New Mexico State University
Research, Creativity and Economic Development

The RCED Investment in NMSU Post-Doctoral Fellows

By Drs. Luis Cifuentes, Vice President for Research, Creativity, and Economic Development and Tanner Schaub, Assistant Vice President for Research 

Postdocs serve a critical function within the research enterprise. In 2018, the Office of the Vice President for Research (RCED) began investing heavily in postdocs and a matching funds incentive program was implemented. This program has helped initiate a significant culture change at NMSU, as illustrated here. Beyond direct salary support, RCED established and supports the NMSU Postdoc Association (faculty fellow stipend, travel money, events), which provides mentoring, postdoc professional development, new faculty development, and activities/events that build community among NMSU postdocs. 

The initial RCED investment in postdocs was a response to a Carnegie classification criterion. The new criteria do not consider postdoc counts, thus an assessment of the role and investment in postdocs is in order.  We are considering a reframing of the RCED Postdoc Matching Funds Program that will incentivize increasing research expenditures, increase research outputs, and continue to increase the number of postdocs. 

Postdocs are essential when a large project is awarded to maximize the impact of the funds. Postdocs assist the PI in conducting research, writing papers, executing project management, mentoring students, etc. They contribute greatly to moving large, complex projects forward by giving the PI time for large project management and coordination activities.         

A recommendation made by LEADS 2025 Goal 2 Team under consideration is to make RCED postdoc commitments when a large/important award is received and/or to match proposals requiring cost-share. In a similar function, postdoc commitments will also support centers, institutes, emerging/strength topics, and infrastructure building.  Our office will publicize the new postdoc matching funds description when our FY25 budget is finalized over the next month. Faculty, staff, and students who want to discuss these strategies should contact Dr. Tanner Schaub or Dr. Luis Cifuentes.

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News from Research Administration

By Ms. Alisha Giron, Associate Vice President for Research

Pursuant to Administrative Rules and Procedures, Chapter 11.20, I would like to take this opportunity this month to offer a friendly reminder about the importance of timely grant/contract progress report submissions to sponsors. This is a significant component of our shared efforts to maintain compliance with our research sponsors. Upon receipt of an award, the Principal Investigator (PI) and their research team should take time to carefully review all grant/contract report requirements and strategize an internal timeline to avoid delayed submissions. PIs will occasionally have the benefit of receiving courtesy reminders of upcoming due dates from sponsors, Research Administration Services, or Sponsored Projects Accounting, but this should never be the only tool used to meet our obligations. Delinquent reports impact your colleagues and the University in different ways. In some cases, we have seen sponsors blackout any new proposal submissions or the issuance of new awards until report delinquencies are rectified. And recently, we were reminded that invoices for cost reimbursement will not be paid until reports are satisfactorily prepared and approved; this is an immediate impact to the value attributed to our research expenditures. Report submissions impact the entire research ecosystem so thank you for heeding this advice and as always, please reach out should you have any questions.

News from Infrastructure and Partnerships: Geothermal Energy Resources at NMSU

By Dr. Tanner Schaub, Assistant Vice President for Research

The Office of Research, Creativity, and Economic Development is interested in exploring the potential for geothermal energy resources at NMSU. Our university owns property with a previously utilized geothermal source, and Dona Ana County is regionally unique in the geology that makes geothermal energy promising. These and other factors present a unique chance to investigate and develop this sustainable energy option. Harnessing geothermal energy could significantly contribute to our sustainability goals and reduce our carbon footprint. We invite faculty members who have expertise or interest in geothermal capabilities and potential applications to reach out to me at tschaub@nmsu.edu. Join us in exploring clean energy solutions and advancing our institution’s sustainability efforts.

News from Workforce and Strategic Engagements

By Dr. Patricia Sullivan, Director, Workforce and Strategic Engagements

The Office of Workforce and Strategic Engagement hosted a State of Science Symposium over the summer to highlight faculty research in the areas of alternative water resources that are directly addressing water scarcity, economic viability, and environmental sustainability in New Mexico.  With over 175 attendees from across the state, the Symposium also engaged a panel of researchers from NMSU, University of New Mexico and NM Tech who discussed gaps in the research that need to be addressed, and the convergence of research and application for pilot and full scale deployment.  The session concluded with an interactive networking and research poster session that included faculty and graduate student researchers from the three NM research universities. 

