By: Linda Fresques
The New Mexico State University Research Council Award for Exceptional Achievements in Creative Scholarly Activity awarded several College of Engineering faculty members in August at the fall 2017 Convocation.
“We are all very proud of our engineering faculty and the caliber of technical research being conducted in the college’s research centers and laboratories. The faculty honored at the 2017 convocation are great examples of the fine research being done in the College of Engineering,” said Phillip DeLeon, associate dean of research for the college.
A group of faculty members were recognized for their research for the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure. Focused on urban water the center is an interdisciplinary hub with the goal of reinventing America’s aging and inadequate water infrastructure. NMSU’s Civil Engineering Department has been part of the center since 2011. The multi-university team, led by Stanford University, also includes New Mexico State University, Colorado School of Mines and University of California, Berkeley.
Honored for his contributions related to ReNUWIt is Civil Engineering Professor Nirmala Khandan, co-investigator on the project and leader of the center’s work at New Mexico State University.
Khandan’s primary role, in addition to serving as co-principal investigator, is being the undergraduate education director for the center. He also collaborates with other NMSU researchers, two of whom were honored with him.
Associate Professor Salim Bawazir, has been conducting research on riparian zone management and rehabilitation using engineered natural systems. Associate Professor Pei Xu who conducts research on water and wastewater management. Bawazir and Xu are both civil engineers.
The same recognition Exceptional Achievements in Creative Scholarly Activity was given to Assistant Professor Catherine E. Brewer in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering. Brewer runs a Biomass Thermochemical Processing research group whose research aim is to transform waste materials into energy, into clean water, and into improved sustainability for agriculture.
