Mike Anderson with Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Peter Vorobieff

The 2012 Popejoy Dissertation Prize has been awarded to Mike Anderson. The award, which was established as a permanent memorial to late UNM President Tom L. Popejoy, recognizes and encourages the highest level of academic excellence among doctoral students.

Anderson performed groundbreaking research bridging experimental and computational fluid dynamics in a developing area of high-speed compressible multiphase flow. He participated in state-of-the-art experiments, but more importantly, he performed numerical simulations of the experiments that made it possible for his research group to develop a physical understanding of experimental data, which led to the discovery of a hydrodynamic instability mechanism provisionally named “generalized Rayleigh-Taylor and Richtmyer-Meshkov instability” or “particle-lag instability.”

His work was published in “Physical Review Letters,” along with refereed proceedings of two international conferences in 2011, and will lead to three more publications to be submitted in 2012. Anderson’s mentor, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Peter Vorobieff, says “Mike’s contribution to our research group sheds light on the physics behind many phenomena — from vortices rolling up in interstellar dusty plasma accelerated by a shock from a supernova explosion to enhanced mixing of fuel droplets in a scramjet or a chemical laser. In addition, his involvement in our project was a perfect combination of individual (computational) and teamwork (experiment), and helped develop ties between UNM and a local hi-tech company (ARA).”

Media Contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277‑5627; email: kwent2@unm.edu

The Graduate Research Supplement is awarded to ABD doctoral students pursuing advanced writing and research.

Winners include:
Elena Aviles, Spanish & Portuguese—for archival research in the Special Collections Libraries at the University of California, Santa Barbara and University of California, Los Angeles.
Philip Hultquist, Political Science—for field research in India to explore sub-state origins of effective counterinsurgency.
Menuka Karki, Economics—for research concerning a sustainable solid waste management system in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Nathan Lord, Biology—for dissertation research (including research trips and field work) on southern hemisphere biogeography.
Ying Wang, Chemistry—for field research at the Biological Imaging Facility at Northwestern University to carry out cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) imaging experiments.

The Future Faculty Award supports summer coursework, research or professional development opportunities not available at UNM and directly related to preparing the graduate student for a career in higher education. Winners include:
Maurice Crandall, History—for travel to Nebraska and Arizona to support doctoral research in Native American history.
Jessica Jones, Political Science—for participation in a summer research program at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) in Michigan.
Carmen Lowry, Communication and Journalism—for attendance at the Summer Institute sponsored by Northwestern University’s Center for Forced Migration Studies.

The Faculty Mentor Award recognizes faculty members who have provided exceptional service in mentoring graduate students in their department, program and/or across the college and university. Winners include:
Jedidiah Crandall, Computer Science—for extensive involvement in departmental outreach efforts and graduate student advisement and mentorship.
Anita Obermeier, English—for service as associate chair for Graduate Studies in English and overall excellence in teaching, service, research and mentorship.
Paul Zandbergen, Geography—for service as director of Graduate Studies in Geography and general dedication to departmental graduate students.

The Graduate Student Mentor Award recognizes graduate students who have demonstrated excellence in mentoring activities that benefit graduate students in their own or other departments. Winners include:
Lisa Bryant, Political Science—for devotion to helping fellow graduate students with research and coursework and participation in university graduate student organizations.
Roya Ensafi, Computer Science—for service as president of departmental Graduate Student Association and dedicated assistance and support of fellow graduate students.
Doug Manning, Health, Exercise and Sports Sciences—for mentorship of departmental Teaching Assistants and general graduate student support.

The Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship is one of the University’s most prestigious awards for graduate students, recognizing important and innovative doctoral research. It provides one year of financial assistance to students nearing completion of a terminal (PhD, EdD, or MFA) degree. Winners include:
Lisa Bryant, Political Science—to support the final writing of the dissertation, “For Research on the Mobilizing Minority and Immigrant Voters in California using a Field Experiment Conducted During the 2010 General Election.”
Thanhvu Nguyen, Computer Science—to support the final writing of the dissertation, “Dynamic Analysis Guided Constraint Solving for Invariant Generation and Program Repair.”

As the central graduate academic administrative unit at the University of New Mexico, the Office of Graduate Studies promotes the success of graduate students and graduate programs by providing broad oversight of program quality, managing academic policies and administering financial support in the form of assistantships, fellowships, scholarships, grants and awards. For more information about the OGS awards or award recipients, contact the Office of Graduate Studies or call (505) 277‑2711.

Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales (505) 277‑5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu

The 1680 Pueblo Revolt is a well-established narrative of political and cultural stressors that, when compounded with overtaxed resources such as pasturage, fuel wood, and labor catalyzed a major Puebloan insurgency up and down the Rio Grande valley, ejecting the Spanish from New Mexico for 12 years.

As it stands, the Spanish removal from the riparian zones of New Mexico and their long effort to retake their settlements makes for an excellent – although micro regional history of a river.  The problem is that it leaves us with too many questions and oversights about how the surrounding landscapes and peoples contributed to, and participated in, a lasting and apparently successful resistance to Spanish colonial claims.

A closer look at the ecology of the Chihuahuan Desert, as shown through the ways Apaches moved through it and used it, reveals a narrative where Spanish empire in New Mexico is reduced and hemmed into troubled pockets of river settlement while semi-nomadic or nomadic peoples were positioned to develop better strategies of survival and dominance over populations dependent on the Rio Grande.

An environmental focus prompts us to revise notions of Spanish empire, perceptions of Native power and the role of the environment in creating a defensible formulation of space and place.  In the end, it would appear that groups like the Apache have a better claim to building hegemonic space in New Mexico than do the Spanish.

The lecture is free and the public is welcome.

Media Contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277‑5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu

A public lecture, given by Dr. Robert Smith, distinguished research and emeritus professor of geophysics at the Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, will be held on Thursday, May 10 from 7:30–8:30 p.m. at the at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. Smith’s lecture is titled, “The Yellowstone Supervolcano: Past, Present and Future.”

Smith’s primary research interests are in theory and methods in seismic studies of lithospheric structure, earthquake seismology, crustal deformation, tectonophysics of intraplate tectonic regimes and mechanics of crustal extension. Smith, who is considered the world’s leading expert on the geology and geophysics of the Yellowstone-Teton area, has conducted seminal investigations of lithospheric structure, geophysical and geodetic investigations of the Basin-Range Province, Yellowstone hotspot and the Wasatch fault followed by probabilistic seismic hazard evaluation of the Intermountain West.

Additional meeting co-sponsors include the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, and the New Mexico Geological Society.

For further information on events and meeting sessions, visit: Geosociety Events

The annual meeting is chaired by Professor Laura Crossey, meeting technical program chair is Karl Karlstrom, Gary Smith. fieldtrip coodinator and Gary Weissman, student volunteer coordinator, all from the UNM Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Additional media information and selected meeting highlights are available at: Geosociety News.

Note: press representatives with accredited credentials will receive complementary meeting registration.

Media Contact: Steve Carr (505) 277‑1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu

Baker Morrow

Fred Mondragon, an official representative of the Spanish Consul in Washington, D.C., is accepting the presenting the award on behalf of the Ambassador, the Honorable Jorge Descallar. Morrow will present a copy of the book to Mondragon and also provide him with a copy to give to the Ambassador.

“I am exceedingly grateful to receive this honor and award and to present copies of this book to the Spanish government on the occasion of New Mexico’s 100th anniversary of statehood,” Morrow said. The event is an official centennial event sponsored by the School of Architecture and Planning.

“In this way, we recognize the importance of Latin America in the Southwest and UNM’s role in recognizing the significance of Latin American culture and history,” he said.

Cabeza de Vaca is a legendary figure in the Western Hemisphere and in Spanish history. “

Cabeza de Vaca was, Morrow said, “a writer, documentarian, memoirist, early ethnologist and problem solver.”

Media contact: Carolyn Gonzales (505) 277‑5920; email: cgonzal@unm.edu

Last fall, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded a National Leadership Grant to the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah on behalf of the western regional consortia. In addition to the Rocky Mountain Online Archive, there is the Utah Academic Library Consortium’s Mountain West Digital Library and the Orbis Cascade Alliance’s Northwest Digital Archives.

This collaborative planning grant is a one-year project, “Planning for a Western Archival Network: Administrative, Technical, and End User Concerns.” The consortia on the grant are currently exploring ways to improve user access to archival finding aids describing the archival materials in our three Western regions, possibly via a central western search portal that leverages the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) standard now in use by all of the participating consortia.

Fifteen staff members representing the consortia met at UNM University Libraries in Albuquerque in January to examine ways to create better user experiences and realize cost efficiencies through shared standards, technology and administration. Follow up meetings are planned in Salt Lake City, Utah in April and Portland, Ore. in September.

This project will have national impact for both end users, and the EAD community at large. Once the planning is completed and the methods implemented, end users will have easier and quicker access to both a greater volume and diversity of archival materials. The intent is to provide a model that other organizations can implement so that consortia across the country benefit from reduced costs and increased access to collections.

