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Eastern New Mexico University highlights student-led water, agriculture and energy research
Summary
Dr. John Montgomery told the Science, Technology & Telecommunications committee that Eastern New Mexico University runs numerous proof-of-concept projects—student- and faculty-driven—addressing wastewater remediation, uranium removal from water, low-cost contamination detection and DOE-funded solar research; several projects involve federal and state research networks.
Dr. John Montgomery, associate vice president for research and dean of the graduate school at Eastern New Mexico University, told the Science, Technology & Telecommunications committee that the university centers student training in research on regional needs including water, agriculture and energy.
Montgomery, speaking to the committee, outlined Eastern’s scholar–teacher model and said the university partners with statewide and federal research networks such as EPSCoR, the BRIN/Embraer program and the Department of Energy to support faculty and student projects. He said the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute provides smaller, targeted grants—about $7,000 annually—that fund applied student research on local water issues.
The presentation summarized several active or developing projects. Montgomery described longtime work by Dr. Juchao Yan on algal flow-ways that treat dairy wastewater and produce biomass that can be dried and used for energy or feed; Montgomery characterized that work as low‑cost, proof-of-concept research that engages students. He said a graduate student (identified as O’Malley in the briefing) is testing chemical methods to identify and remove uranium from water supplies; Montgomery said the student’s work is currently at the simulation/proof-of-concept stage and is most directly applicable to surface-water scenarios.
Other projects Montgomery highlighted include Enrique Martinez’s colorimetric reagent tests intended to provide inexpensive field screening for contamination, trials of organic-material filters for water purification, and agricultural studies tied to local needs—such as soil remediation after forest fires and trials around livestock feed (Montgomery said a student study on spent coffee grounds showed no effect on sheep ovulation).
Montgomery also noted taxonomy and biodiversity work by students, including identification of new insect species, and DOE-supported energy projects. He said Dr. Yan received a Department of Energy award to test different solar-panel layer configurations and organic solar-cell concepts; Montgomery described these efforts as proof-of-concept that may later move into larger doctoral-level research at institutions such as UNM or NMSU.
During committee questions, Senator Thornton asked about international wastewater-reuse examples; Thornton said Israel treats about 90% of its wastewater for reuse. Montgomery said he was not aware of direct collaborations with Israeli programs and offered to have Dr. Yan follow up. Representative Garrett asked which two-year institutions feed Eastern; Montgomery named several regional feeders including Hobbs, Clovis Community College, Roswell and others.
Montgomery emphasized that many projects are designed to engage students in solving regionally relevant problems and to provide practical training, while also contributing published research and building capacity for future, larger-scale engineering work.
The committee thanked Montgomery for the briefing and moved on to the next agenda item.
