UNM,
LANL sign MOU
 |
| From
left: UNM President Louis Caldera, Univ. of California interim
VP of Laboratory Management Bruce Darling and LANL Director
Pete Nanos sign the MOU. Standing is UNM Vice Provost for
Research Terry L. Yates. |
Researchers
at UNM and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) worked together
on individual projects for years, but until recently there was
no formal agreement between the two entities. That changed on
Oct. 16 when UNM President Louis Caldera and LANL Director Peter
Nanos signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
I
am grateful for the opportunity to sign this document,
said Caldera. This opens up new research and employment
opportunities for UNM.
The MOU
includes the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering,
School of Medicine, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.
It also establishes an executive committee to oversee the UNM/LANL
Joint Science and Technology Laboratory.
The MOU
is designed to cover three specific types of proposals. Sophomores
and juniors with compatible research interests will participate
in a combined work and study program at the two institutions,
a major element of the agreement. Graduate students may also
do thesis work at the laboratory, and if money is available,
full fellowships for doctoral dissertations may also be supported.
The executive committee will design the programs and may also
allow postdoctoral work.
Faculty
and staff are expected to have greater opportunity for collaborative
research projects. Mentors and faculty advisors for student
and graduate programs may also participate. The agreement says
the laboratory will provide office space for UNM participants,
and UNM will reciprocate. The MOU also anticipates a visiting
scholars program for faculty and staff.
The third
major element of the MOU is the collaborative research program
encompassing bioscience, materials, quantum information science
and computer science. The MOU specifically states that all joint
work will be unclassified.
A spokesman
for the University of California, which has the contract to
manage LANL, says Governor Bill Richardson urged the MOU be
completed as soon as possible.