Thanks to all who voted in the November election for NMAS Board members.  Congratulations to these elected members of the board:

• Dr. Anton Sumali, President-Elect, 2 year term
  
• Dr. Babu Chalamala, Vice-President, 2 year term
• Mrs. Malva Knoll, Secretary, 2 year term
• Dr. Shanalyn Kemme, Director at Large, 2 year term

The New Mexico Academy of Science is proud to sponsor two New Mexico high school seniors interested in science for the 2021 National Youth Science Camp, June 28-July 21. The National Youth Science Foundation opened applications for the 2021 Camp on November 8, 2020. The deadline to submit applications is 6:00 PM EST on February 28, 2021.

Hosted in Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia since 1963, the National Youth Science Camp (NYSCamp) has traditionally been a residential science, technology, engineering, and mathematics  program designed to honor and challenge some of the nation’s rising STEM leaders and provide them with opportunities to engage with STEM professionals and participate in exciting outdoor activities.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the 2021 NYSCamp will be an entirely virtual experience which will include world-class lectures, directed studies, and seminars with prestigious and up and coming STEM professionals who are making a difference in their fields of study and changing the world for good. The camp will also provide significant opportunities for delegates to interact and engage with STEM professionals, camp staph (intentional misspelling to highlight their infections enthusiasm), and other delegates in exciting, fun, and meaningful ways. Even though delegates can’t gather in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia this year, the 2021 Virtual NYSCamp will be an engaging, stimulating, and unforgettable educational experience!

The NYSCamp is offered to selected participants at no cost so that talented students may attend regardless of their financial ability. Although camp activities will be offered throughout the day during camp, selected delegates must commit to a minimum 4.5 hour daily participation requirement between the hours of 6:00PM to 10:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) for the duration of the camp.  

What happens on a typical day at the National Youth Science Camp? 
A typical day begins with a morning lecture from a guest scientist. Some groups go on outdoor trips, and the rest participate in hands-on, small group science seminars facilitated by guest scientists or NYSC staff members. In the afternoon are seminars, athletic and recreational activities, art, and music. An evening science lecture follows dinner. All activities challenge delegates to approach problems with creativity.

How are Delegates Chosen? 
Students apply at http://apply.nyscamp.org/. The New Mexico Academy of Science (NMAS) selects two delegates and alternates for the camp based upon an applicant’s academic achievement, leadership in school and community activities, and genuine interest in the sciences.

NYSC Coordinator (2020-2021) –  Margaret Showalter

Virtual Annual Meeting 2020 Nov. 9-13 via Zoom
Keynote by Dr. Bette Tina Marie Korber (Mutations of SARS-CoV-2)

NMAS will co-sponsor the meeting with EPSCoR UNM during its NM Research Symposium. Register using the links at the end of this post. The keynote speaker for the virtual meeting is Dr. Bette Tina Marie Korber of Los Alamos National Laboratory. She will speak on her recent publication about the mutations on SARS-CoV-2.

General Attendee Information
The New Mexico Research Symposium is free and open to the public. Everyone is welcome to attend and we are looking for poster judges!

Important details:

• Register for the event by November 4, 2020 in order to participate
• The registration form includes a section to to sign-up as a poster judge Call for Abstracts, Registration
• Abstract Submission Deadline: October 12th

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Presenter Information
We invite interested students, faculty, and educators in all STEM fields to submit abstracts for poster presentations. Student abstracts will be given preference.

Benefits to submitting an abstract for presentation:

• Publication: Accepted poster presentation abstracts will be published in the 2020 New Mexico Journal of Science
• Experience: Gain valuable conference presentation experience
• Prizes: Student participants in the Poster Session will have a chance to win cash
  prizes in undergraduate and graduate categories
  

Important details:

• Register for the event to be eligible to present or submit a poster
• Read the Abstract Submission Requirements
• If you have questions, contact Sara Pichette or Selena Connealy

Registration is open for the all-virtual NM Research Symposium (Nov. 9-13) – free and open to all!
   
