News - The Daily Lobo

Carl Agee holds up a meteorite from the collection at Northrop Hall. Agee is currently working on updating the Meteorite Museum for an April opening.

News

UNM scientist studies the authenticity of meteorites

Lena Guidi | February 4

In 2011, Carl Agee received a rock in the mail from a meteorite collector in Morocco. At the time, nobody knew what it was or where it had come from. Even for Agee, director of UNM’s Institute for Meteoritics, the rock’s origin remained a mystery for quite some time. At the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, he tested the rock’s chemical composition, isotopic composition, and mineralogy to determine its makeup.

News

Film center offers off-beat movies

David Lynch | February 4

Every week, some students make sure to catch a mid-week movie screening of a film they may have missed a few months prior, for only a few bucks at UNM’s theater. What many may not know about are the films offered by the Southwest Film Center, an agency of the Associated Students of UNM which bring relevant and diverse films, both old and new, to UNM for students to experience.

News

School earns success with little resources

Lena Guidi | February 3

As one of the smallest academic programs at UNM, the School of Architecture and Planning always finds a way to make its limited resources go far in the community. Through projects such as CityLab, Innovate ABQ and the Design and Planning Assistance Center, SAAP’s faculty and students are able to work directly with the city to improve the built environment. SAAP has maintained a relationship with communities throughout New Mexico for 45 years, and Geraldine Forbes Isais, dean of the institution, said she is working to strengthen that relationship. Isais is responsible for setting a course for the school’s academics as well as overseeing projects such as CityLab.

Ben Studer, a senior in Family Studies, donates blood for the Battle I-25 Blood Drive vs NMSU at the SUB Ballroom on Monday. The blood drive event is in its second year and runs through this week inside the SUB and at bloodmobiles around campus.

News

Blood drive rivalry between UNM, NMSU resumes

February 3

The second annual Battle of I-25 Blood Drive between UNM and NMSU has begun. During the week-long event UNM will try to defend its title. Last year UNM defeated NMSU by donating 402 units of blood compared to 283 donated by NMSU.

News

City Council selects nine civilians for Police Oversight Board

Jonathan Baca | February 2

Albuquerque’s City Council has made appointments for the new nine-person Police Oversight Board. The nine appointees, who will have the job of reviewing complaints against the Albuquerque Police Department, voting on appropriate discipline for officers, and making policy recommendations, were approved in a unanimous vote on Monday night’s council meeting.

News

Jack White graces UNM's Popejoy Hall

Matthew Reisen | February 2

Jack White is coming to Popejoy on Tuesday — arguably the biggest artist the venue has hosted in years — and the people who made it all happen couldn’t be more excited. Student Special Events booked White for a one-night concert in Popejoy Hall, a 2,000-capacity venue, only five days after the artist played a sold-out performance in New York’s Madison Square Garden, an 18,200-seat auditorium. “It brings Popejoy a whole new audience, it’s not a Broadway show at all,” said Emily Garrity, marketing director for Student Special Events.

News

NM grads lobby Legislature

Marielle Dent | February 2

Students representing every graduate school in the state advocated for higher education and presented their research and scholarship to lawmakers at the Roundhouse on Friday. The first-time event was coordinated by the New Mexico Council of Graduate Deans, and they intend for Graduate Education Day to become an annual event during the legislative session. Five UNM graduate students representing diverse fields displayed research projects. The Graduate and Professional Students Association representatives were present to further advocate for UNM’s many graduate programs.

News

Proposed UNM center would aim to reduce child abuse in NM

Sayyed Shah | February 2

The New Mexico Legislature is considering a proposal to fund the establishment of a new center at UNM specializing in child maltreatment. Funding will allow the Child Abuse Response Team at the UNM Health Sciences Center to bring in staff dedicated to supporting the center and expand clinical services to better reach areas outlying the metro area, said Dr. Leslie Strickler, medical director for the Child Abuse Response Team and associate professor of pediatrics at UNM Children’s Hospital. “Our goal is to improve clinical care, education, advocacy and collaboration between all stakeholders and incorporate primary, secondary and tertiary prevention initiatives,” Strickler said.

News

The Howl: Jan. 31, 2015 episode

January 31

The Howl is a weekly online newscast produced by the Daily Lobo. On this week's show: Brianna Serna talks with UNM President Robert Frank about the recent UNM Climate Assessment Report; UNM looks to reign in on campus smoking; The Cottages of New Mexico hosts a blood drive; Gov. Susana Martinez donates to the "Pink Pack"; and the UNM Women's Soccer team gets a new head coach.

News

Sneakers suit VIPs' call for cancer awareness

Marielle Dent | January 30

On Monday New Mexico legislators joined with UNM men’s basketball coach Craig Neal to support “Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week,” an American Cancer Society awareness campaign. Gov. Susana Martinez and state lawmakers wore sneakers with their dress clothes to the Roundhouse to show their support for the nationwide event.

