Diversity
Greetings and Happy New Year! First off I’d like to introduce myself. I am Chelsea Chee, the NM EPSCoR Diversity Outreach Specialist. I have spent many years working on and with tribal communities (mainly on the Navajo Nation and with young people) around climate change, global warming, and sustainability. So, I was attracted to NM EPSCoR’s work on renewable energy and goal of enhancing diversity. I am excited to be in this position and look forward to what else this opportunity will bring.
New Mexico EPSCoR is proud to offer two programs in 2014 to encourage undergraduate students, especially those from underrepresented groups, to pursue education and careers in STEM fields. Both programs are now open for applications.
You might have noticed that the science IQ in Albuquerque seemed a little bit higher in mid-October and that’s because more than 1,700 science museum professionals from 42 countries were in town for the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) Annual Conference. Local museum hosts Explora, National Museum of Nuclear History and Science, and New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science showcased New Mexico’s natural and cultural heritage in addition to our scientific and technological accomplishments.
Phyllis Baca, New Mexico EPSCoR partner and component lead on both Workforce Development and Diversity, was recently honored with the Seventh Annual IMPACT! Award by the New Mexico Network for Women in Science and Engineering (NMNWSE) and the New Mexico Commissions on the Status of Women. The IMPACT!
New Mexico EPSCoR is announcing two brand new rounds of funding for Infrastructure Seed Awards and Diversity Innovation Work Groups (IWGs). As part of our 5-year Energize New Mexico grant, NM EPSCoR seeks to improve our understanding of how New Mexico can realize its energy development potential in a sustainable manner. Along with the six science components and cyberinfrastructure, NM EPSCoR is also committed to broadening participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), diversifying STEM fields, and communicating research to the public.
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.
A new $20 million Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) grant from the National Science Foundation will support key research into ways to make New Mexico an energy sufficient state. The research will focus on ways to improve efficiency of sustainable energy resource utilization and to minimize environmental impacts of uranium mining and oil and gas production.