19 Vaccine Strategies - Keynote Speech 
Los Alamos Lab Fellow Dr. Bette Korber will deliver a talk “Our Immune System, Vaccines, and Vaccine Strategies for AIDS and COVID-19” on November 9, 7PM MST, which will be presented on Zoom as the Keynote Speech for the  Virtual New Mexico Academy of Science/EPSCoR Annual Symposium. Dr. Korber will answer audience’s questions afterwards. Virtual meeting capacity limitation requires advance registration.

Schedule of Events
Nov. 9 (7 pm) Keynote address by Dr. Bette Korber, LANL: "Our Immune System, Vaccines, and Vaccine Strategies for AIDS and COVID-19"
Nov.10-12, Virtual Poster Session
Nov. 13 (1 pm), Student Seminar featuring NM SMART Grid Center research
Nov. 14 (3 pm), Awards Ceremony
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The New Mexico Research Symposium (NMRS), collaboratively hosted with the New Mexico EPSCoR and the New Mexico Academy of Science (NMAS), is an annual conference with oral presentations, a poster competition, and a keynote address. The conference is geared to undergraduate and graduate students from New Mexico’s colleges and universities. Presentation and poster abstracts are published in the New Mexico Journal of Science.

Questions about the Research Symposium? 
Contact Sara Pichette (sarapichette@epscor.unm.edu) or Selena Connealy (connealy@epscor.unm.edu)

 
National Youth Science Camp 2019 Program
With All Expenses Paid Including Travel
For Two Graduating NM High School Seniors

Application Deadline is February 28, 2019

Two New Mexico high school seniors interested in science will receive an all-expenses-paid, month-long stay at the prestigious National Youth Science Camp (NYSC) from June 27 – July 20, 2019.  The NYSC pays all expenses for the students including airfare.  The NYSC Delegates in 2018 were Melina Bone of Sandia Preparatory School in Albuquerque and Joseph Davis of Aldo Leopold Charter School in Silver City.

What happens on a typical day at the National Youth Science Camp? A typical day begins with a morning lecture from a guest scientist.  Then some groups go on outdoor trips, and the rest participate in hands-on, small group science seminars facilitated by guest scientists or NYSC staff members.  In the afternoon are seminars, athletic and recreational activities, art, and music.   An evening science lecture follows dinner.  All activities challenge delegates to approach problems with creativity.

Where is the camp held?  NYSC is held in the eastern mountains of West Virginia’s Potomac Highlands.  Delegates can visit the nearby National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, hike in the unique wilderness areas of the Monongahela National Forest and visit other notable West Virginia landmarks.

How are Delegates Chosen? Students apply at http://apply.nyscamp.org/. The New Mexico Academy of Science (NMAS) selects two delegates and alternates for the camp based upon an applicant’s academic achievement, leadership in school and community activities, and genuine interest in the sciences.  The NMAS coordinator is Dr. Richard E. Nygren (Sandia National Laboratories, renygre@sandia.gov). 

The NYSC website http://apply.nyscamp.org/ has more information, links for Facebook, Twitter and LinkEd and answers for frequently asked questions. Also, you may phone or email:
NYSC Director Andrew Blackwood: andrew.blackwood@nysf.com  Phone NYSC: (304) 205-9724 x91   ​

              National Youth Science Camp 2018 Program
                                   With All Expenses Paid Including Travel
                               For Two Graduating NM High School Seniors
                                  Application Deadline is February 28, 2018

