The Border Report

May 2007 • Vol.1 No.2

New Mexico State University is New Mexico’s Land-Grant Institution and, as such, has a mission to serve all the citizens and to improve their lives through research and service activities that respond to their needs. Our research programs range from fundamental scientific discoveries in such fields as ge-nomics and nanoscience to applications that have significant implications for changing the lives of New Mexicans as well as citizens of the world. For example, the work of an NMSU nanophysicist has resulted in improving the efficiency of organic solar cells and thereby provide a more cost-effective alternative to silicon based solar cells. In the field of agriculture, NMSU has spawned drought-resistant turf grass used in sports facilities throughout the country. NMSU researchers have literally saved lives through the development of a device to jam the electronic signals used to set off improvised explosive devices, which have claimed so many lives in Iraq.

Through these and many other research developments, NMSU has progressively increased its external funding from federal, state and private agencies. In the 2006 fiscal year, grants and contracts expendi-tures exceeded $150 million, a gain of more than 20% over the expen-ditures in 2004. NMSU consistently ranks in the top 110 institutions in the nation by research expenditures. In addition, its programs in agriculture, chemistry, computer sciences, engineering, and physical sciences are highly ranked by the same criterion.

Research and graduate education are inextricably linked. At NMSU, we are committed to providing outstanding graduate educa-tion opportunities for students both on- and off-campus. We are striv-ing to significantly increase mentored research experiences for both undergraduate and graduate students, to improve our research labs and facilities, and to support interdisciplinary research collaborations across colleges and research units. This year, through resources of the Research Office, we have initiated new programs to provide under-graduate and graduate research assistantships beyond those routinely provided by externally funded programs.

NMSU’s graduate student body represents over 80 different countries and every state in the nation. We believe that our graduate student body brings cultural diversity and talents that are invaluable to our research and service missions. NMSU takes pride in serving those who have traditionally been underrepresented in the scientific fields, including Hispanics, Native Americans, women, and African Americans and is recognized as an Hispanic Serving Institution. NMSU currently operates 16 different federal, state, or privately funded programs to increase participation of underrepresented students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.

By working closely with the Arrowhead Center, the Office of the Vice President for Research is ensuring that faculty and student researchers are aware of the opportunities for commercialization at an early stage in their careers and that no opportunity for technology transfer and economic benefit to the state is overlooked. Recent commercialization ventures include a chile pepper harvester that helps make New Mexico’s chile industry competitive with that in less industrialized countries where manual labor is cheaper.

In this issue:

U.S.-Mexico Border VIP Tour:

Water Infrastructure And Groundwater

Conservation Highlight Two-day Event

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Sponsored by the Border Research Cluster with Funding Provided by the Environmental SubCluster

Live, Learn and Thrive.

Dr. Vimal ChaitanyaVice President for Research, GraduateStudies and International Programs

Project Spotlight: Study Investigates College Students’ Interactions on

Border Campuses

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Minigrant Update

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Greetings from the VIP for Research,

Graduate Studies And International

Programs

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Border 2012 And NMSU:

NMSU Serves as Active Participant

in Binational Program

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Greetings From The Vice President For Research, Graduate Studies And International Programs

Prompted by recent research in education that suggests that diversity efforts by colleges and universities continue to be important, New Mexico State University faculty Kathryn Valentine (English), Mónica F. Torres (English), and Eduardo Arellano (Educational Management and Development) became interested in the interactions that college students, particularly those living in the U.S.-Mexico border region, have across racial and ethnic differences.

In a study published in 2002, Gurin, Dey, Hurtado & Gurin, suggest that the significance of diversity in higher education goes beyond “increasing access to higher education for greater numbers of students, but also as a means of fostering students’ academic and social growth” (p. 330). This study reports that when students have opportunities to engage in “genuine” inter-actions across racial and ethnic differences, they are more fully positioned to develop the cognitive and social skills needed to be “informed citizens” in an increasingly diverse society. Valentine, Torres, and Arellano designed a quantitative study that would allow them to assess to what extent students at border institutions experience what researchers call “genuine” interactions. Ultimately, these NMSU researchers hope to offer recommendations based on the data that will foster productive interactions between students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Aided by a grant from the Border Education and Health Disparities Research Sub-cluster, Valentine, Torres, and Arella-no developed and validated a questionnaire designed to address the project’s research questions, piloted the questionnaire at a

community college and a university, and modified the question-naire. The research team is now in the process of conducting the full study at two institutions with plans to move to two additional institutions in the fall of 2007.

Valentine, Torres, and Arellano also received funding from the Southwest and Border Cultures Institute to follow this quantitative project with a qualitative study, the goal of which is to gather additional information about how students at bor-der institutions understand and articulate their own and other students’ racial and ethnic identities and how issues of identity and interaction shape their learning experiences. f

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Another spin-off of NMSU’s research enterprise is the Genetic Testing Laboratory, which provides services to clients from across the country. In sum, we welcome you to our research website (http://research.nmsu.edu/clusters.html), and hope you will gain valuable knowledge from the information posted there. Whether you are a prospective student, researcher, or community member, we invite you to come back and visit us again. We assure you that you will find stories of new discoveries and frontiers each time you return.