NMSU STEM+ Education Research Institute

By Dr. Susan Brown, Director STEM+ Education Research Institute 

The members of the NMSU STEM+ Education Research Institute (SERI) have been submitting grants to support translating their research into innovative teaching practices to promote learning for all students in their STEM classrooms.  Being members of SERI, collaboration with faculty across the campus (sociology, psychology, etc.) is encouraged and welcomed. In just the first year, examples of some of the successful awards have been received from: the National Science Foundation (numerous), Department of Defense, HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project, National Academy of Education and others.  

Please contact me at susanbro@nmsu.edu.  

News from the Arrowhead Center: New Mexico Startup Forum on September 4-5 

By Ms. Dana Catron, Deputy Director, Arrowhead Center

Registration is now open for the inaugural New Mexico Startup Forum, hosted by Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University. The forum will take place September 4 and 5 at the Isleta Resort and Casino, 11000 Broadway Boulevard Southeast in Albuquerque. All early-stage startup businesses and innovators in New Mexico are encouraged to attend.

The forum will offer diverse programming designed to benefit entrepreneurs at all stages. Highlights include:

• Diverse workshops and sessions, including Native American entrepreneurship, clean and renewable energy, early-stage startups, and women entrepreneurs. Gain insights on crucial topics like bookkeeping, securing federal grant funding and more.
• Expert advice from technical specialists, business development professionals, serial entrepreneurs, and investors who will share their knowledge and experience.
• Networking opportunities with like-minded innovators, potential partners, and mentors who can help you take your startup or business to the next level.
• One-on-one sessions tailored to your specific needs and challenges.
• Professional headshots courtesy of a free professional headshot station available on both days.

The forum will also feature the prestigious Pegasus Tech Ventures Startup World Cup, a global business competition. For the first time, New Mexico will be a regional competition site, offering local startups the chance to compete for a spot in the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco, with the opportunity to win a $1 million prize.

For more information and to register, visit https://bit.ly/NM_Startup_Forum.

Recognizing Recipients of Large Awards (June and July 2024)

By Dr. Hamid Mansouri Rad, Senior Vice President for Research

Congratulations to Drs. Jay Misra, Di Shi, and Olga Lavrova for each garnering external funding awards exceeding one million in the past two months.

Dr. Jay Misra, professor of Computer Science, and Electrical and Computer Engineering, and associate dean of research of the College of Engineering, garnered a $7 million competitive award from the NSF EPSCoR Research Incubators for STEM Excellence Research Infrastructure Improvement program. The goal of this four-year statewide and interdisciplinary project is to build the foundations of distributed additive manufacturing in the state of New Mexico. To accomplish this goal, Dr. Misra will collaborate with Drs. Roopa Vishwanathan, Hameed Badawy, Suparna Chatterjee, and Gaurav Panwar, who are from the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Health Education and Social Transformation at NMSU as well as peer scientists at the Navajo Technical University, University of New Mexico, and New Mexico Tech. The project aims to lay the foundations to establish New Mexico as a competitive state for additive manufacturing by developing a diverse, well-trained workforce.

For more information, contact Dr. Jay Misra at misra@nmsu.edu.

 
Dr. Jay Misra, NMSU

Dr. Di Shi, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering secured a $6 million award from the National Science Foundation’s Research Infrastructure Improvement-Focused EPSCoR Collaborations Program. Titled DigiCARES, this four-year project aims to address the challenges of climate change and aging energy infrastructure in the US, in particular in underserved communities that are impacted the most by these challenges. The overarching goal of the project is to expand research infrastructure across New Mexico, Montana, Oklahoma, and Alabama, four EPSCoR regions. The project will use cutting-edge technological development to create AI-driven digital twins to address the energy infrastructure and socio-economic needs of three underserved communities: Kit Carson, Mora-San Miguel, and the Navajo Nation as representatives of underserved communities across the US.

NMSU co-PIs collaborating on this project are Drs. Patricia Sullivan, Director of the Workforce and Strategic Engagement within RCED, Dave DuBois, State Climatologist, and Fengyu Wang, assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Erica Surova, Executive Director of the Center for Community Analysis. .

For more information about this project contact Dr. Di Shi at dshi@nmsu.edu.

