Sixteen guests from nine Latin American countries visiting the United States through the U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership program will be honored at a University of New Mexico reception on Friday, Dec. 2 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the UNM Faculty Club at 1923 Las Lomas NE.
The International Visitor Leadership program is designed to explore citizens’ rights and responsibilities in a civil society; observe grassroots groups that interact with elected officials; examine workplace techniques, civic organizations and schools to nurture values, norms and practices that make democracy work effectively; and to enhance participants’ understanding of democracy as practiced in the United States and of citizens’ involvement in their own governance.
Each year a theme for the program is established. This year’s theme is Grassroots Democracy.
Participants include Maria Cristina Lescano, president and founder of El Ceibo, an Argentine grassroots organization that promotes recycling programs as a means for environmental protection and economic development.
Rosa Elena Valencia de Garcia represents the Association for the Organization and Business Education of Women of El Salvador. Others represent community planning organizations, teachers’ unions.
Dora Angelica de la Rocha Almazan is president of the State of Sinaloa Governmental Commission for Freedom of Information.
Others from Panama, Guatemala, Paraguay, Honduras, Peru and Venezuela will be in attendance.
The reception is being hosted by President Louis Caldera, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Michael Carroll, Vice President for Student Affairs Eliseo Torres and the Latin American and Iberian Institute.
The visitors are being hosted by the Santa Fe Council on International Relations through the Department of State, International Visitor Leadership Program.
For more information, contact Robyn Cote at 277-6843.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales (505) 277-5920
Most offices of the University Controller and Associate Vice President, Financial Services – Main Campus will soon have a new home at 1700 Lomas Blvd. in the new UNM Business Center.
The following offices will pack and move to the first floor of the Business Center on Friday, Dec. 2: Payroll, Cashier (relocating from Scholes Hall), Finance Systems – Networking, HR Information Technology, and HR Employee and Organizational Development.
Speech and Hearing Sciences will move to the first floor on Dec. 19.
The following offices will move to the second floor on Friday, Dec. 9: Contract & Grant Accounting (as well as the department of Sponsored Projects), Accounts Payable, and Purchasing.
The following offices will move to the third floor on Friday, Dec. 16: Financial Services/University Controller, Banking, Tax, & Investments, Financial Systems Management, General Accounting, Property Accounting, and HR Client Services.
Phone and fax numbers will remain the same for all departments in their new locations. If you have business with any of these departments, please contact them before their packing/moving day or wait until the following week.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico will offer students a chance to warm up for final exams and portfolios with two end of the semester events: Mock Math Finals and Blast Off to Finals.
Mock Math Finals, to be held in Dane Smith Hall on Saturday, Dec. 3, 8 a.m. – noon, simulate real exams and testing conditions in a variety of math classes including MATH 100, 120, 121, 123, 150, 162, 180 and STAT 145.
Tutors will be available the same day at Dane Smith Hall 10 a.m. to noon and at CAPS on the third floor of Zimmerman Library noon to 4 p.m.
During Blast Off to Finals, Dec. 5-9, tutoring and workshops will be available to help students prepare for finals week. Tutoring in English composition and math courses, quiet study space and a massage and relaxation room will be provided Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Students taking ENGL 101 or 102 can attend a Portfolio Prep Workshop on Dec. 5 or 6 at 4 p.m. Tips for Surviving Finals Week, Dec. 6 and 7 at 11 a.m., will help students get organized and alleviate end of the semester stress. All Blast Off to Finals events will be on the third floor of the Student Union Building (SUB).
Prior registration is appreciated but not required. To register or get more information, call the College Enrichment Program (CEP) at 277-5321 or visit http://www.unm.edu/~cep. All events are free to UNM students.
Sponsored by the CEP/Special Programs, El Centro de la Raza, CAPS, Student Health Center, SUB and University College.
The UNM Bookstore invites Lobo fans to kick off basketball season at the Game Day Friday Pep Rally for the men’s basketball game against New Mexico State University.
Game Day Friday will include a D.J. with live music from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., many prizes including iPod Nanos and a great sale on lobowear just in time for the holidays.
Register to win prizes at the Bookstore Nov. 18 through Dec. 2. The drawing for prizes will be held Dec. 2 at 5 p.m.
For more information, please contact Anicia Esposito at (505) 277-9752 or aespo@unm.edu.
The UNM Student Union Building (SUB) and ASUNM Community Experience have teamed up to co-sponsor the UNM Giving Tree for the third year in a row. This annual event benefits underprivileged children and families in the local Albuquerque area. All students, staff, faculty and community members are invited to take part in this wonderful cause.
Participants will be able to pick up a gift tag from the Giving Tree located in the SUB Atrium (Plaza level) starting Wednesday, Nov. 30. The gift tags will provide information about the selected child, such as, age, gender and what they would like or need for Christmas.
Gifts must be unwrapped and returned to the ASUNM office (SUB Plaza level, rm. 1016) with the gift tag attached. Gifts are due back Thursday, Dec. 15.
For more information call SUB Marketing Assistant Jacque Garcia at 277-7885.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
Forest Service expert William Krausmann will present a free lecture 7 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1 at the University of New Mexico Science and Technology Park, South Campus. Krausmann is the second lecturer in the UNM Geography Department's fall 2005 lecture series.
Krausmann's presentation, "Remote Sensing in Support of Wildland Fire Operations," will address how a broad range of airborne and spaceborne imaging systems have been used in fire management. He will discuss how visible, infrared and thermal infrared images are used before, during and after wildfires to guide the decisions of land managers. Remote sensing support to fire management will be presented in the context of the national Interagency Coordination and Incident Command Systems.
Currently the Geospatial Services Group Leader for the Southwestern Regions of the USDA Forest Service, Krausmann is responsible for Forest Service Cartography, GIS, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing programs in the Southwest. He has provided thermal infrared mapping support on wildfires across the United States and abroad for the last 12 years.
Krausmann received his undergraduate and master's degrees from San Diego State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Utah.
The lecture will be held in room 208 of the Manufacturing and Technology Center Building located at 800 Bradbury Dr., S.E. The event and parking are both free.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
Pamela Agoyo, Linda McCormick and Joel Straquadine will receive the university’s highest honor for staff, the Gerald W. May Staff Recognition Award, at a public ceremony Thursday, Dec. 15, from 3:30-5 p.m. in the Student Union, ballroom C.
Agoyo, director of American Indian Student Services, provides a nurturing environment for Native American students while fostering the university’s relationship with tribal leaders. She contributed to the success of this year’s Tribal Summit and is credited for starting the first Alpha Pi Omega Native American Sorority on the UNM campus.
Agoyo plays a key role in the Miss Indian World pageantry and also established a trust fund for the American Indian Summer Bridge Program. She is an active member of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. “She challenges and empowers each student to push themselves,” a nominator wrote.
Under the leadership of McCormick, resource conservation manager for the Risk, Safety and Environmental Affairs Department, UNM has been recognized by the city and state for recycling efforts. Respected by colleagues and employees, she came to UNM as the first pollution prevention specialist and is the first to hold her current title. Among her innovations is a cost savings through funding alternative disposal sources for gas cylinders.
McCormick attended UNM’s Management Academy while completing a master’s in occupational safety management. She fosters diversity and is mastering Spanish in order to communicate safety information to non-English speakers.
Straquadine, facility maintenance manager for the Physical Plant Department, during the 2004 winter break, served as first-responder, disaster recovery director and claims settlement coordinator for one of the most costly disasters to befall the university. He expertly and humanely resolved a water pipe rupture affecting five buildings, including Centennial Library.
He also serves as “ambassador extraordinaire” in the UNM community, a nominator wrote, coaching 18 Little League teams during a 10-year span. He helped install computer networks in disadvantaged schools and is principle organizer of the PPD’s United Way barbeques. He also led the recent Hurricane Relief Lunch.
“Joel embodies what the May awards signify,” a nominator wrote.
Recipients will receive an inscribed plaque and $500. The three were selected by President Louis Caldera following a screening process conducted by the Staff Council Rewards and Recognition Committee. 73 nominations were received. Peers, supervisors, students, faculty and others nominated the employees for outstanding service and effective and positive representation of UNM, among other criteria.
Contact: Laurie Mellas, (505) 277-5915; e-mail: lmellas@unm.edu
The groundbreaking for the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning and Fine Arts and Design Library is set for Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of Cornell and Central NE. The event honors the New Mexico State Legislature for their financial support of the new facility.
The event honors the New Mexico State Legislature for their financial support of the new facility. In 1999, Representative Edward Sandoval, Democrat, District 17 in Bernalillo County, sponsored House Capital Outlay Request 504. Sandoval was successful in getting the request passed and now he and other legislators will be honored for their support of the new facility.
“The fence is up around the construction site giving the campus community and general public the pleasure to see this project underway,” said Roger Lujan, director, UNM Facility Planning.
Jaynes Corporation, project contractor, is providing gold shovels for the dignitaries to use at the groundbreaking – and they get to keep them. They are also providing a backhoe.
“We are going to put Representative Sandoval in the backhoe to show everyone that we had to dig deep for this project, but it will soon become a reality,” Lujan said.
The site will be blessed by students in the American Indian Council for Architects and Engineers. Pastries and cocoa will be served before the groundbreaking and green chile stew and mock champagne afterwards will create a welcoming environment for all participants.
