VOLUME 2024, ISSUE #5 05/10/2024 |
A MESSAGE FROM OUR DEAN Greetings, ACES Alumni and Friends, We are reaching the end of the semester, and we are in graduation week. This is the time when we all come together to see our students graduate. This semester we have 173 undergraduate and 47 graduate students graduating from the College of ACES. In this issue, we also extend access to the 2023 ACES Annual report. I encourage you to look at it and see the diverse activities and many impacts of our faculty, staff and students in the college of ACES last year. I want to sincerely commend the committee from the College of ACES that wrote this report and compiled all the information as well as developing it in such a nice & attractive manner. We are extremely lucky in the college with all the skillful individuals we have in data collection & data analysis and in presenting information in an understandable and readable way. This report highlights the college’s accomplishments, and it also shows ways in which the ACES College is very different from the other colleges of the university. Every college is extremely important, but the wide range of activities that the ACES College follows is directly in line with the land grant mission. I also want to bring to you excellent news that is the Learning Games Lab in the Department of Innovative Media Research and Extension was awarded the 2024 Intellectual Property Award, which is conferred by NMSU’s Arrowhead Center. This is just one of the many activities done in the college by our faculty and the impact of these activities not only in New Mexico but worldwide as well. I also want to thank all the committee that worked hard during our ACES Open House. It was a great success despite the weather not collaborating, but what can we say about the weather in agriculture? It is always a challenge and the most uncertain factor in our activities! Thank you very much for your support and I encourage you to look at the items mentioned. Have a great summer vacation. Here in the College of ACES we continue our work since most of all our faculty are under a 12-month contract. The growth of plants, animals, and microorganisms does not stop when the university is not in session. Also, start getting ready for the Field Days coming up. (See details in this newsletter.) Have a great summer, everyone! |
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Rolando A. Flores Galarza Dean & Chief Administrative Officer |
NEW DEPARTMENT HEAD APPOINTMENT |
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| Please join us in welcoming Dr. Carlos Carpio as the Department Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Business in the College of ACES. Dr. Carlos Carpio has joined us effective May 1, 2024. He previously served as a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at Texas Tech University. Before this position, he worked as a faculty member at Clemson University from 2006 to 2012. Dr. Carpio holds a Ph.D. in Economics from North Carolina State University and an M.Sc. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from Texas Tech. He earned an Agricultural Engineering degree from Escuela Agrícola Panamericana "El Zamorano" in Honduras. He is a native of Ecuador. |
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Dr. Carpio's main areas of research and teaching are in the economics of food demand and production and applied statistics. He has an extensive publication record, with over 70 articles published in scientific journals and over 100 presentations at scientific conferences. Additionally, he has worked with and mentored more than 71 graduate students. He has served as PI or Co-PI of research grants totaling more than 3.5 million dollars. At Texas Tech, Dr. Carpio has led efforts to review, design, and implement various face-to-face and distance academic programs. Dr. Carpio has also contributed his expertise as a consultant to public and private organizations, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Fairtrade International, and as a scientific journal editor. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Steve Fraze for his dedication and excellent work as interim department head for the last year. We encourage you to congratulate Dr. Carpio and assist and collaborate with him in moving the department forward toward the accomplishments of the goals of LEADS 2025 in benefit of ACES, NMSU and New Mexico. You can get in contact with him through his email at: ccarpio@nmsu.edu |
INNOVATIVE MEDIA RESEARCH & EXTENSION |
Learning Games Lab awarded Intellectual Property Award from Arrowhead Center The Learning Games Lab team, and their work on the Math Snacks collection of games, were honored as the 2024 Intellectual Property (IP) Award winner by the Arrowhead Center and the Office of Research, Creativity and Strategic Initiatives. The award recognizes NMSU faculty or staff who have developed intellectual property and demonstrated work to realize societal, industrial and commercial benefits. The Math Snacks suite of games will be internationally distributed by Game Learning thanks to a commercial licensing agreement that Arrowhead Center helped facilitate. This partnership does not impact public access to the games, which will continue to be freely available for use at the mathsnacks.org. The Math Snacks games and animations have been played 31 million times since they were originally created. The ceremony coincided with World Intellectual Property Day, which is celebrated annually April 26 to highlight the role of intellectual property rights in encouraging rights and creativity. The Intellectual Property Office at Arrowhead Center assists the NMSU faculty and staff in obtaining patents to protect their innovative discoveries. Also recognized at the ceremony were patents awarded in 2023 and 2024, including “Apparatus and method for agricultural contaminant detection” (US 11,603,638 B1), whose co-inventor, Dr. Jennifer Randall, is a Professor in the Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology, and Weed Science. |