Dr. Di Shi, NMSU

Dr. Olga Lavrova, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering garnered $1.6 million competitive award from the Department Energy for a two year project that will establish a regional, large-scale demonstration site to facilitate the technology-to-market transition and validation of technologies in critical areas such as electric power supply, cybersecurity, grid resiliency, renewable energies, applications for military electric power and rural areas, including education and workforce development, outreach and community engagement. The project is also supported with a $1.6 million TEF match from the state of New Mexico, making this a $3.2 million project. 

Titled Integrated Digitally networked Enterprise Accelerator Laboratory (IDEAL), this facility is being developed on NMSU campus and will augment the NMSU team’s ongoing collaboration with DOE national labs and their stakeholders. In addition to research and demonstration activities, this project will support the education of clearance-ready undergraduate and graduate students at NMSU.

For more information, please contact Dr. Olga Lavrova at olavrova@nmsu.edu.

Dr. Olga Lavrova, NMSU

Recognizing Submitters of Large Proposals (June and July 2024)

By Dr. Hamid Mansouri Rad, Senior Proposal Development Specialist, RAS

Congratulations to Drs. Olga Lavrova, Enrico Pontelli, and Teri Orr for each submitting a large proposal in the months of June and July.

Dr. Olga Lavrova led a $4.9 million proposal to the Department of Energy (DOE) in the month of June. This collaborative proposal aims to support DOE Minority Serving Institution Partnership Program’s mission by building the capacity, infrastructure, and talent pipeline to ensure that the next-generation of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s technical workforce is diverse, and has the needed math and hands-on skills, specifically in the areas of power electronics for nuclear systems and power systems, including materials for electronics devices, controls of mission-critical systems, cybersecurity, PV, fuel cell, and energy storage applications to critical power installations.

The proposal is the result of NMSU team’s collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and Doña Ana Community College, as well as in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, six public school districts, and two educational specialist foundations.

Dr. Olga Lavrova, NMSU

 Dr. Enrico Pontelli, dean of the College of Arts and Science, submitted a $3.5 million proposal to the NSF ITEST program. Titled Everyday AI for Rural Youth and Teachers (EdAI-R), the proposal is a collaborative effort between NMSU, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Boston College, as well as institutions at three other EPSCoR jurisdictions--the University of Wyoming, Black Hills State University in South Dakota, and Maine Math and Science Alliance. The effort utilizes the Developing AI Literacy (DAILy) curriculum developed by MIT educators as well as Everyday AI Professional Development (PD) network to create a four-year program to provide AI-related training to up to 16 rural school districts/regions within each jurisdiction, a total of 256 rural educators, and up to 5,120 rural students in grades 6th-10th. The research thrust of the proposal addresses crucial questions regarding AI education producing models, approaches, and mechanisms for scaling state-of-the art AI curriculum and PD program to rural populations who are underserved and underrepresented in STEM and AI as well as the evaluation of the transferability of an innovative AI literacy curriculum and PD program when implemented in rural settings by educators other than the developers.

For more information, please contact Dr. Enrico Pontelli at epontell@nmsu.edu.

Dr. Enrico Pontelli, NMSU

Dr. Teri Orr, assistant professor of Biology, submitted a $1.6 million proposal to the National Science Foundation’s Early Career program. This research proposal aims to address the gaps in knowledge regarding reproductive costs in bats and the reason for the extended duration of gestation, which will enhance scientists’ understanding of their reproductive failure. If selected for funding, Dr. Orr will create a new Biology course that also establishes a cross-campus student exchange between NMSU and North Carolina Central University where students from both institutions will engage in research in Dr. Orr’s lab.

For more information, please contact Dr. Teri Orr at teriorr@nmsu.edu.

Dr. Teri Orr, NMSU

Congratulations to NM Space Grant Scholarship and Fellowship Recipients

By Dr. Paulo Oemig, Director, New Mexico Space Grant Consortium

We are thrilled to announce that the following students at New Mexico State University (NMSU) have been awarded scholarships and fellowships by the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium (NMSGC) for their outstanding academic achievements and dedication to their research projects:

Undergraduate Research Scholars:

• Omar Bashammakh, Department of Electrical Engineering
• Bethany Chacon, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Christina Houser, Department of Physics

Graduate Research Fellows:

• Kevin Brooks, Department of Astronomy
• Antonio Flores, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Ezra Huscher, Department of Astronomy
• Bryson Stemock, Department of Astronomy
• Ayla Valles, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Luis Varela, Department of Electrical Engineering

These students have not only achieved academic excellence but have also demonstrated a strong interest in research projects relevant to NASA. Their hard work and perseverance have earned them this well-deserved recognition. We encourage everyone to celebrate their success and continue to support them in their academic and professional journeys.