“We invite the campus community to come out and share in our pleasure to see this project begin,” said Roger Lujan, director, Facility Planning. The event is free and open to the public.
The request that Sandoval sponsored read, “I request that the following capital outlay project be funded:
• To the Board of Regents of the University of New Mexico eight million five hundred thousand dollars ($8,500,000) to plan, design, construct, equip and furnish an architecture and planning building on the main campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque in Bernalillo County.”
George Pearl Hall, the 108,000-square-foot building, will be at Central and Cornell, just east of the UNM Bookstore. The site is considered the gateway to UNM.
President Louis Caldera is scheduled to speak after Roger Schluntz, dean, UNM School of Architecture and Planning welcomes visitors and dignitaries. Regent James Koch, Brittany Jaeger, president, Associated Students of UNM; and Buckner Creel, president, Graduate and Professional Student Association, will also make remarks.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico is listed among the top 100 colleges and universities in the United States and Puerto Rico that are doing “a commendable job of recruiting, retaining, educating and graduating Hispanics,” according to Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine. The list is in the Nov. 21 issue dedicated to its 10th annual publishers picks.
The magazine’s publisher, José López-Isa, wrote that academics are critical including “courses, majors, minors, postgraduate pipelines, along with other factors.”
He notes that in addition to such factors as competitiveness, nurturing minorities or having a “critical mass” of Latino students and professors, that aspects such as campus safety and live-in versus commuter campuses are also considerations.
López-Isa wrote that an “increased college-ready population,” creates greater competitiveness for admission. As a result, he wrote, “It’s wise to look at institutional partnerships, transition agreements and advisement capabilities. Some colleges are trendsetters.”
López-Isa wrote that students seeking information about a university or college should not be “guided wholly by a pricetag” and to get recommendations from trusted sources more than from test scores.
UNM President Louis Caldera said, “We are pleased to see UNM listed among the top 100 institutions serving Hispanic students. Our intensified efforts to recruit, retain and graduate Hispanic students have not gone unnoticed. UNM is a leader in demonstrating dedication and commitment to meeting the needs of Hispanic and other minority students.”
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Biomedical science is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary, as reliant on the physical and computational sciences as on biology. But how are the biomedical investigators of the future going to learn to work effectively across disciplinary lines? Ten universities in the United States, including the University of New Mexico, will help lead the way with grants of $1 million from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to initiate fundamental changes in the way Ph.D. scientists are trained at their respective institutions. UNM was one of 10 schools out of 132 applicants to be awarded the grant.
The three-year grants will be used to develop innovative graduate education programs designed to produce a cadre of scientists with the knowledge and skills to conduct research at the interface between the biomedical, physical, and computational sciences. Overall, HMMI is awarding $10 million ($1 million each) to the 10 selected institutions.
Distinguished Professor of Biology James Brown is the primary investigator for UNM. He, along with co-PI’s Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy Nitant Kenkre; Professor Stephanie Forrest, computer science; Research Professor Felisa Smith, biology; and Professor Edward Bedrick, mathematics and statistics and internal medicine, plan to develop a cohesive interdisciplinary sciences program.
Strategies include the consolidation of graduate training activities from biology, computer sciences, math/statistics/ and physics/astronomy. They will also collaborate with scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Santa Fe Institute. UNM’s program will feature a new core curriculum spanning departments with five new graduate courses including two interdisciplinary courses, two seminar courses and one summer school course at another institution.
Additionally, thesis research will be conducted in small intensely focused interdisciplinary teams composed of senior scientists, post doctorates and graduate students all working collaboratively on related scientific questions. A key point of the training experience involves working in these teams to do model building and model evaluation through experimentation and brainstorming. Teams will conduct intensive sessions weekly to address multiple problems with a common theme – going through all phases of research (brainstorming, problem definition, writing and publishing results.
“UNM is already offering excellent interdisciplinary graduate education,” said Brown. “So far, however, these activities have been centered within individual departments. This new training grant should allow our students to collaborate more freely across departments and obtain even better preparation for influential careers in the biomedical sciences.”
HHMI is partnering with the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) to ensure sustaining support as well as start-up funds for the new programs. Following a second competition to ensure that the HHMI-funded recipients achieved their original goals, the NIBIB — committed to integrating the physical and life sciences — will support the second phase of this program, which is aimed at sustaining interdisciplinary graduate education.
“The HHMI-NIBIB partnership capitalizes on the special strengths of each organization,” said HHMI President Thomas R. Cech. “HHMI can provide flexible support to catalyze development of new interdisciplinary programs, and the NIBIB will sustain these and related programs once they are developed, as NIH does so well with traditional training grants.”
After HHMI support ends, NIBIB will step in with peer-reviewed institutional training grants.
“NIBIB is excited to enter into this historic alliance with HHMI to support training of the biomedical scientist of the future, one skilled in interdisciplinary research,” said Roderic Pettigrew, NIBIB director. “These scientists will be better equipped to advance medical research in the 21st century, solve major challenges and optimize the delivery of human healthcare.”
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico will host Colonel Jack H. Jacobs as the first lecturer for the UNM Presidential Speaker Series. Jacobs received the Congressional Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action during the Viet Nam War. In addition to the Medal of Honor he also earned three Bronze Stars, and two Silver Stars.
Photo: Colonel Jack H. Jacobs
Jacobs will speak about leadership and give a provocative overview of the current state of the army in Iraq. He will also talk about his career in the army, and his work with the Medal of Honor foundation.
Event Information
Jacobs will speak on Thursday, December 1 at 3:30 p.m. at Keller Hall in the Center for the Arts on the UNM campus. His speech is free and afterwards he will sign books published by the Medal of Honor Foundation.
He will also be the featured speaker at a special breakfast for the community on Friday, December 2, at 7:30 a.m. at the Hotel Albuquerque (formerly the Old Town Sheraton). The cost of the breakfast is $20. and the public is invited to attend.
About Col. Jack H. Jacobs
Jacobs has taught at the National War College in Washington D.C. and at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1987, and founded AutoFinance Group Inc. one of the firms that pioneered the securitization of debt instruments. He has been a Managing Director of Bankers Trust and of Lehman Brothers. Currently he is a principal of The Fitzroy Group, a firm that specializes in the development of residential real estate in London and invests both for its own account and in joint ventures with other institutions. Jacobs is an on-camera consultant for MSNBC, and serves as Vice President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation.
The UNM Presidential Speaker Series has been initiated to bring internationally known speakers to the UNM campus and is sponsored by the UNM Board of Regents.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Student, faculty and staff appreciation day set
The UNM Bookstore would like to express their appreciation to all UNM students, faculty, and staff for their service to the UNM community, by hosting their annual Student, Faculty, and Staff Appreciation Day. The event will take place on Friday, December 9 at the UNM Bookstore, and also at the Medical Legal Bookstore. The UNM Bookstore will have extended hours for the day, and will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Medical Legal Bookstore will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
At the Main Bookstore customers will be treated with live holiday music by Dan Spanogle (from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) refreshments, and free gift wrapping. The Medical Legal Bookstore will also have free gift wrapping and refreshments.
A panel of UNM Press authors will be at the UNM Bookstore signing copies of their latest books. The authors included in the panel are V.P. Price, Rodolfo Anaya, Baker Morrow, Eliseo Torres, McAllister Hull, Sherry Robertson, Chris Wilson, and David Stuart.
Just in time for the holiday season, both bookstores will host sales throughout the day. Expect to receive 50 percent off holiday merchandise, 25 percent off general books and 25 percent off items throughout the store.
For more information about this event, please contact Anicia Esposito at (505) 277-9752, or email at aespo@unm.edu.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
University of New Mexico American Studies Professor Gerald Vizenor recently received the Distinguished Achievement Award by the Western Literature Association. The award was presented at their annual conference in Los Angeles last month.
Vizenor, who received the award with Joan Didion, has published more than 20 books, including narrative histories, essays, fiction and poetry. He is founder and series editor of the American Indian Literature and Critical Studies series at the University of Oklahoma Press. W ith Diane Glancy he is series editor of Native Storiers: A Series of American Narratives, at the University of Nebraska Press.
Vizenor taught at the University of California, Berkeley, for more than 20 years, and joined the UNM Department of American Studies this academic year. He currently teaches “The Atomic Bomb: Los Alamos to Hiroshima,” and next semester will teach a graduate seminar on “Human Rights and Genocide.” His most recent books include “Fugitive Poses: Native American Indian Scenes of Absence and Presence,” and two novels, “Chancers,” and “Hiroshima Bugi: Atomu 57.”
His novel “Griever: An American Monkey King in China,” won the American Book Award. “Bear Island: The War at Sugar Point,” a narrative poem, will be published next year by the University of Minnesota Press.
Vizenor is member of the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico Chorus will perform Carl Orff’s masterwork Carmina Burana Thursday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in Popejoy Hall, UNM Center for the Arts.
Under the direction of Conductor Jorge Perez-Gomez, the chorus will perform this passionate archetype of the Middle Ages. Orloff’s pulse-pounding work depicts chaos, darkness, and recklessness in a mythical time full of lovers, drunkards, heroes, scoundrels, flowers and fair maidens.
Featured with the University Chorus are the UNM Concert Choir, UNM Symphony Orchestra, along with soloists Jennie Olson, soprano; Sam Shepperson, tenor; and Nathan Krueger, baritone.