Two New Mexico high school seniors interested in science will receive an all-expenses-paid, month-long stay at the prestigious National Youth Science Camp (NYSC) from June 27 – July 21, 2018. The NYSC program pays all expenses for the students including airfare.
Apply on the web at http://apply.nysc.org/ and for links for Facebook, Twitter and LinkEd. The website http://www.nysc.org has frequently asked questions. Also, you may phone or email:
E-mail NYSC Director John Giroir: (john.gifroir@nysf.com) Phone NYSC: (304) 205-9724
The New Mexico Academy of Science (NMAS) selects two candidates and alternates for the camp based upon an applicant’s academic achievement, leadership in school and community activities, and genuine interest in the sciences. In 2017, Yoni Xiong of Carlsbad HS and Vesan Cabardo of Centennial HS in Las Cruces attended NYSC and Carter Fietek of Del Norte HS was selected as an alternate.
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice extends a personal invitation by letter to New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez to participate in NYSC. NMAS (www.nmas.org) selects candidate in New Mexico. The NMAS coordinator is Dr. Richard E. Nygren (Sandia National Laboratories, renygre@sandia.gov).
Where is the camp held? NYSC is held in the eastern mountains of West Virginia’s Potomac Highlands. Delegates can visit the nearby National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, hike in the unique wilderness areas of the Monongahela National Forest and visit other notable West Virginia landmarks.
What happens on a typical day at the National Youth Science Camp? A typical day begins with a morning lecture from a guest scientist. Then some groups go on outdoor trips, and the rest participate in hands-on, small group science seminars facilitated by guest scientists or NYSC staff members. In the afternoon are seminars, athletic and recreational activities, art, and music. An evening science lecture follows dinner. All activities challenge delegates to approach problems with creativity.

From the Editor:

The New Mexico Journal of Science is a publication of the New Mexico Academy of Science. Each issue of the Journal, which has been published since 1906, contains research papers and articles deemed of interest to the scientists, educators, and citizens of New Mexico. Some volumes address scienti c topics of social or economic interest to the state, while others emphasize scienti c research in areas where New Mexico is particularly active.

The Academy oversees a New Mexico Junior Academy of Science program that sponsors an annual statewide scienti c paper competition for students in New Mexico’s high schools. is volume of the Journal contains a selection of research papers from that competition.
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The New Mexico Academy of Science Research Symposium was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico on November 5, 2016. Oral and poster presentations at the Symposium described scienti c research being conducted by undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty at New Mexico’s colleges and universities, and the abstracts of those presentations are once again included in this year’s Journal. e New Mexico Academy of Science also presented its annual Outstanding Science Teacher Awards at the meeting. We wish to acknowledge the organizations which co-sponsored the 2016 Research Symposium: the New Mexico Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NM EPSCoR), and the University of New Mexico’s Center for Water and the Environment. 

Please have a look at our 2016 NM Journal of Science.

Special Free Lecture - at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (Albuquerque)

What: Waiting in the Wings: Emergence of Zika and Other Mosquito-Borne Viruses
Who: Kathryn Hanley, Ph.D., Biology Department, NMSU
When: 7:00pm, Friday, September 23, 2016
Where: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (map)

Mosquito-borne viruses in the Americas have undergone a cataclysmic shift over the past decade.  Rates of dengue fever have surged across North and South America including Florida, Hawaii, and regions of the U.S.- Mexico border.  Chikungunya virus invaded the Americas in 2013 ushering in an epidemic of disabling joint pain. Finally Zika virus appeared in the Americas in 2015, triggering a public health emergency because of its ability to cause microcephaly in the developing fetus. This presentation will describe the ancestral cycles of dengue, chikungunya and Zika and the ecological factors that promote human transmission.  Dr. Hanley will offer her thoughts on what the future may hold and whether new methods of mosquito control will be sufficient to contain whatever may be "waiting in the wings."

Dr. Kathryn A. Hanley conducts cutting-edge research on the emergence and control of mosquito-borne viruses, including Zika, dengue and chikungunya. She participated in the development of a dengue virus vaccine, currently in clinical trials, during research at the National Institutes of Health. At NMSU she investigates the ecology and molecular biology of mosquito-borne viruses in the laboratory and the field, and works on the development of new drugs to treat dengue and Zika virus.  She has authored or co-authored more than 50 research papers and co-edited the book Frontiers in Dengue Virus Research.  Dr. Hanley has a B.S. in biology (Amherst College) and Ph.D. in biology (University of California, San Diego). She is currently the Chair of the American Committee on Arthropod-borne Viruses.

This special lecture is sponsored by the New Mexico Academy of Science in partnership with the NM Museum of Natural History & Science.
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Cosmologist Lawrence Krauss will be speaking at UNM Anthropology Maxwell Museum lecture hall on June 25, 1:30 p.m., sponsored by CESE and NMSR (see below).   The talk is free and open to the public. 
http://www.cese.org/lawrence-krauss-to-speak-at-cese-annual-meeting/