News

Tent City residents ordered to break camp

Matthew Reisen | January 30

The intersection of Iron Street and First Street now goes by an unofficial name — “Tent City” — due to the substantial homeless population that camps beside the rail yard fence. Neighboring homes and businesses have called upon the city of Albuquerque to help with the situation, relying on charitable organizations like St. Martin’s Hospitality Center to relocate and assist those who live on the small stretch of sidewalk.

News

Crime briefs for Jan. 29, 2015

Erika Eddy | January 29

Tool stolen from UNM employee On Jan. 20, a UNM employee made a report with UNM Police Department in reference to larceny. According to the report, the employee’s work drill was stolen from a storage room in Hokona Hall between 4 p.m. on Jan. 16 and 9:30 am on Jan. 20. Several people have access to the storage area and there are currently no suspects.

A student smokes outside Castetter Hall on Tuesday afternoon. UNM is considering a revision to the universitys smoking policy to include cracking down on smokers outside of designated smoking areas on campus.

News

Smoking policy may soon get strict revision

David Lynch | January 29

The University Policy office is in the preliminary stages of updating the University’s smoking policy to include enforcement of protocol, among other initiatives. University Policy and Administrative Planning Director Pamina Deutsch said she hopes to revise the policy to include cracking down on smokers outside of designated smoking areas on campus has been a goal of hers for some time. “Ever since I’ve taken over this role — I’ve been here since Feb. 2012 — there have been concerns about enforcement (of the smoking policy),” she said.

Senior academic advisors Maureen Johnson, left, and Maxine Padilla have a conversation inside one of the new cubicles at Travelstead Hall on Wednesday. The cubicles were renovated to give students privacy during advisory appointments.

News

College of Education makes upgrades to entice students

Liam Cary-Eaves | January 29

Over winter break, the College of Education underwent major renovations to entice new students while providing a professional ambiance for those already involved in the college’s programs. Program Operations Director for the College’s Center for Student Success, Smith Frederick said the changes implemented in the college have been driven by the needs of the students. The college utilizes the opportunity to have students take surveys and provide feedback in other ways to address support services and potential areas in need of updates or enhancements, he said. Frederick said a major concern of the students was the need to update the areas in which advisement occurs in the Center for Student Success, located in Travelstead Hall.

A piece of pallasite meteorite is seen under a binocular microscope at Northrop Hall on Tuesday. Meteorites can be analyzed at the Center for Stable Isotopes, a new research facility soon to open its doors at UNM.

News

Interdisciplinary research center to open

Lauren Topper | January 28

UNM will soon open the doors to its newest research facility, the Center for Stable Isotopes, which will allow researchers from a wide range of fields to delve into the mysteries of the natural world by looking at its smallest building blocks. The new facility will expand an already existing program based within the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences into an interdisciplinary center.

News

UNM campus briefs for Jan. 28

January 28

The UNM Human-Centric Security Initiative presents speaker Adrian Chavez from Sandia National Laboratories, with the lecture “Projecting the Integrity and Confidentiality of Security Functions Through Provable Code Obfuscation” on Friday from 3 to 5 p.m.

News

Sustainability manager applies eco-friendly mindset to her job

Lena Guidi | January 28

Before the term “sustainability” was coined, Mary Clark was interested in leading an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Now, Clark is the manager of UNM’s Office of Sustainability, a one-person department that oversees the University’s recycling programs, green fund, conservation initiatives, energy use reports and the promotion of sustainable practices on campus. The position is part of the Physical Plant Department, which produces and distributes all of UNM’s utilities.

News

Innovate ABQ seeking proposals

Jonathan Baca | January 27

Innovate ABQ, UNM’s ambitious plan for a business incubator district, is looking for private developers who are interested in investing in the project during the first phase of development. Innovate ABQ sent out a Request for Statements of Interest and Qualifications last week, hoping to get private companies to submit proposals for contracts to build on the new campus.

News

Grant to fund future undergrad professors

Sayyed Shah | January 27

UNM’s Honors College, in partnership with the Mellon Foundation, is using a $420,000 grant to fund undergraduate students who would like to become professors. The primary objective of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program is to increase diversity among professors, said Kate Krause, a professor of economics and the dean of the Honors College and University College at UNM.

News

Man indicted in DWI crash that killed two students

David Lynch | January 27

An Albuquerque man has been indicted in the November car crash that killed two UNM students and sent two others to the hospital. Joshua Leal, 21, is charged with three counts of vehicular homicide due to reckless driving, one count of vehicular homicide due to DWI, and one count each of child abuse, larceny, tampering with evidence and stealing a motor vehicle, according to nmcourts.gov.