The University Chorus is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to providing choral masterworks to the public at low-cost or no-cost concerts twice annually.
Tickets, available at the UNM bookstore ticket office or through tickets.com, are $10, $8, and $6.
Contact: Laurie Mellas, (505) 277-5915; e-mail: lmellas@unm.edu
The National Institute of Mental Health/Career Opportunities in Research (NIMH/COR) training program at the University of New Mexico’s Center on Alcohol, Substance Abuse (CASAA) has received a five-year, $1.39 million grant to continue support of its undergraduate honors training program, a program which got underway more than 15 years ago.
“The aim of the grant is to start research training earlier in a student’s education and to produce dedicated mental health researchers” said Alfredo Aragon, program co-director and sr. research scientist, and a COR postdoctorate graduate. “This honors undergraduate program trains qualified Hispanics, Native Americans, African and Asian Americans and other underserved students in research and mental health and comorbidity.”
The COR program began in 1988 when a decision was made by Dr. Philip May, project director and principal investigator, to pursue a NIMH-Minority Access to Research Careers training grant to further develop both individuals and mental health and co-morbidity research opportunities in New Mexico. Dr. May has been a Professor of Sociology at UNM for over 27 years.
COR has been May’s major teaching responsibility since 1990 and has been committed to the research training and specifically the NIMH/COR program. Recruitment, counseling, research guidance and supervision of students are shared with other faculty including Aragon and Paul Amrhein.
The COR program ensures that students have acquired specific academic skills during their education, an overview of the entire field of mental health research and specific personal resources and attributes qualifying students for graduate school and successful careers in mental health research.
Since the program’s inception, more than 100 students have benefited as part of the highly successful program. Usually, nine students are funded through NIMH, while UNM funds two additional students for a total of 11 each year. Over the years, 80 have been funded through the NIMH, while UNM has funded 20 in the program. The New Mexico program is made up of 80 percent federally recognized minorities and 20 percent non-minority.
“For the entire life of the grant, UNM has provided matching funding for two additional fellowships for underserved individuals,” said May. “UNM is the only university in the country that gives to the program. UNM has pledged to continue for the next five years to match the extension of the NIMH funding.”
Nearly 50 percent of all program graduates have earned a graduate degree including doctorates in psychology, sociology, neuroscience, international business management, pharmacy, medicine, law and dentistry, and master’s in similar fields. However, the majority of students study in the fields of psychology and sociology.
“The COR program gave me the opportunity to work in New Mexico,” said Aragon, who will have the opportunity to eventually advance into a leadership position in the COR program with the new five-year grant. “I was able to excel in the program because of its many benefits. It also gave me the opportunity to become involved in research and work with other UNM staff. The COR program is responsible for me to earn a doctorate and become a research scientist. It gives students something to shoot for with the ultimate goal being graduate school.”
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
Tom Trowbridge, the voice of KUNM’s Morning Edition, leaves the airwaves following his Friday, Nov. 25 broadcast, announced Marcos Martinez, KUNM news director. After a “51 month career” as KUNM’s voice in the morning, Trowbridge is taking a public relations job with the State Highway and Transportation department, Traffic Safety Bureau.
Photo: Tom Trowbridge
“Tom is a stellar news reporter. He has anchored KUNM’s highest-listening hours, and listeners have come to depend on him. He will be missed inside of Oñate Hall, and also on the airwaves throughout northern and central New Mexico,” Martinez said.
Trowbridge said he will miss the interaction with the listeners, but looks forward to working to bring greater public awareness to the state’s battle against drunk drivers.
“I’m sad to be losing Tom, but I’m also very happy for him because I know he’s pursuing a great opportunity at a new job that he’s very excited about,” Martinez said.
Martinez noted Trowbridge’s work as an “outstanding news reporter,” and said,
He’s been the reliable, consistent morning presence that’s helped KUNM to build a loyal audience. He’s also a skilled journalist who’s been a pleasure to work with.”
Trowbridge credits KUNM with giving him the opportunity to hone his news gathering skills, particularly when covering the New Mexico State Legislature.
“I would do Morning Edition, go up to Santa Fe, cover the session and come back to do the evening report,” he recalled of those “crazy 30- and 60-day sessions.”
An interest in deepening his understanding of the legislative process led him to earn a master’s in UNM’s Public Administration program in 1996.
“Tom has been recognized for his work with awards from the New Mexico Associated Press. Hr’s shared his talents with many volunteers, freelance reporters and UNM students in the KUNM newsroom,” Martinez said.
KUNM will name a temporary replacement while they post the position to find a permanent replacement.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Manuel de Hermenegildo, who holds the Prince of Asturias Endowed Chair in Information Science and Technology at the University of New Mexico, has been honored with Spain’s 2005 National Research Award for Mathematics and Information Technologies, known as the Julio Pastor Award. The award, granted by Spain’s Education and Science Ministry, recognizes outstanding merit in scientific and technological research by Spanish scientists.
Photo: Manuel de Hermenegildo, Prince of Asturias Endowed Chair
“Receiving this award is a great honor for me and for the chair, and it also recognizes the efforts of an entire group of researchers who have worked with me over the past 20 years,” said de Hermenegildo.
De Hermenegildo filled the Prince of Asturias Endowed Chair in Information Science and Technology, named for the heir to the Spanish throne, in February 2003. It was created to undertake research of excellence and to advance the state of knowledge of a series of concrete areas within the information science and technology field. Iberdrola, a Spanish utility company, funds the endowment and established the chair in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy in Spain.
De Hermenegildo has a Master’s and Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Texas and an Engineering degree from the Polytechnic University of Madrid.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
UNM hosts four visiting Fulbright Scholars
Three University of New Mexico faculty have been awarded Fulbright Scholar grants during the 2005-06 academic year, according to the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Additionally, UNM hosts four Fulbright Scholars.
Elizabeth Hutchison, associate professor, Department of History, will lecture on “Gender History in the Americas: Building Ties to Spain,” at Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona, Spain during the fall semester.
James and Connie Thorson, emeriti professors in the Department of English and the University Libraries, respectively, are lecturing on American Culture: Libraries, Higher Education and American Studies, at Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts, Minsk, Belarus.
Vicenc Acuna Salazar, assistant professor in the Department of Ecology, at the University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, will conduct research on Effects of Pulse Events at Different Spatial Scales on Arid Land Stream Ecosystems.
Marcin Maria Kilarski, assistant professor, Department of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland, will conduct research on Formal Approaches to Nominal Classification Systems.
Premysl Macha, assistant professor, Department of Philosophy, Ostrava University, Ostrava, Czech Republic, will research Indigenous Nationalism as a New Political Ideology: The Dynamics of Indigenous Nationalism in the Americas.
Helene Wallaert, associate research scholar, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium, will lecture and research on Building Social Interaction, Constructing Cultural Ties and Developing Style: Pottery Making and Apprenticeship Strategies in a Group of New Mexico Pueblos.
The group is among approximately 850 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad to some 150 countries for the 2005-06 academic year through the Fulbright Scholar Program. Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the program’s purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries.
The Fulbright Program, America’s flagship international educational exchange activity, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Over its 59 years of existence, thousands of U.S. faculty and professionals have studied, taught or done research abroad, and thousands of their counterparts from other countries have engaged in similar activities in the United States. They are among more than 265,000 American and foreign university students, K-12 teachers, and university faculty and professionals who have participated in one of the several Fulbright exchange programs.
Recipients of Fulbright Scholar awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement and because they have demonstrated extraordinary leadership potential in their fields. Among thousands of prominent U.S. Fulbright Scholar alumni are Milton Friedman, Nobel Laureate in Economics; James Watson, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA and Nobel Laureate in Medicine; Rita Dove, Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet; and Craig Barrett, CEO of Intel Corporation.
KNME-TV, Channel 5 in Albuquerque and Santa Fe presents “Stateline New Mexico,” a live 30-minute, monthly call-in series designed to give the general public greater access to state officials. KRQE News Anchor Deanna Sauceda joins the program as new host and moderator.
Photo: KRQE News Anchor Deanna Sauceda
This month’s program, to air Friday, Nov. 18 at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 5 as well as on KENW-TV, Channel 3, PBS-Portales, will feature John Garcia, cabinet secretary, New Mexico Department of Veteran Affairs, who will answer questions about veteran’s Issues across the state.
Among questions to be addressed is, As New Mexico’s soldiers return home, how is the state supporting them? What are the funding issues? Other veterans’ issues include post-traumatic stress disorder, recruitment, public perception of vets, planning for the future, veterans’ healthcare needs and government funding, family issues, job training and employment opportunities for returning veterans.
Stateline invites New Mexico citizens to call and ask questions toll free at 1-866-337-5172.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Thomas Sizgorich, newly appointed assistant professor of history at UNM, is the recipient of a Council of Graduate Schools/University Microfilms International Prestigious Dissertation Award for 2004-05 for his dissertation, “Monks, Martyrs and Mujahidun: Militant Piety in Late Antiquity and Early Islam.”
Sizgorich completed this work at the University of California at Santa Barbara. An award ceremony will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 8 in Palm Springs, Calif.
He began graduate school with an interest in the causes of inter-communal violence in the later Roman world. Then developed interest on the theory and practice of jihad in early Islam.