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AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION |
On May 22nd, Leyendecker will host its Annual Field Day, with registration starting at 7:30 am. The event will highlight various research happening at the Center. Join us to listen to presentations about the NMSU IR-4 Program, Long-Term Soil Health Research and Demonstration Site (Second Year Results), Guayule Growth and Yield in Southern New Mexico, Chile Breeding for Mechanization, Agrivoltaics and much more. The event is open to the public and lunch will be provided. RSVP to participate in the raffle and get a chance to win a prize! https://rsvp.nmsu.edu/rsvp/leyendecker |
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ASC Farmington Graduate Students take high honors at April 6 ACES Open House Event Three graduate students conducting research and outreach at the Farmington Science Center (ASC) took 1st place (Emiliano McLane, MA AXED), 3rd place (Brandon Francis, MA AXED), and honorable mention (Aminou Saibou, PhD candidate, PES) in the graduate student poster competition during the ACES Open House event held in Las Cruces on April 6. Brandon Francis and Emiliano McLane have been conducting an indigenous farmer needs assessment along the topics of soil health, controlled environment, and agricultural photovoltaics. Surveys are an important first step to better inform future technical support to the ASC Farmington service area. Both students' work is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation through the University of New Mexico–led “Transformation Network.” Aminou Saibou has been conducting cover cropping research in multiple plots of single species and seed blend mixes in a section of the ASC Farmington being transitioned to USDA Organic certification and on certified organic research plots on the Las Cruces main campus. His work is measuring weed suppression and water use (among other variables) as part of a larger team working with researchers and cooperating producers in New Mexico, Colorado, and the Navajo Nation, with funding through a USDA Organic Transitions grant, one of two awarded to NMSU. Congratulations to these students for their hard work! |
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Emiliano McLane in front of his research poster at ACES Open House |
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ENTOMOLOGY PLANT PATHOLOGY & WEED SCIENCE |
PES/EPPWS Graduate Student Presents Award-Winning Research The 77th Annual Meeting of the Western Society of Weed Science was held in Denver, CO on March 4-7, 2024. At this meeting, Caroline Toth (PhD candidate in Plant & Environmental Sciences) won second place paper in the combined sections of Weeds of Horticultural Crops and Basic Biology & Ecology. Caroline’s paper was titled “Barley cover crops outperform brown mustard for early-season weed control of New Mexico chile pepper." Her work is leading to new methods for suppressing weeds and reducing reliance on hand hoeing in chile pepper. Caroline is advised by Dr. Brian Schutte, Dr. Soum Sanogo, Dr. Omar Holguin, and Dr. Nicole Pietrasiak. Congratulations Caroline! |
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New Mexico hosts entomologists where ACES students shine The Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America hosted its 72nd annual conference in Albuquerque, NM. Co-program chair Dr. Joanie King and local arrangements chair and secretary of the society Dr. Alvaro Romero had major roles in coordinating the successful conference of 150+ attendees from Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Graduate students from Entomology, Plant Pathology, and Weed Science and Plant and Environmental Sciences shared their research efforts through talks and posters and competed in the entomology games (trivia bowl competition) coached by Dr. Kristen Bowers, Research Scientist with EPPWS. Lance Fountain, MS student of Drs. King and Erik Lehnhoff, won first place talk for his presentation on the impact of harvester ants on plant restoration efforts in rangelands in NM. It is noteworthy that Mr. Fountain was also awarded the Deb Peters Dryland Ecology annual fellowship, and he received a graduate student grant from the Otero Chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Mexico. For more information, contact Dr. Ricardo Ramirez at ricarami@nmsu.edu. |
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From left to right, Graduate Students: Luis Ochoa-Cadena, Connor Cavett, Kavita Adhikari, Isha Magar, John Agnew, Joseph Montoya, and Eva Carabotta. Faculty: Drs. Scott Bundy, Alvaro Romero, Kristen Bowers, Joanie King, Jane Pierce, and Ricardo Ramirez. |
| Congratulations to Lance Fountain for his first-place talk in the MS student category and to advisors Drs. King and Erik Lehnhoff (not pictured) |
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EQUITY, INCLUSION & DIVERSITY |
