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The University of New Mexico has developed this list of its capabilities, along with examples of activities and expertise in each of these areas, to illustrate how UNM can be responsive to the priorities, initiatives and interests of New Mexico’s Congressional delegation. The list can also suggest targets of opportunity for UNM and New Mexico in terms of involvement in federally funded activities. This is not a compendium of all of UNM’s strengths, but rather is intended as a reference for delegation members in assessing possible opportunities for the University. The University of New Mexico is one of only 59 public Carnegie Research I institutions of higher education (the highest level Carnegie designation based on a number of factors, including the level of research funding). Among these public Research I institutions, UNM is one of six that are also designated as minority-serving institutions and one of only two that are also Hispanic-serving institutions (the other being New Mexico State University.) UNM has the depth and breadth of teaching, research and public service programs associated with the major universities around the country. UNM’s special capabilities emerge from and are responsive to its unique environment – physical, cultural, demographic, technological (including proximity to federal laboratories) – but the benefits extend far beyond the borders of the state. For example, UNM’s primary care curriculum in medicine was developed in response to the rural nature of much of New Mexico and it has become the model for medical education throughout the country. UNM capabilities derive additional strength because there is significant integration among them. As another example, a number of our recruitment and retention programs for students combine our capabilities in math, science and engineering and our strengths in the area of diversity. Few, if any, other universities have the combination and synergy of capabilities that characterize UNM. Finally, UNM’s wide-ranging and synergistic areas of expertise are integral to the area’s economic development initiatives. Of the six industry clusters identified by the Next Generation Economy Initiative (a City of Albuquerque economic project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy), UNM has expertise in four of the areas – biomedical/biotechnology, optics/photonics, electronics and information technology. Science and Engineering
Current Capabilities A review of the major science and technology initiatives outlined in the proposed FY 2001 federal budget illustrates how the University of New Mexico has made and will continue to make recognized achievements in several key areas. In many instances, this has been accomplished in close collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, as well as in targeted collaborations with other institutions and universities. Information Technology: Since its establishment in 1993, the Maui High Performance Computing Center, under UNM’s management, has become a recognized national DoD computing resource, providing more than 400 DoD scientists and engineers with access to the latest computing technology. Similar opportunities have been made available to the faculty, staff and students of UNM, as well as to new initiatives such as the National Foundation for Functional Brain Imaging. The UNM-supported Albuquerque High Performance Computing Center ranks among the top 20 U.S. educational institution supercomputing centers, bringing together 11 departments, more than 20 faculty, several interdisciplinary projects, and more than 25 graduate research students each year. Between UNM, LANL and SNL, New Mexico is home to possibly the largest resource of computing facilities and talent in the world. National Nanotechnology Initiative: Both materials-related centers at UNM – the Center for High Technology Materials and the Center for Microengineered Materials – have internationally recognized programs in aspects of nanotechnology. Important topics include quantum-dot semiconductor lasers, imaging interferometric nanolithography, nanoheteroepitaxy, self-assembly, and chemical routes to nanostructured materials. Nanostructures are being investigated for applications as diverse as nanoelectronics, novel devices for optoelectronics, advanced chemical/biological sensing and diagnostics, and heterogeneous catalysis. In each case, nanostructures are enabling advances and functions that are uniquely different from traditional macroscopic capabilities. Biotechnology, Biomedical Research and Biothreats UNM has tremendous strength in the following areas: infectious diseases (and related computational analysis and technology development) as evidenced by the research of multidisciplinary teams from pathology, biology, internal medicine and OMI; internationally recognized research in emerging infectious diseases (molecular biology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, pulmonary immunology, physiology); disaster medicine, with the nation’s most experienced Disaster Medical Assistance Team; and innovative studies of the ecology of zoonotic diseases. UNM’s telehealth initiative with the University of Hawaii has demonstrated the feasibility of integrating advanced computing with problem-based curricula in order provide medical education and service in remote areas with isolated populations. UNM has also made great strides in the area of genomics and computational biology and has entered into an alliance to build inter-institutional collaborations with NMSU, LANL and SNL. Ecosystems and Ecological Biodiversity: UNM manages the international Long-Term Ecological Research Network which is a collaborative effort involving more than 1100 scientists and students investigating ecological processes operating at long-time scales and over broad spatial scales. UNM also operates the Sevilleta LTER in Socorro County, a research site involved in the characterization of ecological responses to climate dynamics and related disturbances along environmental gradients at multiple scales. Copyright ©
2000 The University of New Mexico.
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