“Gradually I began to suspect that the role of militant piety in processes of self-fashioning among later Roman communities and the early Islamic community were somehow connected,” Sizgorich said.
“I began to understand this connection as the product of a shared vocabulary of signs, symbols and narratives with which late antique communities, including the very early Muslim community, imagined and talked about encounters with the divine and the consequences of revelation in the affairs of the world,” he said.
He said he looks forward to turning the dissertation into a book at UNM.
The Council of Graduate Schools is an organization of institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada, and across the globe engaged in graduate education, research scholarship, and the preparation of candidates for advanced degrees. For over four decades, the Council of Graduate Schools has been the only national association dedicated solely to representing the interests of graduate education. Its mission is to improve and advance graduate education. CGS accomplishes this mission through advocacy in the federal policy arena, innovative research, and the development and dissemination of best practices.
The CGS/UMI Distinguished Dissertation Award is sponsored jointly by CGS and UMI Dissertations Publishing, a Division of ProQuest Information and Learning, and was first presented in 1981. The awards are made annually to individuals who have completed dissertations representing original work that makes an unusually significant contribution to the discipline. Two awards are given annually in two different broad areas biological sciences, social sciences, mathematical and physical sciences; and humanities and fine arts. Individuals must be nominated for these awards by a member institution.
The University Libraries and the Indigenous Nations Library Program present storytelling from the Navajo Nation on Tuesday, Nov. 22. A brown bag discussion starts at noon to 1 p.m. in room 102 of Zimmerman Library. Another session of storytelling begins at 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Willard Reading Room of Zimmerman. The stories will contain creation and traditional ceremonies.
Invited storyteller is Ernest Harry Begay from Rock Point, Arizona on the Navajo Nation. Begay is a Navajo philosopher, renowned storyteller and cultural educator. He also travels the Navajo Nation and universities around the country telling Navajo stories of origin and moral teaching.
Both events are free and open to the public. For more information contact April Hale at (505) 277-7433.
USA Today and the UNM Division of Student Affairs are collaborating to bring free newspapers to faculty and students for use in the classroom. It is hoped that promoting daily newspaper reading habits among students will help them further develop critical thinking ability and keep students informed about news events and important current issues.
UNM’s faculty are also encouraged to use the newspapers on a regular basis as part of the course curricula.
“The Collegiate Readership Program is a great way to get students reading, thinking, and talking about topics and issues affecting the world, the nation, their own communities, and themselves,” said Eliseo “Cheo” Torres, vice president for Student Affairs at the University of New Mexico. “Instructors at UNM can use the newspapers to jump-start student discussions, get them to think critically, analyze the way the media operates, and understand the political process.”
USA TODAY is distributed free of charge at five locations across main campus:
· Anderson School of Management
· Dane Smith Hall
· Student Services Center
· Student Union, Plaza Level
· Zimmerman Library
Newspapers will be stocked at these sites for faculty and students Monday through Friday while classes are in session, for the remainder of the school year.
For further information contact Tim Sawyer at 277-5299.
The University of New Mexico’s Latin American and Iberian Institute hosts a reception for Suzanne Dulle and Juan Velasco of “con Bolívia,” on Monday, Nov. 21 from 3-5 p.m.
A non-profit organization, con Bolivia provides opportunities for UNM students and faculty to go to Bolívia and participate in service-learning projects based around “Sol y Luna,” a daycare center for indigenous children in a village south of La Paz.
Sol y Luna is managed by a group of volunteers and employs women from the village as caregivers. Con Bolívia also works with Padre Hugo, or Father Hugo Varqga who runs a safe haven for drug-addicted “lustrabotas,” or shoeshine boys. He also works with nuns in El Alto who have sewing machines and a work center to train former prostitutes in sewing skills.
The mission of con Bolívia is to provide direct support to locally based projects in Bolivia to address the educational or economic needs of indigenous women, children or youth.
“My hope is that through networking with educational organizations such as the University of New Mexico, our ability to support our various projects in Bolívia will be enhanced, and at the same time, I will be assist in establishing beneficial educational links between Bolívia and UNM,” Dulle said.
Established in 2003, con Bolivia came about because Dulle and her husband, Juan Velasco, wanted to create a “network of goodness” linking generous people to grassroots projects in Velasco’s native Bolívia.
“We believe that people in communities throughout the world know what they need, but often times lack the means to make their dreams a reality,” Dulle said.
“Similarly, there are many caring individuals who have a desire to be connected with fellow human beings in other countries, but do not have the opportunity to get involved. con Bolívia, through its ‘network of goodness,’ helps individuals find a path that will connect them to some truly transformational, grassroots projects in Bolívia,” she said.
Dulle has 20+ years’ experience as a professional administrator. She was the City of Santa Fe’s first female city manager and was director of administrative services and vice president for management systems at Integrated Genetics. She accepted a contract to open the National Center for Genome Resources (NCGR) in Santa Fe, and later served as vice president for administrative services.
Her first foray into international initiatives came in 1997 when she was recruited to the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) by President Ellen Goldberg. There she directed their business network and international program. As SFI’s international program director, she helped establish the Institute’s first International Summer Schools in Budapest, Hungary; and in Qingdao, China, and created and managed SFI’s International Fellows Program.
Albuquerque-The Magazine recently named the University of New Mexico as one of the best places to work in New Mexico. Among the reasons for this selection is the university’s great benefits package, including practices that promote work + life balance. To further promote the university’s commitment to employees, the UNM Department of Human Resources has established a Work + Life Advisory Committee.
The committee’s charge is to:
** Identify benchmarks and industry standards for work + life programs
** Assist in the review and development of UNM work + life initiatives
** Serve as ambassadors within the UNM community to promote work + life practices
Work + Life Advisory Committee members are: Laurie Mellas, Communication and Marketing; Clovis Acosta, Parking Services; Jonathan Armendariz, Dispute Resolution; Melissa Binder, Econonics; Joe Miera, Continuing Education; Diana Montoya, Family Development Program; Paul Nathanson, School of Law; Richard Santos, Economics; Kay Sedler, Midwifery Program; Chelsa Walker, Physics and Astronomy, and Michelle Arthur, Anderson Schools of Management.
For more information, call Mimi Swanson, 277-1781.
Contact: Laurie Mellas, (505) 277-5915; e-mail: lmellas@unm.edu
Graduate students from UNM’s Anderson Schools, School of Engineering to work on energy conversion project
The University of New Mexico announced today that Avistar, PNM’s research and development subsidiary, has signed a research agreement in energy conversion under which the School of Engineering will supervise a study on that subject by graduate students. The program will be administered by UNM’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, although the work will be done by students from the UNM’s School of Engineering (SOE) and the Anderson Schools of Management (ASM).
“Avistar is pleased to engage the University of New Mexico in this study of energy conversion,” said George Rhodes, Avistar executive vice president and chief operating officer. “The work from the UNM student team will supplement data we already have on current research on the commercially viable processes in stored electrical energy and its retrieval. We believe this study will help in forecasting the methodology to be used for more efficient and effective use of energy storage, generation and transmission.”
Under the arrangement supported by Avistar and UNM, a student team will review the current research literature and commercial efforts in stored energy conversion and compile a summary of the data for Avistar. UNM will receive a stipend from PNM to cover the costs of the student assistantships.
Supervision of the Avistar program at UNM will be jointly handled by Professor Andres C. Salazar, PNM chair of Microsystems, Commercialization and Technology, and Professor Chaouki Abdallah, chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.
“We are happy that PNM has decided to participate in this technology assessment program with UNM,” said Joseph Cecchi, dean, UNM School of Engineering. “It provides a challenging way for both SOE and ASM students to assist in the research of a real world problem in energy conversion. In addition, the work is focused in an area of concern to everyone today – energy.”
Contacts: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu or Greg Johnston, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: gregj@unm.edu
Flamenco master La Tati — Francisca Sadornil Ruíz — is in residence at the University of New Mexico's Department of Theatre and Dance through Nov. 22. La Tati is one of the most acclaimed female flamenco dancers in Spain. She will be teaching intermediate and advanced students for three weeks, as well as setting a new choreographic work for Alma Flamenca, a pre-professional performance ensemble collaboratively organized by UNM and the National Institute of Flamenco.
Photo: Flamenco master La Tati — Francisca Sadornil Ruíz
A native of Madrid, La Tati has performed professionally since the age of twelve. She began performing at the famous Tablao Zambra where she was introduced to artists of the purest flamenco traditions. At fifteen La Tati went on her first European tour with the Festival Flamenco Gitano, where she met great flamenco and jazz artists like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles. She has also toured in Africa, Asia and Australia.
La Tati visited the United States several times with the well-received performance of La Cumbre Flamenca. In the late 1980s she founded her own company. Her productions have been praised for their richness of ideas and innovation and the brilliance of her interpretation. She currently teaches at Amor de Díos flamenco dance school in Madrid.
This exceptional opportunity has been made possible by the funding from Tobias Duran with the Center for Regional Studies, Cheo Torres Vice-President for Student Affairs, the Department of Theatre and Dance and the Department of Music.
Contact: Eva Encinias-Sandoval, (505) 277-1855; e-mail: dance@unm.edu
As part of its continuing celebration of 35 years of Navajo instruction at UNM, the Linguistics Department hosts weavers from Crownpoint, NM, on Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Zimmerman Library's Willard Reading Room.
