News and Features

2024

• • • • Advance at UNM Announces 14 Women in STEM Award Winners
        The ninth annual Women in STEM awards, hosted by Advance at UNM in collaboration with the UNM Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of the Vice President for Research, recently announced the 11 projects—led by 14 Lobo faculty members—that will be honored as 2024 Women in STEM Award winners.
        Posted: July 15, 2024
         
      • Ammonites boom until busted by same asteroid extinction that killed off dinosaurs
        The Cretaceous period ended with a bang 66 million years ago when an asteroid more than six miles across collided with the Earth off of the Yucatan Peninsula. The resulting prodigious environmental change to land, sea, and atmospheric habitats ultimately led to the famous extinction of the dinosaurs but also sounded the death knell of other charismatic fossil groups, such as ammonite mollusks.
        Posted: July 8, 2024
         
      • How miniature backpacks led to the discovery of the world’s largest hummingbird species
        Researchers from UNM’s Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB) have uncovered the giant hummingbird’s extreme long-distance migration for the first time. Their eight-year study, Extreme elevational migration spurred cryptic speciation in giant hummingbirds published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, led them to another important discovery: The world’s largest hummingbird is a new species.
        Posted: May 13, 2024
         
      • UNM Meteorite Museum
        No matter what you study, you can find something fun and fascinating at the UNM Meteorite Museum and Collection! Whether you are a geology major, an art major, or anything in between, something about outer space just rocks (get it?). The Meteorite Museum is a hidden gem on UNM’s central campus with free admission. The museum features a ton of meteorite parts, literally! The collection includes a piece of a meteorite that fell in Norton County, Kansas that weighs over a metric ton. The museum also contains pieces of meteorites found in the Sahara Desert that originate from the moon and Mars! With very friendly staff filled with fascinating stories and facts, the Meteorite Museum is a must-see. And with its free admission and convenient location, there are no excuses to miss it! For more information, you can visit their website here. Or read more here. It really is an out-of-this-world experience!
        Posted: February 26, 2024
         

2023

• • • • Research efforts play a crucial role in rescuing a Rio Grande fish species from extinction 
        Conservation efforts and advanced genetic monitoring are playing a crucial role in rescuing the Rio Grande Silvery Minnow from the brink of extinction, as highlighted by recent research from the University of New Mexico.
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      • AIBS Selects 2023 Photo Contest Winners
        Congratulations to Joseph Kleinkopf, UNM Ph.D. student and MRT Trainee, for winning 1st place in the 2023 Faces of Biology Photo Contest sponsored by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) and the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB), for his photo collecting alpine plants from the steep north face of Sheepshead Peak (12,696 ft elevation), situated in the heart of the Pecos Wilderness of New Mexico.
        Posted: December 19, 2023
        
        
      • 2023 Outstanding Research Staff Awards
        Awardee Highlight, Harpo Faust, Senior Collections Manager, Museum of Southwestern Biology. Award Category: Exceptional support of research training
        
        The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) recognizes that the expertise, dedication, and professionalism of our diverse research support staff contributes essentially to the success of UNM’s research mission. The Outstanding Research Staff Awards are a component of our holistic commitment to promote a dynamic research support system via enhanced employee wellness, job satisfaction, and career advancement. 
        Posted: November 01, 2023
        
        
      • Anthropology Department highlights Native American Heritage Month
        The University of New Mexico Department of Anthropology is celebrating National Native American Heritage Month in November with a treasure trove of information and resources on its website including Native American history, scholars, events, research, news and organizations.
        Posted: November 01, 2023
        
        
      • UNM announces 68th Annual Research Lectureship for Career Achievement honoree
        Distinguished Professor Felisa Smith to be recognized during Research and Discovery Week. University of New Mexico Distinguished Professor Felisa Smith has been named the honoree for the 68th Annual Research Lectureship for Career Achievement award.
        Posted: November 01, 2023
        
        
      • UNM to host second annual Research and Discovery Week in November
        A variety of conferences, workshops, lectures, and other activities are open to the public. Research at The University of New Mexico is at an all-time high – faculty, staff, and students are ready to put all their work on full display for the annual 2023 Research and Discovery Week. The week, of Nov. 4-11, is dedicated to showcasing UNM’s entire research enterprise while promoting resources and opportunities available to all UNM researchers.
        Posted: October 13, 2023
        
