Other NM universities announcements

Long before New Mexico State University students were traveling to national risk management conferences and networking with industry leaders, retired College of Business professor J. Tim Query was building the partnerships that made those opportunities possible. His dedication to student success and risk management recently earned him induction into the Rocky Mountain Risk and Insurance Management Society Chapter Hall of Fame, Class of 2025. 

Query, who joined NMSU in 2006, played a pivotal role in establishing and growing the university's Risk Management and Insurance Studies program while building lasting partnerships with organizations that continue to benefit Aggie students. 

NM FAST and Larta Institute have graduated the inaugural NM FAST Commercialization Cohort, a five-part commercialization program designed to help New Mexico startups and deep-tech companies strengthen their commercialization strategies and prepare for federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer funding opportunities. 

Eighteen companies from across New Mexico completed the no-cost program, which combined expert-led workshops with individualized commercialization advising from Larta Institute Principal Advisors. The cohort ran from May through July and supported founders developing technologies in advanced computing, bioscience, advanced energy, aerospace and other innovation-driven sectors. 

Last year, motorists across the United States illegally passed stopped school buses more than 39 million times, endangering the lives of scores of children who depend on buses, according to a national organization that represents state pupil transportation services. 

Stop-arm running is such a prevalent yet understudied issue that the Child Safety Network – a national resource center that partners with states to prevent child injuries – has enlisted a New Mexico State University professor to lead a project to improve school bus safety by studying the visual attention failures that lead to illegal passes. 

Michael Hout, a professor of psychology and kinesiology at NMSU with nearly 20 years of experience in cognitive psychology and visual attention, will investigate how the brain interprets complex visual environments and why individuals often overlook crucial information – insights directly relevant to distracted or careless driving. 

Community members are invited to learn more about research involving conservation and regenerative farming practices at this year's field day, hosted by New Mexico State University's Agricultural Science Center in Clovis.

The field day will take place from 8 a.m. to noon Aug. 6 at the center, located at 2346 State Road 288 in Clovis, New Mexico. The event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided.

The field day will focus on several research projects, including artificial intelligence for soil and nutrient cycling in semi-arid agriculture; a peanut variety update for eastern New Mexico and west Texas; yield response of biochar and compost application in sorghum; economic and environmental benefits of biochar in sustainable agriculture; water management practices in agriculture; circular buffer strips effect on cotton production; and microalgae-based remediation and nutrient management of dairy tail end water.

Traditions are a meaningful aspect of the college experience at New Mexico State University and before classes for the 2026-2027 academic year start, NMSU will host several events to welcome first-year students. 

Aggie Beginnings will take place Sunday, Aug. 16, beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the Pan American Center. Aggie Beginnings will bring together freshman convocation, the first-year photo and the first-year walk as one experience welcoming NMSU's newest students to the Aggie community.

Aggie Beginnings will commence with a student-led freshman convocation welcoming first-year students to campus. Upperclassmen and student groups will lead the program and will be joined by faculty, staff and administrators in celebrating the beginning of the academic journey for the incoming class. NMSU President Valerio Ferme and Associated Students of NMSU President Carina Frisch will welcome students and their family members to NMSU.

Rebekah Pool, a 2017 and 2023 New Mexico State University graduate, always had confidence in her scone recipe. It has never steered her wrong, always baking into tender, buttery perfection. But even she was surprised when the trusted recipe propelled her to victory in a high-stakes pastry competition.

Pool's scones were the centerpiece of a dessert she created for the 2025 ACF Food Sport Competition, hosted by the American Culinary Federation in Las Vegas, Nevada. Inspired by strawberry shortcake, she made a version of her scones spiced with hot honey, pairing them with chile oil-poached pineapple, macerated berries, bergamot-infused whipped cream and a dollop of caviar — all developed around three secret ingredients.

When she was announced as the winner of the pastry/dessert category, she was stunned.

New Mexico State University researchers continue to learn more about exploring saffron as a high-value specialty crop that can be grown throughout the state. The public can learn more about the possibilities of growing saffron, along with information on crops in semiarid environments, weed management and other farming practices at this year's field day in Los Lunas.

The field day will take place from 7:30 a.m. to noon Aug. 13 at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Los Lunas, 1036 Miller Road. The field day is free and open to the public. Lunch will be served at noon.

Among the field day's presentation topics are the analysis of flavor quality in chile; wine and table grapes; mitigating tomato stress with sun, shade and silicon; jujube cultivars; specialty crop pest control; perennial forage grass effects on soil health in New Mexico; native grasses; and water management.

Registration is open for a second session of SBIR 101, a free two-hour foundations webinar hosted by NM FAST and sponsored by the New Mexico Economic Development Department that introduces first-time applicants to the federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs.

The session will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 15, from 9 to 11 a.m. at Q Station, 3225 Central Ave. NE, Albuquerque, with a virtual option available via Zoom for participants joining from anywhere in the state.

The second session covers the same two-hour walkthrough as the first: what the SBIR program is, which federal agencies fund it, what reviewers look for in successful proposals, and the realistic timeline from idea to submission. The session is designed for any New Mexico-based founder, researcher, or small business that missed the first session or wants a refresher before attending a more advanced NM FAST workshop.