The weavers will talk about the art, tradition and symbolism of Navajo weaving using textiles from the Maxwell Museum collection.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Stanford from Central Avenue to Redondo on the UNM campus will close Monday, Nov. 21. There will be no entrance or egress for visitors, students and staff at the Stanford area. Please use Yale or the entrance off Lomas at the University Hospital to access campus.
The roadway area will be used only as a construction lay-down yard and a gated and flagger controlled construction truck entrance and exit from the building site of the new School of Architecture and Planning and Fine Arts and Design Library.
Construction on the $28.7 million project begins Monday, Nov. 21 and will last through Sept. 2007. Stanford will remain closed during the entire project.
Entry to the Visitor Parking Structure near the Stanford/Central area will be via a right turn only off of Redondo.
For more information on the project and the new traffic plan to enter the Visitor's Parking Garage while you attend classes, special events at the SUB / Popejoy Hall, shop at the Bookstore or visit campus please visit this website: Way to Go ~ Architecture.
Contact: Sabra Basler, (505) 269-5550; e-mail: sbasler@unm.edu
More than 480 undergraduate students will display research projects and creative works at the University of New Mexico Undergraduate Research & Creativity Symposium on Monday, Nov. 21, at the Student Union Building. University College is organizing the symposium, and Dean Peter White is inviting the Albuquerque community to see the variety and depth of research now being done by students at UNM.
Undergraduates Display Record Number of Research Projects
Poster and oral presentations begin at 9 a.m. For media and off-campus visitors, one focal point of the day will be a 9:30 presentation of a voice-activated wheelchair by senior engineering students in the Amigo Room and a slam poetry group that will perform in the plaza atrium of the SUB from 10:30 a.m. through noon.
There will also be a special noontime presentation in Ballroom A featuring Dr. Rex Jung from the MIND Institute at UNM. The title of his talk is “Creativity and the Brain: When Smarts Are Not Enough.” At 12:30 p.m. there will be a round table discussion on the “Role of Research in Secondary Education” in the Luminaria Room, led by Dean White and APS and Rio Rancho education leaders.
The second session of oral presentations begins at 1 p.m. and will continue throughout the afternoon. At 3 p.m. community members may join a walking tour of the UNM campus that illustrates the geological history of New Mexico; this tour starts in the Plaza Atrium of the SUB. The Southwest Film Center on the plaza level of the SUB will feature student films from 5 through 8 p.m.
For questions about the time or local of events please contact Erin Radcliffe at 277-8282.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
The Director of D'Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian History Brian Hosmer will lecture on “Connecting Collections with Diverse Native American Audiences: The McNickle Center Activities at Newberry Library” on Friday, November 18 at 10 a.m. in the Willard Reading Room of Zimmerman Library.
Hosmer, who is also director of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation American Indian Studies Consortium of The Newberry Library, will meet in the afternoon with members of the Native American Libraries Special Interest Group. The Newberry Library has supported research opportunities for Native Americans throughout the years, and houses one of the premier collections on Native Americans.
If you have specific questions about the event, please contact Mary Alice Tsosie, (505) 277-8922 or mtsosie@unm.edu.
The Indigenous Nations Library Program is sponsoring the event, which is free and open to the public.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Three federal government officers are on loan to the University of New Mexico for the 2005-2006 academic year. UNM Student Affairs is host to former U.S. Ambassador to Zambia Martin Brennan, who will serve as a diplomat in residence housed in the UNM Career Services Office. Fidel Trujillo, United States Department of Agriculture, will work in the UNM Office of Special Programs, and Alice Maestas Marshall, Bureau of Land Management, will be housed in the UNM Department for Accessibility Services.
Eliseo “Cheo” Torres, vice president for Student Affairs, said the employees are at UNM “in recognition of the important role UNM plays in the economic well-being of the state of New Mexico.”
Brennan, Trujillo and Marshall will work with faculty and students, give talks and workshops and teach classes.
“The fact that these three officers are working within Student Affairs also speaks well of our division and the work that we do here,” Torres said.
Brennan is a career member of the United States Senior Foreign Service. Previous to his 2002 appointment as ambassador to Zambia, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Uganda. He has also served in Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Taiwan, Portugal, Thailand, and Ethiopia. His term as ambassador to Zambia expired in August.
Marshall is a support services assistant with the BLM. She has served much of her career as an advocate for people with disabilities and more generally, for equal employment and educational opportunities, civil rights, and equal economic, political, and health status.
Trujillo was recently appointed as the Liaison Officer for the USDA's Hispanic-Serving Institutions' National Program. The federal civilian position serves 18 Hispanic-Serving Institutions in New Mexico, eight in Arizona and six in Colorado promoting opportunities for students in the federal sector and engaging HSI's to pursue federal grant funding.
For information about Ambassador Brennan, contact Career Services at 505-277-2531. For information about Marshall, contact Accessibility Services at 505-277-3506. For information about Trujillo, contact the Office of Special Programs at 277-3096.
Contact: Laurie Mellas, (505) 277-5915; e-mail: lmellas@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico Foundation surpassed its overall fund-raising goal of $43.4 million by raising more than $43.5 million, an all-time high, for fiscal year 2004-05. The amount represents an increase of approximately $1.8 million over the $41.8 million raised in fiscal year 2003-04 and exceeds the previous benchmark of more than $42 million established in 2002-03.
The mission of the UNM Foundation is to solicit, accept and manage private contributions and grants for the purpose of promoting the education, research and community service commitments of the University. The development of private resources, both philanthropic and volunteer, is the Foundation’s responsibility.
Foundation officers include: Robert Bovinette, chairman; Don Chalmers, vice chairman; Dorothy Rainosek, secretary; David Harris, UNM executive vice president for Administration; and Michael Carroll, UNM vice president for Institutional Advancement.
The UNM Foundation is an incorporated not-for-profit organization with the responsibility to receive, invest and distribute gifts of private support to UNM. For more information call (505) 277-4503.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
UNM President Louis Caldera has approved the integration of three UNM communication departments into the newly named University Communication and Marketing, under the leadership of Anne Monson, Associate Vice President for Communication and Marketing. The integration plan, which was overseen by Vice President for Advancement Mike Carroll and interim Executive Vice President for Health Sciences Paul Roth, includes the departments of Public Affairs and Strategic Communications/Marketing (main campus) and HSC Public Affairs.
Photo: Anne Monson
"With this newly integrated model, UCAM will be better equipped to provide the university with a proactive, targeted, consistent and effective communication and marketing program," says Monson.
She adds that the department will continue to work collaboratively with marketing, public affairs and development staff who work for individual schools, branches and programs to help ensure consistency and continuity of the university's look and message to various audiences.
University Communication and Marketing is in the Advancement Division reporting to Vice President Carroll. Susan McKinsey is the communication director with a primary focus on the main campus. Sam Giammo is the communication director with a primary focus on the Health Sciences Center. Cinnamon Blair is the marketing manager serving the university, which includes HSC.
If you have questions about this integration, contact Anne Monson at: (505) 277-1811; or via e-mail: amonson@unm.edu
University Libraries and the Division of Iberian and Latin American Resources and Services are sponsoring an exhibit of books and illustrations in honor of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel Cervantés.
The exhibit, in the Herzstein Gallery on the second floor of Zimmerman Library on UNM’s main campus, also includes a timeline that helps give the novel’s publication a context. Don Quixote is widely considered to be the first example of the modern novel.
Curated by Mina Jane Grothey, the interim co-curator of Latin American and Iberian Collections, the exhibit includes examples of the tales of chivalry that influenced Cervantes as a writer, and illustrations of the influences that Cervantés has had on other writers.
The exhibit, on display through December, is free. The gallery is open during normal library hours.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
International Education Week is being recognized for the first time in the state, as proclaimed by Gov. Bill Richardson. An international festival highlighting the cultures of UNM’s international students and Albuquerque community members is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov.16 from 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. The international festival features food from local ethnic restaurants as well as entertainment from Brazil, Chile, India, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey.
An international festival and symposium on rights of indigenous peoples in North and South America will take place during International Education week, Nov. 14-18 at the University of New Mexico. The free symposium brings together indigenous leaders and academics from the United States, Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, Columbia and a number of other countries. Topics include human rights, effects of globalization, conflict and resistance and peacemaking.
Luis Macas, president of the National Indigenous Confederation of Ecuador (CONAIE) an internationally known advocate for indigenous rights will deliver the keynote address. The program features two films, “Po’pay,” a new film on the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, introduced by UNM Associate Professor of Anthropology and Native American Studies Beverly Singer; and “Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action.”
New Mexico participants in the programs include Cabinet Secretary Benny Shendo Jr, New Mexico Department of Indian Affairs; Greg Cajete, UNM Native American Studies; and LaDonna Harris, Americans for Indian Opportunity.
The symposium is presented as a part of the United Nations’ “Second Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples,” which began Jan. 1. A report on the symposium will be forwarded for inclusion in the “Draft Program for Action” now being compiled by the United States General Assembly, and to other international bodies including the World Bank and the Organization of American States.
A brief schedule of the program and the proclamation signed by Gov. Richardson are attached. For a schedule, the proclamation and more information on the symposium, visit: Indigenous Symposium or contact David Lujan, American Friends Service Committee, 264-8565, or Roxanne Olguin, UNM Native American Studies, 277-3917.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Angelica Sanchez-Clark has a full time job as managing editor of the Colonial Latin American Historical Review, a publication of the Spanish Colonial Research Center, a National Park Service/UNM agency. A 10-year UNM employee, she’s also a busy student, working to complete a doctorate in Spanish and Portuguese at UNM.