According to Michael Kelly, RMOA Project Director, “This is a good opportunity to expand access to RMOA by networking with other EAD collaboratives.  Providing one point of access to finding aids from across the West will make it much easier for users to discover our collections.”

Based on the grant activities, final recommendations and a report will be released in October 2012. The three consortia hope to pursue additional collaborative funding for the implementation phase of the project.

EAD Consortia Project Partners
The University of New Mexico University Libraries provides the infrastructure for the 30 contributing institutions in New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming of the Rocky Mountain Online Archive. UNM supports and maintains RMOA as a service to libraries, museums and archives in the three states with the goal of improving access to manuscript and archival collections. Initiated with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2004, continuing support comes from the UNM University Libraries and the Center for Regional Studies.

The Utah Academic Library Consortium is a 40-year-old consortium of 14 academic libraries in Utah, along with the Utah State Library and affiliate member libraries in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho. UALC partners cooperate in continually improving the availability and delivery of library and information services to the higher education community and to the State of Utah, through fostering research, developing and implementing cooperative library programs; providing a means for the exchange of information on cooperative library ventures; maximizing limited resources by improving library methods and avoiding expensive duplicate purchases; maximizing information delivery through shared use of technology and human resources; and acting as an advocate for excellence in library resources and services. One of the flagship programs of the UALC is the Mountain West Digital Library, a free search portal to 350 digital collections containing more than 650,000 resources about the Mountain West region from 62 partnering libraries, archives, and other cultural heritage institutions. Eight partners of the MWDL maintain EAD files, and several more are involved in creating new EAD collections.

The Orbis Cascade Alliance is a consortium of 36 academic libraries in Oregon and Washington. Alliance member libraries work together to provide outstanding services to students and faculty, share information resources and expertise, develop library staff, and help members allocate financial and human resources to serve the unique needs of each member. To this end, the Alliance considers the combined collections of member institutions as one collection. The Alliance supports a number of services that support this vision, including Summit, a system that allows students, faculty and staff to easily search and request library materials owned by member libraries; courier service offering delivery of library materials in Oregon, Washington and Idaho; the Northwest Digital Archives, which offers enhanced access to primary sources in the Northwest U.S.; cooperative purchasing for databases, ebooks and ejournals; and other digital library services.

Questions / comments may be directed to:

Rocky Mountain Online Archive:
Kathlene Ferris, Digital Programs Manager, (505) 277‑7172; email: kferris@unm.edu

University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott Library
Gregory Thompson, Associate Dean for Special Collections & Principal Investigator, (801) 581‑3421; email: greg.c.thompson@utah.edu

Mountain West Digital Library
Sandra McIntyre, program director, (801) 585‑0969, sandra.mcintyre@utah.edu

Northwest Digital Archives
Jodi Allison-Bunnell, program manager, (406) 829‑6528; email: jodiab@uoregon.edu

Stephanie Forrest

Professor of Computer Science Stephanie Forrest has been selected for the 2012 Annual Research Lecture, announced Vice President for Research Julia Fulghum. This award is one of the highest honors that UNM bestows on a faculty member. The lecture will be presented in the Fall of 2012.

Selected by the UNM Research Policy Committee, and nominated by peers from across the United States and abroad, Forrest is noted for her exceptional abilities and knowledge, outstanding research efforts, creativity, leadership, and mentorship to a number of students and faculty. Forrest came to UNM in 1990 and is acknowledged for transforming the Department of Computer Science into an interdisciplinary and high-activity research department, as well as securing UNM’s reputation as a leader in the study of complex systems.

Her expertise ranges from topics such as automated software repair and creating adaptive immune systems for nullifying computer viruses, to bringing the worlds of computer science and biology together through her work with computational modeling of biological systems, and computational immunology.

“Dr. Forrest’s creativity and interdisciplinary zeal have laid the foundations for evolvable computer systems that can meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and interconnected world,” says UNM Distinguished Professor of Biology James Brown.

Forrest has served in various capacities, including Research Professor and Science Board member and co-chair, at the Santa Fe Institute and served as Chair of the Department of Computer Science at UNM for five years, where she improved educational resources, undergraduate enrollment, and faculty diversity.

Recently, Forrest participated in the prestigious 2012 World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, presenting a paper titled “Risks in a Hyperconnected World.” “Stephanie’s invitation to participate in the Forum has been a major breakthrough for the computer science faculty and department in general,” notes George Luger, Chair of the UNM Department of Computer Science.

