Other NM universities announcements

New Mexico State University will host its 40th annual "Noche de Luminarias," or "Night of Lights," from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, on the NMSU campus. The luminarias will be displayed throughout the NMSU campus, starting at the Pan American Center down to Hadley Hall. 

"This is a beloved tradition that brings together the campus and community to celebrate the warmth and beauty of the holiday season," said Michelle Grandjean, associate director of Student Involvement and Leadership Programs.

Whether they have colorful wings, multiple legs or eyes, or even stingers on their behinds, insects serve an essential purpose – and their beauty has inspired a new permanent wall exhibit in NMSU’s Skeen Hall. 

Titled “Insects in Art,” the exhibit is a kaleidoscope of more than two dozen paintings, drawings and mixed-media pieces created by New Mexico State University students over the past eight years. It came together through a collaboration between Scott Bundy and the University Art Museum. 

 Home to Pattern Energy's Western Spirit Wind, the largest single-phase renewable energy build-out in the Western Hemisphere, central New Mexico has quickly become a hub for wind energy development.

Wind farms like Western Spirit Wind – a portion of which sits on New Mexico State University's Corona Range and Livestock Research Center – consist of dozens, if not hundreds, of towering wind turbines.

However, little is known about the effects of turbines on wildlife, particularly mammals living on the ground. Conversely, scientists around the world have extensively studied turbines and their effects on birds and other flying animals.

Jagdish Khubchandani, a public health professor at New Mexico State University, has been elected to serve as the secretary for the World Association of Medical Editors.

WAME, founded in 1995, is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality and credibility of medical scholarship. It brings together editors of peer-reviewed medical journals from more than 50 countries and serves as a central resource for guidance, training and policy development in scientific publishing.

New Mexico State University's School of Nursing has opened the doors to a new, state-of-the-art simulated operating room designed to prepare students for careers as certified-registered nurse anesthetists.

NMSU's School of Nursing and College of Health, Education and Social Transformation unveiled the completed 1,2000-square-foot operating room last month. The operating room is the newest edition to the School of Nursing's Skills and Simulation Center, which also recently underwent its first major renovation and expansion in two decades.

The 2026 Southwest Hay and Forage Conference, hosted by New Mexico State University's College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and the New Mexico Hay Association, will feature two special guest speakers who will discuss successful farm transitions and water issues in the west.

The conference will take place Jan. 21-23 at the Ruidoso Convention Center, 111 Sierra Blanca Drive, in Ruidoso, New Mexico. Among the topics to be presented at the conference include "Corn Leafhopper: An Emerging Pest in Corn," "Drones for Spraying: Custom Application and Producer Perspective," and "Small Grain Forage Quality." There will also be industry and regulation updates provided by researchers and experts. Also this year, a special highlight will be the showcasing of the new Hesston double small square baler recently on the market.

New Mexico State University's Department of Accounting and Information Systems in the College of Business has partnered with Los Alamos National Laboratory to offer a new experiential work opportunity for students.

LANL has created a new software developer position for upper-class NMSU students majoring or minoring in information systems. This position will enable students to hone their skills in software development in a professional environment and gain real-world experience at one of the nation's leading labs.

A new national study co-authored by New Mexico State University researcher Jin Ho Yun finds that students who rely on artificial intelligence systems such as ChatGPT or Gemini may develop more superficial and passive learning habits compared to those who conduct traditional online research. 

The study, published in PNAS Nexus, was led by Shiri Melumad of the University of Pennsylvania and Yun, an assistant professor of marketing in the NMSU College of Business. Their work examined how large language model (LLM) summaries shape learning outcomes and cognitive engagement.