With an editor’s pen in one hand and a clipboard in the other, she organized a colloquium for the City of Albuquerque’s Tricentennial. For her efforts on the “All Roads Lead to Albuquerque” series, Mayor Martin Chavez designated Oct. 29, 2005 “Angelica Sanchez-Clark Day.”
Sanchez-Clark was presented with a proclamation that was read at the final installment of the “All Roads” series, held at the new Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum.
Three years ago she got involved with the City of Albuquerque’s Tricentennial activities in part because her supervisor, Dr. Joseph Sanchez, is chair of the Albuquerque Tricentennial Strategic Planning Task Force and encouraged her involvement.
“The program was held in six venues around the city and featured the best speakers addressing native trails, Mexican and Spanish trails, the railroad, modern highways and byways, recreational trails and culminating with aviation. It provided the city residents with an opportunity to learn more about Albuquerque’s history,” Sanchez-Clark said.
“Angelica, and all those involved in bringing the “All Roads” series to fruition, put forth tremendous effort and presented a quality series. It was a small acknowledgement of a tremendous effort,” said Isabelle Zamora, management analyst in the City of Albuquerque’s Cultural Affairs Division. She and Cultural Affairs Director Millie Santillanes submitted the proclamation request to the mayor.
“It really is a testament to the success of the colloquium series, which the proclamation recognized as one of the more successful Tricentennial events, and for which we all deserve recognition,” Sanchez-Clark said.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico Science and Technology Corporation has agreed to commercialize a technology developed by two Eastern New Mexico University professors. Dr. Robert Long and Dr. Newton Hilliard of the Physical Sciences Department at ENMU have synthesized new compounds for use as biological buffers.
The agreement enables STC to take the technology through the patenting process, and to begin researching markets. “STC is very pleased that we can be of assistance to one of UNM's sister institutions in the state of New Mexico,” says Lisa Kuuttila, president and CEO of STC. “Since we have a comprehensive infrastructure in place for serving the University of New Mexico in the commercialization of its technology, we can effectively provide these services to ENMU.”
The new buffers exhibit desirable properties at lower pH levels and have significant advantages over those currently available. The discovery of the compounds occurred while the doctors were investigating alternate production methodologies for biological buffers.
Long says, "the chemistry faculty at ENMU is happy to have an avenue for commercialization of our research work with the cooperation of UNM and STC. We are hopeful that this invention will provide additional tools to researchers and laboratories for conducting work at low pH levels."
STC is a non-profit corporation formed by and wholly owned by the University of New Mexico to protect and transfer intellectual property and faculty inventions to the commercial marketplace. As STC has evolved as a unique entity, the corporation not only assists UNM faculty, but students, outside inventors and entrepreneurs.
For more information about this technology, please contact Karol-Lynn Reed at (505) 272-7346.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
The UNM Bookstore invites everyone to attend its annual Children’s Book Fair on Saturday, Nov. 12. The Children’s Book Fair offers fun activities for children including live animals and author readings. There will also be face painting, activity tables, coloring and more. The free event will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The UNM Bookstore is excited to have Exotics of the Rainforest involved with the fair. Exotics of the Rainforest presents an informative visual presentation featuring live parrots, reptiles, snakes, and amphibians from the tropical rainforests and deserts of the world.
Also included in Children’s Book Fair are authors Walter D. Yoder, “The Big New Mexico Activity Book,” Carilyn Alarid, “Old Grandfather Teaches a Lesson,” and Ana Baca, “Chiles for Benito/ Chiles para Benito.” They will be entertaining children with readings from their great books.
Curious George will also be at the fair entertaining children, and taking pictures. Along with the fun activities the UNM Bookstore will be hosting a Children’s Book Fair sale. Selected children’s books, toys and clothing will be 25 percent off.
For more information contact Anicia Esposito, (505) 277-9752.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
The Digital Media Garage, housing high-tech equipment for UNM’s Arts Technology Center, ARTS Lab and High Performance Computing, will hold grand opening ceremonies for the public Wednesday, Dec. 7, from 1 to 5 p.m. at 1601 Central Blvd. NE.
The garage will provide an interdepartmental space—a neutral zone where people from all walks of campus can access technological resources, pool their diverse talents and explore the intersections between art, science, technology and business.
From 1 – 3:30 p.m. in the Student Union Building, hear from a panel of national speakers prominent in the arts technology field – Donna Cox, National Center for Supercomputer Applications and School of Art and Design, University of Indiana – Urbana Champlain; Cleve Moler, chief scientist of Mathworks and former chair of computer science at UNM; Dave Turek, head of Deep Computing at IBM; and Pixar animator and UNM alumnus Mark Henne.
Tours and demonstrations at the Digital Media Garage will take place from 3:30 – 5 p.m. Garage facilities include an experimental dome, visualization/perception lab and experimental “black box” with a full-corner green screen, a motion-capture system and an advanced lighting system.
In producing past ARTS Lab dome projects, such as the award-winning “Gronk’s BrainFlame,” animators first viewed their work in a dome setting side by side with an audience. The experimental dome enables animators to view work in progress before it’s widely released.
While green screens are relatively common, a full-corner green screen is an unusual asset. It allows for greater range of motion and flexibility in how an image is filmed. A number of popular, contemporary movies have been filmed using motion-capture, including “Polar Express,” “Sin City” and “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.”
UNM staff, faculty and students will be able to submit proposals to use the space for specific projects. The space will also be available for classes. For example, Hue Walker Bumgarner-Kirby, UNM Arts Technology Center multimedia development specialist, will teach a dome animation course this spring. A second spring course offering allows students to use the facilities to work on gaming simulation projects.
Contact: Laurie Mellas, (505) 277-5915; e-mail: lmellas@unm.edu
A panel of North America's foremost experts on the history of medicine will gather in Albuquerque on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18–19, for “Blades and Blood: Surgery and Anatomy in the Middle Ages and Beyond,” the University of New Mexico Institute for Medieval Studies' fourth annual medieval science and medicine seminar.
The event, which will take place in Room 122 of Northrop Hall on UNM's main campus, will include five illustrated presentations and a concluding discussion. All seminar sessions are free and open to the public.
The overall aim of the seminar is to consider how techniques of surgery developed from rudimentary medieval beginnings into a means for the social advancement of gifted physicians in the Renaissance period while also examining key ways in which early developments contributed to the emergence of modern medicine. Individual presentations will show:
• how medieval surgeons incorporated an ever more sophisticated knowledge of anatomy into their textbooks, their teaching, and their surgical practice;
• how Jewish learning and Jewish physicians played a crucial role in the evolution of Western medicine during the Middle Ages;
• how the tradition of anatomical illustration developed and changed, yet remained partly the same, in its long evolution from late Antiquity to the pre-modern era;
• how the development of women's medicine and the study of human generation as a separate medical field was intimately associated with the emergence of the science of dissection;
• how Renaissance surgeons created spectacular new surgeries to advance their careers and bring themselves into the social limelight.
All presentations will be enhanced with colorful and graphic illustrations from medieval manuscripts and early printed books to offer a striking visual perspective on the relative importance attached to tradition and innovation as the theory and practice of surgery and anatomy advanced and changed.
“The special value of the seminar will lie in the unusual opportunity it offers for direct communication between the humanities and the sciences. The presenters will cover their topics in a manner that will appeal directly to specialists and the general public alike. Scientists and humanities scholars will exchange ideas and observations directly and members of the public will have the opportunity to participate in this dialogue,” said Tim Graham, director, UNM Institute for Medieval Studies
For more information on this seminar or on the Institute for Medieval Studies, call 277-2252 or visit the Institute's website at Medieval Institute.
The lectures:
Friday, Nov. 18, 7 p.m.
Michael C. McVaugh, “What Good Was Anatomy to a Medieval Surgeon?”
McVaugh will deliver an overview of the relationship between surgery and anatomy in the medieval period while considering the interaction between these two crucial areas of the medical sciences and broader social and educational changes. As the Middle Ages advanced, the theory and practice of surgery became more self-consciously rational, and by the later thirteenth century medieval surgeons began to incorporate sections on anatomy in their textbooks and to teach the subject to their disciples. But what did they think was important about anatomy? How did they try to convey anatomical knowledge, verbally and visually, and how did they use that knowledge? McVaugh's lecture will address these questions by looking closely at the writings of three key individuals: Guglielmo da Saliceto (1275), Lanfranc of Milan (1296), and Henri de Mondeville (1304–6). He will conclude by looking at the incorporation of anatomy into academic medicine in France and Italy during the fourteenth century.
Saturday, Nov. 19, 9 a.m.
David A. Bennahum, “Science and Medicine in the Jewish Communities of the Middle Ages”
Bennahum will demonstrate that during the Middle Ages, Jewish centers of Talmudic study played an important role in the preservation and transmission of Greek and Arabic medicine. In many towns and cities across Europe, Jewish physicians treated Christian patients and served as important sources of scientific knowledge to the Christian community. Major Jewish thinkers such as Maimonides (1135–1204) may have been instrumental in spreading the influence of Aristotle on such key Christian thinkers as Thomas Aquinas and may also have assisted in encouraging the evolution of the medieval university. Increasing prejudice against Jews, however, created barriers to Jewish-Christian dialogue, especially after the outbreak of bubonic plague in the fourteenth century. Bennahum will discuss medicine as learned and practiced by Jewish physicians in the medieval period and will consider possible links to the general growth of scientific knowledge.
