made it unusable for animals or humans. It’s not completely clear how much of the problem should be blamed on natural processes and how much has been caused by uranium mining through the later part of the 20th century.

The New Mexico Academy of Science (NMAS) and NM EPSCoR invite anyone to submit abstracts on Impacts of Climate Change on Water in New Mexico and Sustainable Energy Development in New Mexico for presentation at the 2013 Joint Annual Meeting of NMAS and EPSCoR in Albuquerque, NM, on November 9, 2013! The 2013 Joint Annual Meeting of NMAS and NM EPSCoR is an open forum for sharing the results of research and teaching on “Impacts of Climate Change on Water in New Mexico” and “Sustainable Energy Development in New Mexico”.

Dr. Peter Lammers, a project lead on the NM EPSCoR bioalgal energy component, and his team at New Mexico State University (NMSU) were recently awarded a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to continue research on algae-based fuel. The project, entitled "Realization of Algae Potential" or REAP, will last 2.5 years and will focus on improving the yields and stability of algal biomass and cultivation systems.

As many already know, it takes a lot of planning to achieve the NSF EPSCoR goal of improving the R&D competitiveness of researchers and institutions within EPSCoR jurisdictions, and NM EPSCoR is no exception. Team leaders, State Committee members, and NM EPSCoR staff and participants are gathering today and tomorrow at the UNM Science and Technology park for a 2-day Strategic Planning Retreat, facilitated by New Mexico First.

New Mexico EPSCoR is proud to support undergraduate research projects that can lead to prestigious research opportunities and the continuation of higher education. Juan Solis, a civil engineering graduate student at NMSU and a former NM EPSCoR research student, recently received the Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. As an undergraduate, Solis worked with NM EPSCoR researcher Salim Bawazir (NMSU) to build and install climate stations.