New Mexico EPSCoR is funded by the National Science Foundation.

Our mission: “To provide the critical gap infrastructure, computational support, and education
and outreach opportunities that foster excellence in climate change research and education.”
For more information, please visit www.nmepscor.org.

NEWSLETTER
THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COOPERATIVE RESEARCH

Volume 1 | Issue 1 Summer | 2010

Undergraduate Summer Research

UROP Students Conclude Research with Presentations
This summer, eleven students from seven New Mexico colleges
Eisenhauer (Western NM University)
and universities participated in the 2010 Undergraduate Research and Tyler Van Riper (San Juan College);
Opportunity Program (UROP), a NM EPSCoR education effort Hydrology and Water Quality of Ancient
led by Dr. Mike Pullin and Lisa Majkowski from New Mexico Tech. Acequia Irrigation Systems by Olijahwon
Hosteen (Diné College), William Morgan
Through UROP, undergraduates from (Research Experience for Undergrad- (San Juan College) and Heather Wade
2-year and 4-year institutions are provided uates) Program presented their research (Santa Fe Community College); Climate
the opportunity to perform high quality, findings and conclusions at the Valles Influence on Pueblo Agriculture in the
relevant, hypothesis-driven research Caldera Science and Education Center. Southern Jemez Mountains of New Mexico
that may not be readily available at their The UROP students reported different by Alisha Gonzales (Eastern NM Uni-
home institution. Students chosen for the challenges in pursuing their research versity) and Brody Norton (Eastern
program attended introductory classes and topics, but all were enthusiastic about NM University); and Stream Hydrology
workshops for a week at New Mexico their findings and about their opportunity and Geomophology Response to Elk and
Tech in Socorro, NM, learning about to work in the field. Livestock Activities in the Valles Caldera
climate science and research practices. National Preserve by Kayla Sawyer (NM
NM EPSCoR mentors guided the UROP The UROP students and topics this year Highlands) and Hannah Wilson (Western
students through research activities for were as follows: Monitoring Sinuosity- NM University).
the rest of the summer. driven Hyporheic Zones by Seth Crank
(Navajo Tech) and Anita Feliciano (Santa To read more about UROP, visit the NM
On July 30, the UROP participants and
Fe Community College); Hyporheic EPSCoR website.
students in the New Mexico Tech REU
Zone Effects on Water Quality by Emalee

IN THIS
Issue
1 UROP Presentations
Undergrad Summer Research
2 NM EPSCoR Education &
Outreach
3 EPSCoR Research Focus on
Valles Caldera & Spotlight
4 Tri-State Graduate Class
& EPSCoR Contacts and
Upcoming Events
The 2010 NM EPSCoR UROP Participants. For more photos, visit our Facebook page.
Enhancing research competitiveness is at the core of EPSCoR.
New Mexico EPSCoR invests in climate, hydrology, water quality and
socioeconomic research efforts.
Spotlight on:
Amanda White
Amanda White received her M.S.
and Ph.D. at the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign in 2001 and
2006, respectively, all in Civil and
Environmental Engineering. She
had been working as a postdoc at
Los Alamos National Lab before
becoming part of the New Mexico
EPSCoR project in 2009. Amanda
is now a postdoc at New Mexico
Tech with John Wilson. Her re-
search interests include semi-arid
hydrology, mountain hydrology,
ecohydrology, and climate change
impacts on all three. As part of
EPSCoR, she is currently developing
surface-water models using USGS’s
Precipitation-Runoff Modeling
System (PRMS) for our three water-
sheds of interest: the Jemez River,
Rio Hondo, and El Rito Basins. In
the next year, she will examine
the impacts of climate change on
the groundwater/surface-water
interactions using downscaled
projections of climate data.
Amanda downloading stream flow data at
the La Jara Creek Observatory in the VCNP.
UNM Grad student Lauren
Sherson, NMT Grad student
Jesus Gomez and Navajo
Tech Undergrad Seth Crank
check their data.
NM EPSCoR Research
Valles
Caldera
Climate Science and
Hydrology are the
focus at the VCNP
The Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP) served as
the center of much research in 2010. New Mexico EPSCoR
is proud to sponsor research at the preserve through various
New Mexico higher-ed institutions.
The Valles Caldera is a 12 mile (19 km) Temperature Sensing (DTS) system was
wide volcanic caldera in the Jemez deployed in the Valles Caldera to study
Mountains of northern New Mexico. The groundwater to surface interaction,
VCNP was created in 2000 when the especially the upwelling of hyporheic zone
Valles Caldera Preservation Act was discharge. Researchers and students
passed, allowing the federal government also deployed sondes (used for testing
to purchase the land. NM EPSCoR re- physical conditions of the water), and
searchers have used the VCNP in recent will eventually monitor water quality
years for studies in hydrology, water instruments inside a 10-foot enclosed
quality and climate change. cargo trailer that will remain on-site
permanently.
The central research challenge of NM
EPSCoR is to understand how future Several other studies were performed
changes in seasonal temperature and at the VCNP this summer: a study of the
precipitation will impact snowpack, transfer of organic carbon from soil
snowmelt and spring runoff in the to stream and its movement through
mountainous region of north-central the hyporheic zone by NM Tech grad
New Mexico, which serves as the head- students, as well as an investigation
waters for important river systems, of decomposition rates and nutrient
including the Rio Grande. As a part contribution of plants to streams by New
of this research effort, a Distributed Mexico Highlands grad students.
For more information on the VCNP, visit their website.
 Education and Outreach through EPSCoR
New Mexico EPSCoR supports education and outreach activities that contribute
to New Mexico citizens’ understanding of climate science.