Saturday, Nov. 19, 10:15 to 11:15 a.m.
Ynez Violé O'Neill, “Ariadne's Thread: The Visual Tradition of Anatomy”
Anatomical illustration has a fascinating history that casts important light on the manner anatomy developed and on the kinds of visual paradigms that influenced practitioners of anatomy. O'Neill's lecture will follow the intriguing thread of continuity that winds through the labyrinthine paths of medieval anatomical development, focusing especially on the visual and plastic aspects of the tradition. She will trace a number of conventional anatomical figures from the earliest survivals through to their last vestiges, which date from the eighteenth century. What was the starting point for these visual traditions? What do their alterations and variations imply? Do the illustrations offer clues about the moving force behind inquiry into human structure in pre-modern Europe? While acknowledging that it is impossible to offer complete answers to these questions, Professor O'Neill will cast some light down a few dark corridors.
Saturday, Nov. 19, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Katharine Park, “‘The Secrets of Women': Anatomy and Dissection in Renaissance Italy”
Toward the end of the Middle Ages, medical writers and philosophers began to devote attention to what they called “women's secrets,” by which they meant matters pertaining to female sexuality and generation. At about the same time, Italian physicians began to open human bodies in order to learn and teach about their structure and function. Park will demonstrate that these two developments were closely related and reflect important changes in women's healthcare. Using both texts and images, her lecture will show that one of the principal goals of the new practice of dissection was to illuminate the workings of the female reproductive system and that the opening of the uterus came quickly to symbolize the appropriation of previously inaccessible realms of knowledge on the part of learned physicians.
Saturday, Nov. 19, 2 to 3 p.m.
William Eamon, “Stupendous Surgery and Renaissance Self-Fashioning”
“Self-fashioning” is one of the classic characteristics associated with the Italian Renaissance. Eamon will argue that for some healers of the Renaissance period, surgery offered a mechanism for “self-fashioning” and for social advancement. For these surgeons, the art of surgery was not merely a way to mend bones, treat wounds, and heal chancres, as traditional surgery had been, but an opportunity to exploit and demonstrate “stupendous surgeries” that would bring them into the public limelight. Eamon's presentation will focus mostly on the sixteenth-century Italian surgeon Leonardo Fioravanti and four of his “stupendous surgeries”: splenectomy, rhinoplasty, a new treatment for head wounds, and a “marvelous” balm for treating gunshot wounds. Fioravanti successfully employed these new techniques to showcase his skills and advance his career.
Saturday, Nov. 19, 3:15 to 4 p.m.
Panel discussion
The seminar concludes with a panel discussion when the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers and other experts sitting on the panel.
The lecturers:
Michael C. McVaugh is the William Smith Wells Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. One of North America's leading experts on the history of medicine in the pre-modern period, his special field is the development of medical learning within the university setting during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and the concomitant “medicalization” of European life. He is the general editor of the project to publish the complete writings of Arnau de Vilanova (d. 1311), one of the greatest medieval physicians. Professor McVaugh is the author of Medicine before the Plague: Doctors and Patients in the Crown of Aragon, 1285–1335.
He is currently writing a general account of the development of medieval surgery. A former recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, Professor McVaugh has been a Visiting Fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford, a Research Associate of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, and in 1994 was awarded the William H. Welch Medal by the American Association for the History of Medicine.
David A. Bennahum is Professor of Internal Medicine at UNM's Health Sciences Center. After receiving his doctorate at the University of Geneva, he trained at Roosevelt and Presbyterian Hospitals in Hew York City and was Chief Resident and a Fellow in Rheumatology at the University of New Mexico. He has a longstanding interest in the humanities as they pertain to patients and physicians and teaches courses in “Ethics, Law, and Policy,” “The History of Medicine,” “The History of Public Health,” and “Literature and Medicine.”
He is the past chair of the Biomedical Ethics Committee at the Health Sciences Center. The author of numerous articles, his most recent publication is “Historical Reflections on Medicine and War,” published in the Cambridge Quarterly of Health Care Ethics .
Ynez Violé O'Neill is Research Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. From 1997 until 2000, she was President of the International Society of the History of Medicine. Her research has focused on the history and illustrations of pre-modern medicine, with a special focus on the social, cultural, and institutional factors that influenced the development of medicine.
The author of more than 100 research articles, encyclopedia entries, and reviews, she published her book Speech and Speech Disorders in Western Thought before 1600 in 1980. She is currently completing Anatomy—The Western Oddity , a study of the development of the anatomical sciences from the earliest times to the advent of dissection in the West.
Katharine Park is the Zemurray Stone Radcliffe Professor of the History of Science and of the Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University. Her research focuses on the history of European science and medicine in the later Middle Ages and Renaissance; she has a special interest in the development of women's medicine and the history of dissection.
Professor Park is the editor of volume 3 of The Cambridge History of Medicine . She is the author of Doctors and Medicine in Renaissance Florence (1985) and (with Lorraine Daston) of Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1150–1750 (1998). Her latest book, Women's Secrets: Gender, Generation, and the Origins of Human Dissection , will be published in 2006.
William Eamon is Regents Professor of History and Director of the Honors College at New Mexico State University. A specialist in the history of medicine and science, he is the author of Science and the Secrets of Nature (1994), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and received the History Book Award of the Association of American Publishers.
His forthcoming book, The Charlatan's Tale: A Renaissance Surgeon's World , examines the life and career of the Italian surgeon Leonardo Fioravanti (1517–1588?), inventor, entrepreneur, and reformer. In 2004 Professor Eamon was selected as New Mexico State University's S. P. and Margaret Manasse Chair, a research appointment that will enable him to complete Science and Everyday Life in Early Modern Europe, 1500–1750 (under contract to Cambridge University Press) and to host an international conference on “Beyond the Black Legend: Spain and the Scientific Revolution.”
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Jennifer Predock-Linnell will receive the Faculty Acknowledgement Award from University Libraries in a ceremony on Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. in the Willard Reading Room of Zimmerman Library on the UNM main campus. She and her students will perform a dance presentation titled, “Nowhere Slowly.”
Predock-Linnell is a tenured professor of dance at UNM and has received numerous awards for her choreography and research. She is currently researching contemporary choreographers of Mexico from the 1970’s to the 1990’s. As part of the research she has conducted a series of twenty-four oral histories of choreographers and dancers and submitted it to the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts Oral History Archives.
University Libraries works with the various schools and colleges at the University to honor members of the faculty for their scholarly contributions. This is a forum for the colleagues, students and community members to learn about the achievements of faculty members.
The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Director of the National Science Foundation Dr. Arden L. Bement Jr. led a team from the National Science Foundation in a day-long conference to discuss research grant funding opportunities with faculty members from universities throughout New Mexico. More than 200 researchers attended the conference where NSF grant priorities were the main topic of discussion throughout the day.
Later in the morning, Bement also toured several sites at UNM with President Louis Caldera and Vice President for Research and Economic Development Terry Yates.
Bement told the researchers and faculty members that the NSF is not interested in safe, established research and urged them to be boldly imaginative in making grant proposals.
The conference workshops included detailed information about grant potential in the 2006 NSF priority areas of biocomplexity in the environment, human and social dynamics, mathematical sciences and nanoscale science and engineering.
Bement said the NSF is very focused on funding areas of research where they feel there is the potential for significant progress in the next few years.
The conference was arranged and sponsored by the office of Senator Jeff Bingaman who felt there was a need for researchers to talk directly with the major proposal funding agency for university research.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico Department of English presents WAC Week, which has nothing to do with athletics and everything to do with writing, Nov. 7-11 at the UNM Student Union Building.
Based on national Writing Across the Curriculum programs, Writing Across Communities seeks to improve learning and critical thinking abilities through writing. “Writing is a tool used to communicate and to provide meaning and understanding to experiences and to the world around us,” said Leah Sneider, WAC events coordinator.
“The aim of the Writing Across Communities is to aid in recruiting, retaining and ensuring the success of UNM's diverse students through enhanced literacy education at every level of their college career. WAC Week is the first of what will hopefully become a yearly event in an effort to compile and address the changing needs of the UNM student body,” Sneider said.
WAC Week events include:
Monday, Nov. 7 “Inviting Our Students to Academic Literacies”
9:30 a.m. to noon and 1:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. Student Union Ballroom C.
University-wide workshop series featuring Susan McLeod, University of California, Santa Barbara, professor and director of the writing program and editor of “WAC for the New Millennium.” McLeod will lead two WAC sessions including small group discussions and hands-on exercises.
Tuesday, Nov. 8 Write On! Workshop WOW ! for Students
2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in SUB Lobo Room B
WOW! Gives students the opportunity to share their ideas and writing experiences to help better prepare them for future academic and professional careers. Students will also familiarize themselves with available on campus sources to improve their writing. Students may bring in a writing assignment in progress for a workshop with writing consultants. Graduate students are also invited to provide feedback.
Stay for 30 minutes or as long as you like. Refreshments and entertainment provided at no cost.