Says Jennifer Rexford, Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University, “Stephanie is an incomparable researcher making fundamental contributions to ‘grand challenge’ problems in computer science. She is a thought leader in the community through her research, her considerable professional service, and generous mentoring of junior colleagues.”

The University of New Mexico congratulates Stephanie Forrest for her outstanding research and achievements.

Story by Valerie Roybal

Media contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277‑5627; email: kwent2@unm.edu

Cathleen Cahill

The award is presented annually by the Labriola National American Indian Data Center at Arizona State University.

In her book, Cahill discusses how the Bureau of Indian Affairs, established in 1824 as the United States Indian Service, sought to bring Native Americans into the “modern” world by compelling them to accept the lifestyle of the white, middle-class American family – to live in houses, work on farms and assimilate.

That goal required the services of many workers, male and female, white and native, single and married. These people, who were supposed to bring Indians into the mainstream, are the subject of the book.

“Federal Fathers and Mothers” is the fourth book to win the Labriola Center National Book Award. Previous winners and their books are Daniel Cobb, 2008, “Native Activism in Cold War America: The Struggle for Sovereignty”; Paul Rosier, 2009, “Serving Their Country: American Indian Politics and Patriotism in the Twentieth Century”; and Malinda Lowery, 2010, for “Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South: Race, Identity, and the Making of a Nation.”

Books submitted for consideration for the Labriola Center American Indian National Book Award cross multiple disciplines or fields of study, are relevant to contemporary North American Indian communities, and focus on modern tribal studies, modern biographies, tribal governments or federal Indian policy.

The course is for MS students and professionals with a BS in biology, geology, ecology, or other environmental sciences, environmental engineering, geography or science librarianship.

The Environmental Information Management (EIM) Institute provides MS and PhD students and professionals with the conceptual and practical hands-on training that allows them to effectively design, manage,analyze, visualize and preserve data and information.

Participants completing the three-week Institute will be at a significant competitive advantage as they pursue further academic and professional efforts. They will gain invaluable experience with all aspects of the data life cycle: from managing data files and creating databases and web portals, through state-of-the-art analysis and visualization techniques, as well as managing, analyzing, and visualizing geospatial data.

Week 1 — INFO 530 Environmental Information Management
Lectures and exercises focus on data and metadata acquisition and management, quality assurance/quality control, data preservation, database creation and management, and web portal development.

Week 2 — INFO 532 Environmental Data Analysis and Visualization
Lectures and exercises cover techniques for data exploration, data analysis and scientific workflows, and creation of effective visual representations of analytical results.

Week 3 — INFO 533 Spatial Data Management in Environmental Science
This hands-on course focuses on how geospatial data are effectively managed, analyzed, visualized and preserved in Geographic Information Systems.

Registration information
Space is limited. The Institute is comprised of three one-week courses for two credits each. Students must register for and attend all three courses.

Open to non-UNM students. For more information visit http://elibrary.unm.edu/courses/eimi or email Teresa Neely at neely@unm.edu

The 2012 EIM Institute is made possible by generous funding from Walter E. Dean. Dr. Dean, a UNM alumnus, has worked for the U.S. Geological Survey since 1975 on a variety of projects and is currently a research geologist in the Geology and Environmental Change Science Center in Colorado. Dean is a prolific researcher and author who has won numerous awards.

Cities and towns are among humanity’s largest and most complex achievements. Buildings, public works, plazas and parks of even a small town embody substantial amounts of capital, energy, natural resources, history and aspirations. Cities are among our greatest creations, yet typically no single individual creates them. Rather, they rise from dialog between multiple designers, clients, regulators, citizens, critics and users.

Sometimes the cities and towns that emerge are glorious places. Too frequently they have only fragments of greatness or are soul-deadening and environmentally unhealthy. Just as private doctors have responsibilities to their individual patients and for public health, project designers are accountable to their clients and for a set of public goods such as environmental stewardship, fostering civil society and inspiring joy.

In Urban Composition, Childs introduces essential ways in which the architects, planners, artists and engineers of individual projects can fulfill their public trust to help make great urban places.

Childs has worked as an architect, planner, urban designer and public artist. He is currently a professor in UNM’s School of Architecture and Planning, and is also the author of Squares: A Public Place Design Guide for Urbanists (UNM Press).

The UNM Bookstore is located at 2301 Central Ave. NE at the intersection of Cornell and Central. Please contact Lani Tyler or call 505–277-7473 for more information.