        2023 Research and Discovery Week
        Jane Buikstra, Ph.D., Regents Professor, Arizona State University, “Lessons From The Past: Ancient Diseases And Health Today” Hosted by UNM Museum Research Traineeship Program - Keynote Lecture. Tuesday, Nov. 7, 5 pm-7 pm, PAIS 1100. Free and open to all.
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      • Better Together: UNM campus to celebrate Grand Challenges Day and Team Research Symposium
        UNM's Grand Challenges and the Interdisciplinary Science Cooperative have teamed up to bring Grand Challenges Day and the Team Research Symposium together in one special event for the campus community. Faculty, staff, students, and alumni are invited to join in on the action, Thursday, Sept. 14 for this one-day event highlighting best practices in team research across campus.
        Posted: August 24, 2023
        
        
      • Students from across the globe attend internationally-renowned short course, IsoCamp
        This summer, graduate students from throughout the globe had the opportunity to come together to learn from some of the leading experts within the field of stable isotopes at IsoCamp. This internationally renowned two-week short course is dedicated to providing hands-on training in the application of stable isotopes to the biological, anthropological, and geological sciences.
        Posted: July 12, 2023
        
        
      • Nine UNM faculty members chosen for the 2023 Women in STEM awards
        Award recipients will explore how to reduce the number of Native American students with dyslexia, why some amphibians are more susceptible to diseases than others, and how to position UNM to be a leader in seismic imaging and environmental monitoring, along with other topics.
        Posted: June 29, 2023
        
        
      • UNM Department of Biology Ph.D. candidate discovers new bird family
        For nearly two centuries, researchers have speculated on the classification of two species of shrikes found in central and southern Africa. Now, because of the simple curiosity of one Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biology, the longstanding mystery surrounding these birds has finally been solved thanks to modern technology and the valuable information that museums provide.
        Posted: June 14, 2023
        
        
      • Volunteers ensure preservation of archaeological collections at Maxwell Museum of Anthropology
        For the past 20 years, Wednesday mornings have been a bustle of activity in a very unlikely spot: the basement of the Hibben Center for Archaeology. Thanks to a special group of volunteers who dutifully gather here every week, archaeological collections held by the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology are being preserved for future generations – and making a tremendous difference in ongoing research on the Southwest.
        Posted: May 25, 2023
        
        
      • Museum of Southwestern Biology hosts evolution-themed events
        As school lets out and faculty and students prepare to wind down for the summer, this is a great time to explore new opportunities and make connections. For the Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB), these opportunities will come when they open the doors open to their biodiversity collections to the public and to the scientific community.
        Posted: May 23, 2023
        
        
      • U.S. News & World Report ranks UNM among 2023-2024 Best Graduate Schools
        U.S. News & World Report today released its 2023-2024 Best Graduate Schools rankings for numerous programs and The University of New Mexico is well-represented across a number of areas. The UNM School of Public Administration earned its highest ranking in program history with this year's marks and is excited about the ranking and its future. Science.
        Posted: April 25, 2023
        
        
      • Research looks at origins of presence of horses in North America
        Associate Professor of Anthropology Emily Lena Jones at The University of New Mexico, is beginning to refine the history of the American horse. This work, which embeds cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural research between western and traditional Indigenous science, was published recently in the journal Science.
        Posted: March 30, 2023
        
        
      • NSF grant allows international collaboration of scientists to create a predictive model for emerging pandemics
        New Mexico scientists lead effort on $1 million planning grant. A collaborative partnership of researchers at the University of New Mexico, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico State University, University of Kansas, Gorgas Memorial Institute in Panama, and the Center for Research on Health in Latin America in Quito, Ecuador, are developing a new model for predicting pandemics thanks to a $1 million planning grant from the National Science Foundation's Predictive Intelligence for Pandemic Prevention Phase I program. Currently in the planning phase, the goal of the Pathogen Informatics Center for Analysis, Networking, Translation Education, or PICANTE! is to move from a purely reactive approach to pandemics to an approach that is both predictive and proactive. Using tissues from the UNM Museum of Southwestern Biology's mammal collection and from other collaborating biorepositories, scientists in PICANTE will develop screening and genetic sequencing methods to isolate pathogens.
        Posted: February 13, 2023
        
        
      • Department of Anthropology highlights Black History Month
        The Department of Anthropology at The University of New Mexico is celebrating Black History Month in February with a website page full of resources that include the history of Black History Month, Black scholar biographies, the African-American community at UNM, events, videos, research, and more.
        Posted: February 01, 2023
        