Friday, Nov. 11 "Our Life in Language"
9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. in SUB Lobo Rooms A&B
Symposium featuring Barbara Johnston, Carnegie Mellon University, professor of rhetoric and linguistics.
The day-long symposium consists of a breakfast meeting with graduate students, a morning session, “Discourse Analysis for Rhetorical Studies” and an afternoon address, "The Linguistic Individual: A Sociolinguistic Approach to Voice,” plus a roundtable discussion, “Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Voice and Culture,” with invited faculty and graduate student panelists.
Registration information is available at: http://www.unm.edu/~wac/. The WAC 2005-2006 colloquia, archive and resources are also available on the Web site.
All events are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Leah Sneider, WAC events coordinator, (505) 277-6347 or wac@unm.edu; or Michelle Hall Kells, WAC program chair, (505) 277-2305 or mkells@unm.edu.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
What can we do to stem the tide of the growing global water crisis? Learn more about the problems — and possible solutions — of water shortages and pollution at the UNM presentation of “Running Dry – The Documentary,” on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. in Woodward Hall rm. 101.
The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session with writer, producer and director Jim Thebaut and local water experts.
The film, inspired by the late Senator Paul Simon’s book Tapped Out, is the centerpiece of the Running Dry Project (www.runningdry.org), a public information and education effort to raise awareness of the water crisis and generate support for practical public policy solutions.
“I met Jim Thebaut at the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto in March 2003,” said Michael E. Campana, director of UNM’s Water Resources Program. “He showed a short version of ‘Running Dry’. I was impressed with the scope of the work. His feature-length version is even more remarkable and provides an excellent summary of the major water issues facing the world. Water issues in South Africa, China, India, the Middle East and the American Southwest are prominently featured.”
The UNM Water Resources Program, the UNM Office of the Vice President for Research & Economic Development and the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer are sponsors of this event.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico Development Office is sponsoring a grant writing workshop Jan. 23-27, 2006, at UNM’s Continuing Education Conference Center. The Grantsmanship Center, Inc. (TGCI), the world’s oldest and largest training organization for the nonprofit sector, will conduct the five-day workshop.
New grants make it possible for cash-strapped agencies to bring important services into the community and get innovative ideas off the ground. Yet applying for and receiving grants is a very competitive process.
“Designed for both novice and experienced grant seekers, the workshop will cover all aspects of searching for grants, writing grant proposals, strategies for securing government and foundation grants, corporate contributions and negotiating with funding sources,” said UNM Development’s Betsy Till, grants specialist.
Registration is limited to 30 participants. The program fee is $825 and includes workshop tuition and one year of TGCI membership benefits and services. Partial scholarships may be available for organizations with annual operating budgets under $300,000.
To register for the workshop, or to apply for a scholarship, contact The Grantsmanship Center at (800) 421-9512. For local information, call Betsy Till at the UNM Development Office at (505) 277-1589.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
Low-income taxpayers in need of legal assistance or advice can receive free or low-fee services at the University of New Mexico School of Law
A recent grant from the Internal Revenue Service Taxpayer Advocate Service partially supports the new low income taxpayer program in the nationally renowned UNM Clinical Law Program. Law students, under faculty supervision, provide representation for those in disputes with the IRS as well as taxpayer education.
Students are interviewing taxpayers with IRS disputes for case acceptance through Friday, Nov. 18. Case intake will resume in February 2006.
The taxpayer program is part of a larger UNM law school effort to boost economic development. UNM legal services do not include tax preparation. The clinic does not accept disputes with contested amounts exceeding $50,000 in any tax year. Whether an individual qualifies as a low-income taxpayer is based on total cash income of his or her family unit as determined by the clinic under federal guidelines.
New Mexico attorney Evan Hobbs was hired to help implement the new clinical program. He notes that law students will educate taxpayers about the earned income and childcare credits and other tax topics. Outreach to non-English speaking communities is also part of the overall economic development effort, Hobbs said.
Students give presentations at sites such as the Barelas Senior Center, said Paul Nathanson, clinic faculty. A talk is scheduled at the women’s prison in Grants Nov. 18. The clinic welcomes inquiries from community groups that may want to host presentations on tax and economic development issues.
“Although students cannot assist with individual tax preparation, they can speak to the issues broadly. Many taxpayers in New Mexico are eligible for the federal earned income credit but don’t take advantage of it because they are not aware of the credit or are daunted by the paperwork,” Hobbs said. “The average EIC claim is about $1,700. If an additional 1,000 state residents were to apply for the EIC, it would pump $1.7 million into the state economy.”
For more information, call the UNM School of Law Clinical Law Program, 277-5265.
Contact: Laurie Mellas, (505) 277-5915; e-mail: lmellas@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico is the title sponsor of the New Mexico Young Researchers Banquet, a statewide celebration Saturday, Nov. 5 at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The event will spotlight participants of the regional, state and/or international science and engineering fairs. Students will be middle and high-school students who have exhibited their research at a fair in 2005 or who have demonstrated an interest in math/science/engineering through participation in a related program.
“It is clear to us that our state’s youngest researchers are worthy of our support. Not only are they pursuing areas of research that will benefit all our daily lives in the years to come,” said Terry Yates, vice president for Research and Economic Development at UNM, “but they also represent a significant contribution to the general well-being of our state’s economic health as well.”
As many as 1,500 people will attend the event, from corporate sponsors to students and their guests. Other sponsors include New Mexico State University, New Mexico Tech, and Lockheed Martin/Sandia National Labs.
The keynote address will be delivered by Carl Wieman, Nobel Laureate 2001 in Physics for “The achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation in dilute gases of alkali atoms, and for early fundamental studies of the properties of the condensates.” Wieman is dedicated to sharing his passion for science with students of all ages.
The banquet is also a kick-off for promoting the Intel ISEF, which will be coming to New Mexico in May 2007. Inquiry Facilitators, Inc. is responsible for serving as the state’s host committee in order to produce the event and to raise the funds to do so.
For information, visit the organization’s website: www.gotoif.org or call Inquiry Facilitators, Inc., at 867-2007 or toll-free at 888-527-2007.
Contact: Greg Johnston, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: gregj@unm.edu
University of New Mexico Professors Nitant Kenkre and Maggie Werner-Washburne were recently elected to the rank of AAAS Fellow. The American Association for the Advancement of Science is the world’s largest general scientific society. Election as a Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.
This year, AAAS has awarded 376 members this honor because of their distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. New Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on at the Fellows Forum during the 2006 AAAS annual meeting in St. Louis, Mo. in February.
Kenkre, who came to UNM in 1984, was recently named as a Distinguished Professor of Physics at UNM. He is also director of the Consortium of the Americas for Interdisciplinary Science. Kenkre was elected AAAS Fellow in the physics section for fundamental work on quantum transport theory, for applications of statistical mechanics to epidemiology, and for contributions to international science collaborations between the U.S. and Latin America. In 1998, Kenkre was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society for physics research.
“The citation recognizes creative work in actual research as well as creative work in the international collaborations work,” said Kenkre. “I am surprised and honored by this election to Fellowship.”
Werner-Washburne, who has been at UNM since 1988, is a biology professor. She was elected Fellow in the biological sciences section for research on the biochemistry, molecular biology and genomics of quiescent state in baker's yeast, and for efforts to increase the representation of underrepresented minorities in the sciences.
Dr. Werner-Washburne has earned numerous awards during her career, including the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring awarded in 2004.
“This award was a complete surprise,” said Werner-Washburne. “It is such an honor to be recognized by ones peers for work that has been so rewarding in itself. I have been lucky to have great colleagues and students here at UNM, Sandia and elsewhere, and I am happy for whatever honor this brings to New Mexico.”
Founded in 1848, AAAS includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. The organization also publishes, Science magazine, which has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world with an estimated total readership of one million. The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico School of Engineering invites high school students and their parents to an open house to learn about opportunities for degrees in engineering. The open house will be Tuesday, Nov. 15, 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Mechanical Engineering Atrium on the UNM campus. The event is free.
Engineering student projects, research and displays will be presented. UNM students, faculty, advisors and deans will be on-hand to talk with prospective students. Information on admission, scholarships, financial aid and the pre-engineering program will be available. There will be prizes and refreshments.
The UNM School of Engineering offers bachelor degree programs in 10 fields of study. Its students are involved in research and collaborations with the UNM School of Medicine and New Mexico's national laboratories and participate in international competitions.
To learn more visit www.soe.unm.edu or call (505) 277-5521.
Contact: Greg Johnston, (505) 277-1816, gregj@unm.edu
Thelma Sheche from Zuni Pueblo will be featured at a brown bag discussion and storytelling event on Monday, November 7, from noon to 1 p.m. in room 102 at Zimmerman Library on the UNM main campus. She will also participate in a panel discussion from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Willard Reading Room of Zimmerman. Sheche is a cultural liaison at Zuni and teaches cultural studies in the Zuni Schools.
Photo: Thelma Sheche
Lloyd Tortalita from Acoma Pueblo will join her for both events. Tortalita is the Johnson O’Malley and higher education director at Acoma. He travels the state telling Acoma grandma and grandpa stories.
The stories the two will tell at the two events involve tribal creation, moral teachings and historical information. For more about the events, contact April Hale at (505) 277-7422. Both events are free and open to the public.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627, kwent2@unm.edu