Thank you for your interest and support. f

Project SpotlightStudy Investigates College Students’ Interactions on Border Campuses

Drs. Mónica F. Torres (English), Kathryn Valentine (English), and Eduardo Arellano (Educational Management and Development)

Minigrant UpdateAdolescent Pregnancy: An Exploration of Parental Perspectives in Cuidad Juarez-Dona Ana County Border Communities, PI Dr. Jacquelyn Williams, Nursing funded as a VPR mini grant.

Does the Border Bridge: Inter-racial and Inter-ethnic Interactions between College Students, PIs Kathryn Valentine and Mónica Torres, English; Mary Prentice and Eduardo Arellano, Educational Management & Development funded by the Border Research Cluster.

Mapping Predictors of Alcohol Use and Abuse Patterns in Adolescents and College Students in Doña Ana County, NM, PIs Drs. Pat Sandau-Beckler and Esther Devall funded by the Border Research Cluster.

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On March 22, some 30 individuals from New Mexico and Chihuahua gathered in Deming to begin a two-day tour of regional water facilities, water infrastructure and conserva-tion projects. The concept for the VIP Water Tour came from the Border 2012 New Mexico-Chihuahua Rural Task Force’s water subcommittee and was organized by Albuquerque water consultant Elaine Hebard.

Traveling by bus, Tour participants stopped in Deming, Luna County, Columbus, Palomas, Guadalupe Victoria, Ascen-sion, Janos and the nearby Rancho El Uno. At each stop, Ms. Hebard arranged a community discussion with local leaders on how farmers and residents were dealing with their current and future water needs.

Higlights of the Tour included:

Hearing how Luna County hopes to reduce their water gap between supply and demand by obtaining funds to increase efficiency in agricultural water delivery.Learning how conflicts between federal agencies have stifled Ascensión’s plan to recharge the aquifer, as well as their need for technical assistance.Realizing the importance of the Janos grasslands to the ecosystemic and economic health of the region. Finding out about binational flooding as well as costs to address defluoridation fluoride; andEnjoying the Water Festivals, commemorating World Water Day’s theme of “coping with water scarcity.”Stopping for a tour of Rancho El Uno, located in the Janos valley south of Ascensión. Rancho El Uno is managed by Pronatura Noreste, a Mexican non-govern-

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mental organization that has set aside large tracts of the 46,000-acre ranch for conservation of the region’s rich flora and fauna.

U.S. participants on the Tour included representatives from the International Boundary and Water Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Border Environment Cooperation Commission, New Mexico Environment Depart-ment, New Mexico State Engineer’s Office, the offices of New Mexico Sens. Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman, New Mexico State University, , Elephant Butte Irrigation District, Luna County, Deming, Columbus, non-governmental organizations and private citizens, and were joined by Mexican agency and community members.

An audio recording of the Tour can be found at this Web address: http://www.border.state.nm.us/ f

US-Mexico Border VIP Water TourWater Infrastructure And Groundwater Conservation Highlight Two-day Event

Participants in the VIP Water Tour traveled by bus to communities in southern New Mexico and northern Chihuahua to discuss groundwater usage and observe water conservation methods in this arid region of the U.S.-Mexico border.

On behalf of EPA’s Border 2012 Environmental Education Task Force, NMSU’s Erin M. Ward worked with Allyson Siwik, Co-Chair of the New Mexico-Chihuahua Rural Task Force, to sponsor a hands-on GIS workshop for school-age students in Ascension, Chihuahua.

The workshop, conducted by Dr. Alfredo Granados Olivas of the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, demonstrated the use of handheld GPS devices to identify the location of used tires dumped illegally in backyards and empty lots in Ascension. Tires were marked on a computer-generated map for pickup and disposal. Some 50 students participated in the workshop. f

Teams of students participated in the Scrap Tire Clean-up Project conducted March 1- 2 in Ascensión, Chihuahua.

Scrap Tire Clean-up Project

Center for Latin American and Border StudiesNew Mexico State UniversityBox 30001/Dept 3Las Cruces, NM88003-0001

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Border 2012 And NMSUNMSU Serves as Active Participant in Binational Program

The U.S.-Mexico Border 2012 Program is a framework for binational cooperation on environmental and public health issues at the federal, state and local level. The program’s mis-sion is to protect the environment and public health in the U.S.-Mexico border region, consistent with the principles of sustainable development. Its foundation is based on local de-cision-making, priority setting, and project implementation to solve the border region’s environmental problems. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Mexico’s Secre-taría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT) serve as national coordinators of the Border 2012 program.

Erin M. Ward, director of NMSU’s Office of U.S.-Mexico Border Outreach and Coordination, is U.S. Co-chair for the Border 2012 Environmental Education Task Force.

She assists with the Border 2012 Southwest New Mexico/Northwest Chihuahua Rural Task Force. Erin also serves as Director for the Southwest Center for Environmen-tal Research & Policy (SCERP) at NMSU.

Dr. Bobby Creel, Associate Director of the Water Re-sources Research Institute, is well known to the New Mexico water world. As a part of Border 2012, he has been working with the Dr. Alfredo Granados Olivas, Profesor-Investigador with the Instituto de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. Dr. Granados earned his Ph.D. at NMSU. Together, they have created an interactive map of the Mimbres transboundary basin, which can be found at http://river.nmsu.edu/website/mimbres/