The College of ACES Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Initiative co-directors, Laura Bittner and Karim Martinez, provided a presentation at the 2024 National Extension and Research Administrative Officers Conference (NERAOC) in Wilmington, Delaware, April 9. The presentation, titled, Let’s Talk! Creating Inclusive Organizations through Conversation, introduced participants to the benefits of inclusive organizations, explored the connection between the brain and inclusion, and provided activities and resources to encourage conversation and connection. This is the second year the College of ACES EID co-directors have been invited to present at this conference. Approximately 30 participants representing 18 land grant universities attended the presentation. For more information about the ACES EID Initiative or to schedule a workshop, contact Laura Bittner (lbittner@nmsu.edu) or Karim Martinez (karmarti@nmsu.edu). |
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Dr. Willis Fedio from the New Mexico State University Food Safety Laboratory traveled to Ghana in February, 2024, where he visited with Dr. James Owusu-Kwarteng who is an Associate Professor of Food Science and Technology at the University of University of Energy and Natural Resources in Sunyani, Ghana. Dr. Owusu-Kwarteng was a Fulbright African Research Scholar at the NMSU Food Safety Laboratory for 6 months in 2022-2023 and conducted research on methods of detection of Salmonella in red and green chile. Drs. Owusu-Kwarteng and Fedio continue to collaborate and are in the process of conducting whole genome sequencing of Bacillus spp. from African fermented foods. While in Ghana, Dr. Fedio presented a seminar entitled “Advances in Detection and Characterization of Foodborne Microorganisms” to over 125 UENR undergraduate students from the Departments of Food Science and Technology, and Horticulture and Crop Production Plant at the Okuafo Pa Agri-Business Centre (UENR Dormaa Campus). Dr. Fedio also met with food science faculty from the University of Ghana (Accra, Ghana), University of Cape Coast (Cape Coast, Ghana) and the University for Development Studies (Tamale, Ghana). He intends to look for international research opportunities with the contacts he made while in Ghana. For more information, contact Dr. Willis Fedio at wfedio@nmsu.edu. |
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IDEAS FOR COOKING AND NUTRITION (ICAN) |
Nutrition deserves special attention throughout our lives, but especially as an individual ages. It plays a vital role in affecting the quality of life, including physical, mental, and social health. Older adults, described by USDA as individuals that are ages 60 and up, can greatly benefit from continued nutrition education. Ideas for Cooking and Nutrition (ICAN) is a New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service (NMSU CES) program funded by federal grants to provide nutrition education to SNAP-eligible audiences in New Mexico. The mission is to inspire New Mexico’s residents to make healthy food and lifestyle choices and to make those choices possible by creating health-friendly communities. In 2023, the ICAN program reached 12,893 adults ages 60+ through partnerships with senior centers and other agencies across the state. Some of the most valuable topics covered in programming for this age group include food safety, fluid intake, and nutrient density. Education also focuses on helping older adults use the food they receive in food boxes. The ICAN program is provided by ICAN educators to New Mexican residents in 22 counties. Classes are free and available in English and Spanish. For more information about the ICAN program, please visit https://ican.nmsu.edu. |
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Sam Steel Council brings “The Fix” Chile Roast back to Washington D.C this August The ACES Alumni organization, the Sam Steel Society, will be having for the second consecutive year a green chile roast in Washington D.C on August 17th. This event is made possible by the support of the Sam Steel Council, the College of ACES Administration, NMSU Foundation and our industry partnerships with companies such as NMDA and Tactica Strategies. The Society invites all alumni and supporters in Washington D.C and surrounding areas to get their “fix” of authentic New Mexico chile roasted on-site and available for purchase by pre-order through our website. To find out how you can participate and support the Sam Steel Council in connecting and celebrating our ACES alumni at this event and throughout the year please, see our website at Sam Steel Society Home (nmsu.edu), contact us at samsteelsociety@gmail.com and find us on social media on Facebook @NMSU ACES – Sam Steel Society and LinkedIn @SamSteelSociety for more information. |
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Understory Vegetation Response to Thinning Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands |
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| Yasser M. Almalki, Alexander G. Fernald, Carlos G. Ochoa, Andres F. Cibils, Akasha M. Faist, Douglas S. Cram, Robert L. Steiner Over the past century, the worldwide cover of woodland vegetation has expanded in rangeland areas commonly found in the western United States. In New Mexico alone, millions of acres are covered by Pinyon-Juniper (P-J) trees, which have both positive and negative impacts on natural ecosystems. While P-J trees can provide habitats for wildlife and serve as firewood, they can also alter hydrologic processes and reduce water and nutrients for other plants, leading to decreased biodiversity. To lessen the density of woodland in P-J areas, land managers in New Mexico have employed thinning methods to improve soil health, increase plants for livestock, and enhance watershed streamflow. |