NM EPSCoR Education & Outreach

2010 Summer Institute
for Teacher Professional
Development
The 2010 Summer Institute for Teacher
Professional Development brought small
teams of high school teachers together
with project scientists in a five-day
Summer Institute held at the Valles
Caldera National Preserve (VCNP)
this past June. Led by the Northern
New Mexico Network, the teachers
participated in field activities with project
scientists, such as equipment deployment
and data collection, and created activities
The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science is located at 1801 Mountain Road NW.
to take back to their classrooms. The
teachers will gather for two weekend
workshops, one in the fall and one in the Climate Science Exhibit Coming to the New
spring, that will strengthen the bonds Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
within the teacher teams, provide up-
dates and expand the scientific content The New Mexico Museum of Natural a global representation of climate data
delivered during the summer, and allow History and Science receives NM EPSCoR using a Magic Science “Science on a
the teachers to share best practices for funding to design, fabricate and install a Sphere”. A portion of the exhibit will also
science teaching. new “Climate Change in New Mexico” address regional climate change impacts
exhibit. Jessica Sapunar-Jursich, Director from the perspectives of local land users.
of Education at the Museum, spearheads
the project with Dr. Dave Gutzler as the Eileen Everett, the Climate Change
EPSCoR-funded guest curator for the Educator at the Museum, will offer
project. Dr. Gutzler is a climatologist on numerous Climate Change Education
faculty at UNM in the Department of programs in preparation for the opening
Earth and Planetary Sciences. of the climate exhibit. “Climate Change
in New Mexico” is slated to open to the
The exhibit itself will expand the current public in May 2011. For more information
climate exhibit from 110 square feet to on education programs at the Museum,
825 square feet. A central feature will be visit www.nmnaturalhistory.org.

Contribute to our Newsletter!

If you have an article, publication or story you would like to share with the
EPSCoR Community, please email Natalie Willoughby, Public Information
Teachers participating in the Summer Institute & Outreach Representative, at nwilloughby@epscor.unm.edu.
take measurements in the Valles Caldera.
Tri-State Graduate Class
NM EPSCoR Joins Nevada and Idaho for Interdisciplinary Modeling
This summer, the Tri-State
Consortium sponsored a
graduate level class called
Interdisciplinary Modeling:
Water-Related Issues and
Changing Climate.
The Western Tri-State Consortium,
comprised of Nevada EPSCoR, Idaho
EPSCoR, and New Mexico EPSCoR,
offered the class at the University of
Nevada, Reno from July 12 to July 30.
The class was organized by faculty
from Idaho, Nevada and New Mexico,
including Dr. Alexander Fernald from
NMSU. New Mexico also contributed
three other instructors from NMSU and
UNM. Based partly on the outcomes
of the 2005 Interdisciplinary Modeling
of Aquatic Ecosystems Curriculum
Development Workshop, this course
was designed to address many of the
New Mexico EPSCoR
Contact Information
Dr. William Michener
Director
(505) 814-7601
wmichene@unm.edu
Dr. Mary Jo Daniel
Associate Director
(505) 814-7010
mjdaniel@unm.edu
Natalie Willoughby
Public Information & Outreach Rep
(505) 814-7500 x. 8111
nwilloughby@epscor.unm.edu
New Mexico EPSCoR
1312 Basehart Dr. SE
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87106
505-814-7500
Students work in the surface-groundwater
interactions lab. Instructor: Dr. Sam Fernald, NMSU
challenges often encountered when
studying an interdisciplinary subject such
as water related issues.
Twenty-three graduate students took
the class, including three from NMSU
and four from UNM. Students were
introduced to models that are available
in different disciplines and learned how
UPCOMING EVENTS
2010
Sept. 13-15 Tri-State Diversity Innovation
Working Group, Jemez Springs, NM
Sept. 17 Science & Technology Day at the
State Fair, EXPO New Mexico
Sept. 22 Teacher’s Open House, NM
Museum of Natural History & Science
Oct. 1-3 Distributed Temperature Sensing
Innovation Working Group (jharding@nmt.
edu to register), Jemez Springs, NM
Oct. 18 EPSCoR All Hands Meeting, UNM
Technology Park, South Campus
such models might be applied together to
address interdisciplinary modeling of cli-
mate change impacts on water resources.
The course also addressed the advan-
tages and limitations of using models,
different spatial and temporal scales that
specific disciplines are concerned with,
differences in degrees of uncertainty of
data and models, interdisciplinary model-
ing options, communication between
disciplines, and interactions with stake-
holders and the public.
The class was divided into lectures and a
lab, and students used common software
to do an interdisciplinary modeling
project. As a result, the participating
students are better prepared for pro-
fessional or academic careers in which
they interact with peers from other
disciplines to address real-work aquatic
ecosystem issues. For more information,
visit the class website.
Oct. 25 External Advisory Board Meeting,
EPSCoR State Office
Nov. 6 Family Day with Climate Change
activities, NM Museum of Natural History &
Science
2011
Jan. 4-6 Junior Faculty Leadership Training
Workshop, Jemez Springs, NM
March 17 NSF Day, Location TBA
April 6-8 Tri-State Annual Meeting, Hyatt
Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa, Santa Ana
Pueblo, NM