        
      • UNM archaeologist Patricia Crown named 2022 AAAS Fellow
        The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) announced that Patricia Crown, the Leslie Spier Distinguished Professor of Anthropology Emerita at The University of New Mexico, has been elected as a 2022 AAAS Fellow. Election as a Fellow honors members whose efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications in service to society have distinguished them among their peers and colleagues.
        Posted: January 31, 2023
        
        

  2022

  
  
  • • • New Mexico EPSCoR, UNM collaborate on a $10 million grant to advance Native American STEM Education
        The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded researchers at the University of New Mexico, New Mexico Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NM EPSCoR), and partner institutions from five states in the western half of the U.S. (Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming) a $10 million grant to address the under-representation of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines and workforce.
        Posted: August 11, 2022
        
        
      • PhD student Chris McDaniels awarded the 2022 Cashner Student Award
        The Cashner Student Award for ichthyologists and herpetologists provides assistance to students from historically underrepresented minority and currently excluded groups in science.
        
        
      • Twelve faculty members receive 2022 Women in STEM awards
        Twelve faculty members at The University of New Mexico have been selected for the 2022 Women in STEM awards. Award recipients will look at patterns of cancer disparities in New Mexico, consider an interdisciplinary lens for algorithmic justice, examine the importance of plant-rich diets, and explore the possible role of plastic and fiber particles in chronic respiratory inflammation, among other topics.
        Posted: Jun 27, 2022
        
        
      • Maxwell blog discusses variable sexualities, genders in Indigenous communities
        To commemorate Pride Month and express support for the LGBTQ+ community, throughout June the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at The University of New Mexico is posting blog posts written by scholars and curators that tell stories embedded in the museum collections.
        Posted: Jun 16, 2022
        
        
      • UNM research on Ancestral Pueblo fishing spotlighted in archaeological journal
        There is a common misconception that Ancestral Pueblo people rarely ate fish. Research from Jonathan Dombrosky, adjunct assistant professor at The University of New Mexico Department of Anthropology, shows that not only did fish become a more common part of their diet but, like anyone who enjoys fishing, the bigger the fish, the better.
        Posted: July 10, 2022
        
        
      • NM poised to become an epicenter for fossil collection with opening of Natural History Science Center
        One of UNM’s many historical buildings has been given new life again – and it will serve as an educational resource to future scientists throughout our community. Situated at the southern edge of main campus, the Natural History Science Center (NHSC) is a collaborative space dedicated to introducing and researching the rich history of our Earth.
        Posted: May 24, 2022
        
        
      • UNM professor gets NSF grant to study amphibians and impacts of environmental change
        Posted: April 28, 2022
        
        
      • Scholars seek greater collaboration among zoos and museums
        UNM researchers say effort would enhance understanding of the animal kingdom.
        Posted: April 21, 2022
        
        
      • High Aspirations for Alpine Plants
        Museum of Southwestern Biology curator Hannah Marx studies the plant diversity of New Mexico's mountaintops.
        Posted: April 20, 2022
        
        
      • Larkin Chapman Awarded Grant from the Archaeological Society of New Mexico
        Posted: April 19, 2022
        
        
      • PhD student Chris McDaniels awarded prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
        Posted: April 05, 2022
        
        
      • Researchers discover first evidence indicating dinosaur respiratory infection
        Posted: February 10, 2022
        
        
      • UNM alumna named director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian
        Posted: January 26, 2022
        
        
      • Hunters, researchers work together to study sandhill cranes
        Created: January 19, 2022
        
        
      • Researchers use CARC resources to explain genetic histories of island birds
        Posted: January 08, 2022
        

  2021

  • • • UNM biologists use genomic sequencing to inform preservation efforts for Gila trout
        Posted: July 01, 2021
        
        
      • Opening Doors in Natural Science - Donavan Jackson views his doctoral studies as a way to provide opportunities for Native American students and others from underrepresented backgrounds in academia
        Published: March 10, 2021
        
        
      • New research shows climate change could lead to Mojave bird extinction
        Published: February 5, 2021

  2020

  • • UNM receives $3 million grant from NSF for new interdisciplinary graduate training program
      Posted: August 26, 2020
      
      
    • How natural history collections can predict the next pandemic
      Posted: June 24, 2020