Other NM universities announcements

Shelley Lusetti, New Mexico State University professor and department head of chemistry and biochemistry, is the principal investigator of the New Mexico IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (NM-INBRE). This year, Lusetti was elected vice president of the National Association of IDeA Principal Investigators (NAIPI).

NM-INBRE's legacy at NMSU began in 2001. Its mission is focused in three areas: building access to infrastructure at New Mexico universities; building up individual faculties' research programs; and training students. Lusetti has been its principal investigator for the last 10 years. In 2024, NM-INBRE received a five-year, $19.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. Working with 10 colleges statewide plus the National Center for Genome Resources and two pueblos, Lusetti has been expanding the organization's impact.

Water, biochar, soil health and more will be discussed during the first field day of the year, hosted by New Mexico State University's Agricultural Experiment Station.

The Leyendecker Science Center will host its field day from 7:30 a.m. to noon June 3 at the center, located at 7200 Plant Science Circle in Las Cruces. Lunch will be provided to attendees.

Presentations include arid smart irrigation, conserving natural enemies for alfalfa pest suppression, understanding sorghum-barely crop rotation for managing weeds in chile peppers, soil health assessment in cover cropping systems under restricted irrigation, the promising jujube fruit crop in New Mexico, biochar amendments and soil health in cotton systems, biorational management of soilborne pathogens, growing prickly pear cactus as an alternative crop, and pecan irrigation and water use efficiency research.

From desert grasslands and arid rivers to mountain forests, New Mexico's diverse landscapes face mounting pressures from drought, megafires and population growth. To help meet those challenges, New Mexico State Univeristy has launched a new doctoral program designed to train scientists and leaders focused on conserving the Southwest's fragile ecosystems. 

The Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences has launched a Ph.D. program in wildlife and fisheries ecology – the first of its kind at NMSU and in the state of New Mexico. 

"Our new program fills a critical gap," said Martha Desmond, department head and Regents professor. "There is currently no Ph.D. program in wildlife ecology or a closely related field offered at NMSU or within the state." 

New Mexico State University recently hosted the Innoventure Challenge Finals, bringing together 16 middle and high school teams from across New Mexico for a culminating experience in applied innovation and entrepreneurship. Held on Wednesday, April 8, at Corbett Center, the event marked the final stage of a year-long program designed to engage students in hands-on, real-world problem solving. 

The Innoventure Challenge is structured as a series of standalone themed experiences that introduce students to entrepreneurship through applied learning. Each challenge presents a different real-world problem and encourages students to think critically, collaborate, and develop solutions within a defined context. Throughout the year, students participate in these themed challenges, with top teams from each round invited to take part in the Innoventure Challenge Finals at NMSU, where they are introduced to a new challenge. 

Registration is open for SBIR 101, a free two-hour foundations webinar hosted by NM FAST and sponsored by the New Mexico Economic Development Department that will introduce first-time applicants to the federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. The session will be held on Tuesday, May 19, from 9 to 11 a.m. 

The webinar is open to any New Mexico-based founder, researcher, or small business, with a hybrid format that includes in-person attendance in Albuquerque at a location to be announced and a virtual option for participants joining from anywhere in the state. 

Human-computer interaction is the theme of Trevin Morales' short, 2D animated film as he prepares to graduate this month from New Mexico State University's top-ranked animation program in the Creative Media Institute (CMI). His final project is titled "Mechanical Craving," about an isolated man's sacrifices for his AI companion.

"I've wanted to do animation ever since I was in high school and my brother participated in the CMI program," Morales said. "I'm from Las Cruces, so seeing there was a chance for me to stay close to home and pursue a career that I'm very passionate about made me very happy."

Human-computer interaction is the theme of Trevin Morales' short, 2D animated film as he prepares to graduate this month from New Mexico State University's top-ranked animation program in the Creative Media Institute (CMI). His final project is titled "Mechanical Craving," about an isolated man's sacrifices for his AI companion.

"I've wanted to do animation ever since I was in high school and my brother participated in the CMI program," Morales said. "I'm from Las Cruces, so seeing there was a chance for me to stay close to home and pursue a career that I'm very passionate about made me very happy."

NMSU's animation program continues to be ranked among the top programs in the country for the 15th year in a row. Animation Career Review evaluated more than 200 programs across the United States. In the 2026 rankings list, NMSU's animation remains 17th nationally among public schools and colleges but rose 3 points to the top 25% among all university animation programs. NMSU's program also rose to sixth regionally and remains first in New Mexico. 

The Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship at New Mexico State University's Arrowhead Center recently celebrated the completion of its GenAI Systems Builder Sprint, a six-week accelerator designed to help startups in New Mexico and the Borderplex region build practical AI-powered tools and automation systems for their businesses. 

The program, held from April 2 through May 7, 2026, guided 8 participating startups through a progressive curriculum that moved founders from foundational systems thinking to building functional AI-powered applications. Delivered through weekly two-hour virtual sessions via Zoom, the Sprint gave founders a structured, hands-on environment to translate real business challenges into working AI tools, at no cost to participants.