Congratulations once again to our Fall 2024-Spring 2025 NMSGC Scholar and Fellows!

NMSU PI Academy

By Ms. Cindy Ramirez, Proposal Development Specialist, RAS

The 6th cohort of NMSU’s PI Academy is preparing for the 2024-25 academic year. The PI Academy continues to provide our new faculty with PI “essentials” and orient them to NMSU’s research, scholarly, and creative community and resources. If you are a new faculty member to NMSU and are interested in taking part in the NMSU PI Academy for the 2024-25 academic year email me at cindyram@nmsu.edu.

Fall 2024 Grants Workshops and Information Sessions

By Dr. Allison Layfield, Senior Proposal Development Specialist, RAS

Research Administration will hold several information sessions on major federal funders, as well as workshops to help faculty and staff prepare for external funding opportunities. Faculty with extensive grant experience will learn about changes to funder priorities and required documents. Faculty new to grant-writing will learn tips and strategies to save time searching for and writing grants.

Humanities Grants 2024 Info Session: Wednesday, October 9, 3:30-4:30pm

Milton Hall, 185J

Learn about new grants and emerging priorities at NEH, ACLS, and other major funders of humanities research. Participants will also learn about internal funding opportunities.

Arts Grants 2024 Info Session: Thursday, October 10, 3-4pm

Devasthali Hall 106

Come learn about funding and resources to support arts-based research. Participants will also learn about internal funding opportunities and limited submission arts-based opportunities.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Info Session: Tuesday, October 15, 12-1pm

To register for the Zoom link, email cindyram@nmsu.edu

In this information session we will look at the NIH, explore the NIH funding mechanisms, and see if NIH is a fit for you. 

National Science Foundation (NSF) Info Session: Tuesday, November 12, 12-1pm

To register for the Zoom link, email cindyram@nmsu.edu

This information session will provide an overview of the NSF. Learn about NSF funding opportunities and where to search for them.

Building a Grant Budget: Tuesday, December 17, 12-1pm

To register for the Zoom link, email cindyram@nmsu.edu

Participants will learn the essentials of understanding and crafting a grant budget, including the components of a grant budget, budget justification, and best practices for budget planning.

For more information on these events, reach out to ras@nmsu.edu with the subject line: “research development workshop.”

Grants Workshop for African Scholars

By Ms. Cindy Ramirez, Proposal Development Specialist, RAS

On Thursday, July 25th the RAS Proposal Development Team hosted a grants workshop for six Fellows from the College of ACES taking part in the grant sponsored USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Scientific Exchange Program for African Livestock Production Systems. This grant lead by Principal Investigator, Dr. Njoki Kahiu, Research Scientist with the department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, included six Fellows from Niger, Nigeria, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Botswana with varying expertise in fodder/range management science, animal science, feed milling, rangeland ecology and policy/governance. The Fellows have been at NMSU for four weeks with in-depth trainings focusing on management of rangeland resources, feed production, banking transformation, leadership and grantsmanship training. Participants conceptualized their long-term career goals as distinct, fundable grant projects and learned how to search for and match funding opportunities to their project goals.

Limited Submission Funding Opportunities

By Dr. Hamid Mansouri Rad, Senior Proposal Development Specialist, RAS

Research Administration Services maintains a list of limited submission funding opportunities for NMSU research community. The list is accessible through a link on the Research website, through the Research Administration tab. NMSU users can also access the list directly on SharePoint.  We encourage NMSU researchers to periodically visit the site and if they are interested in any of the opportunities to please inform us by sending email to ras@nmsu.edu, subject line Limited Submission, and the name of the agency and the title of the funding opportunity in the body of the email.

Pivot Funding Opportunity Database

By Dr. Hamid Mansouri Rad, Senior Proposal Development Specialist, RAS

This is a reminder that in order to assist NMSU faculty and staff in locating external funding opportunities, the RCED has purchased a subscription to ProQuest’s Pivot available at https://pivot.proquest.com/session/login.  

To create an account with Pivot for the first time

 To request a one-on-one or group Pivot training, send email to hamid@nmsu.edu. 

Questions and comments regarding NMSU’s Research Digest should be directed to Dr. Hamid Mansouri Rad at hamid@nmsu.edu, (575) 646-6429.