Vimal Desai Chaitanya
Vice President for Research, Graduate Studies and International Programs

Message from the Vice President for Research

The secrets to some big problems can be found in some of the smallest organisms, and the key to unlocking these secrets is often uncovered by researchers working in the biosciences. Whether the hunt is on for the best way to convert a simple plant – algae – into a feedstock for the production of biofuel, or it is a search for answers to the reasons for the emergence of pathogens that can be deadly to humans, New Mexico State University researchers are taking steps to find solutions. One of the most important steps was the development in 2008 of NMSU’s Institute of Applied Biosciences, which arose from the university’s Biosciences research cluster. The institute initially is focused on emerging pathogens and synthetic biology, as a process to address algal biofuels.

We welcome readers to this fourth edition of Research & Resources magazine. In these pages you’ll find an update on some of the top research activities at the university, such as the development of tiny nanotube sensors to detect pathogens in our water; the university’s role in a $20 million project in Afghanistan; and a $15 million project that examines the relationship between water supplies and climate change in New Mexico.

The research at NMSU is as varied as the individual colleges, and research is under way across the campus, across the state and beyond. Readers will find updates on the university’s unmanned aerial systems project, a continuing research study on New Mexico’s state-funded Pre-K initiative and an NMSU researcher who studies workplace characteristics around the world. This issue of the magazine also looks off-campus to the research being conducted at the nearby Apache Point Observatory, and begins a series of profiles of the university’s off-campus science centers. As always, readers will find profiles of student and faculty researchers, along with an alumni researcher working with the Hubble Space Telescope.

Please enjoy this issue of Research & Resources magazine. We hope the time you spend with the magazine will give you greater insight into some of the programs we feel are making a difference for the communities we serve.