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To understand and elaborate on the relationship between P-J woodlands and herbaceous vegetation growth, a team of researchers, including Yasser Almalki from the Department of Animal and Range Sciences (ANRS) Alexander (Sam) Fernald, director of the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute and a professor in the Department of ANRS, conducted a study on the effects of P-J removal on forage response at five and ten years following juniper removal. Research was conducted at the NMSU–Santa Fe Ranch, where the study site consisted of P-J trees, understory plants like cholla cacti plants, and grama grass variants. After using a paired catchments approach and analyzing data from previous studies, the team discovered that thinning P-J trees in northern New Mexico increased grass standing crops by two to threefold. As a result, effectively controlling the growth of P-J trees in this region can cause long-term effects regarding the availability of plants for grazing livestock, and water quality due to reduced soil erosion. The full research article, Understory Vegetation Response to Thinning Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands, can be assessed in the Rangeland Ecology and Management journal by clicking here. For more information, contact Dr. Alexander "Sam" Fernald at afernald@nmsu.edu. |
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The six catchments at the New Mexico State University−Santa Fe Ranch in 2014. Three catchments were untreated (-U) while the remaining three areas were treated (-T). |
Sustaining Aquifers Hydrologically, Economically, and Institutionally: Policy Analysis of the Ogallala in New Mexico |
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| Chibuzo Chilaka (NMSU), Alex J. Rinehart (NM Tech), Haoying Wang (NM Tech), Frank A. Ward (NMSU) Groundwater discharge exceeding recharge threatens sustainable aquifer water use in New Mexico and internationally. Interest remains high in discovering more hydrologically sustainable and economically affordable measures to protect these aquifers. Despite notable advances in this kind of analysis, little published work to date has unified these elements into a science-based integrated framework to inform more sustainable aquifer policy design. This work’s contribution is to integrate analysis of hydrology, economics, institutions, and policy into a unified scientific framework to inform choices on more sustainable pumping strategies while protecting economic activity for agricultural and urban water-using sectors. It does so by formulating, designing, and applying a mathematical programming framework to replicate historically observed pumping patterns in parts of the Southern and Central High Plains Ogallala Aquifer region in New Mexico, USA. |
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We first calibrated the model to replicate the historically observed data. We then go on to identify least cost pumping caps that would have partly restored the aquifer to its 2014 level by 2020, while comparing the performance of four other partial aquifer protection policy measures. Findings indicate a surprisingly low cost that could have been incurred to partially protect the aquifer over that period. However, these low costs are complicated by (1) decreasing water quality outside of the irrigated regions and (2) focusing of lateral inputs to a narrower zone of depression around the irrigated regions. These findings carry important implications for identifying more sustainable aquifer management plans in New Mexico and internationally. The work’s importance comes from its capacity to inform policy debates over a range of water shortage sharing plans, while respecting institutional constraints governing equitable burden sharing. For more information, contact Dr. Frank A. Ward at fward@nmsu.edu. |
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CALL FOR RESEARCH POSTER/ABSTRACTS |
Click on the following link to give to the College of ACES. Give Now | New Mexico State University Foundation (nmsu.edu) You can also contact Planning Officer Erika De La O. Medina at erikadlo@nmsu.edu for more information on how to give to the College of ACES. |
Kaitlin Marry, a passionate environmental science major at New Mexico State University, has plans to make a significant impact on the world. Originally from Fisher, Illinois, a small town with fewer than 2,000 residents, Kaitlin was once surrounded by corn fields, flat land and generational farmers. Seeking a change in scenery, she discovered New Mexico where she became fascinated by the forest of the Gila Mountains. To view her video journey click on the following link: NMSU Journeys: Kaitlin Marry - NMSU Journeys (wistia.com) |
COLLEGE OF ACES MAGAZINE – SPRING 2024 ISSUE |
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The College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences is an engine for economic and community development in New Mexico, improving the lives of New Mexicans through academic, research, and Extension programs. |
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