Assistant Professor Chanee Choi selected for 2024 Women in STEM Awards

Fourteen faculty members at the University of New Mexico have been selected for the 2024 Women in STEM Awards. 

The 11 funded projects include a study of carbon storage in soils along the middle Rio Grande floodplain, an investigation into rural New Mexico healthcare workforce challenges and opportunities, and the development of new software for large scale 3-D printing with adobe.

Selected award recipients will also consider water treatment processes for atmospheric water harvesting, look for ways to improve local food system cohesion, and study the role of social interaction in stress and depression, among other things.

Now in their ninth year, the awards have allocated $585,660 to 80 women at UNM.

Several of the 11 projects selected this year are collaborative or interdisciplinary efforts.

The 2024 winners are:

• Leah Buechley, an associate professor in Computer Science and Maryam Hojati, an assistant professor in Civil Engineering;
• Kate Cartwright, an associate professor in Public Administration;
• Chanee Choi, an assistant professor in Film and Digital Arts;
• Deena Gould, an assistant professor in Teacher Education, Educational Leadership and Policy;
• Natasha Howard, an assistant professor in Geography and Environmental Sciences;
• Elspeth Iralu, an assistant professor in Community and Regional Planning;
• Allyson McGaughey and Anjali Mulchandani, assistant professors in Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering;
• Elif Tunc-Ozcan, an assistant professor in Neurosciences;
• Marisa Repasch, an assistant professor in Earth and Planetary Sciences and Alex Webster, an assistant professor in Biology;
• Eva Stricker, a research assistant professor in Biology;
• and Kamilla Venner, an associate professor in Psychology.

The awards are hosted by Advance at UNM in collaboration with the UNM Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of the Vice President for Research. Advance is a National Science Foundation-initiated program at UNM to promote women faculty, particularly faculty of color in STEM, and to create a supportive campus climate for everyone.

Advance Director Julia Fulghum said the awards review committee received many proposals that are different from those in the past several years.

“The pandemic had a big impact on the type of proposals we received during the past couple of years. This year marked a shift, and we saw an increase in collaborative proposals, proposals from faculty thinking about their paths from associate professor to professor, and proposals supporting research travel,” she said. “It was exciting to see this level of enthusiasm and planning from applicants. The collaboration with Academic Affairs and the OVPR means we’re able to support some creative and ambitious work.”

UNM Provost James Holloway said he’s looking forward to seeing the results of the work of the awardees.

“We at UNM are grateful to the anonymous donation that has made it possible for us to support our incredible faculty. Their discoveries advance New Mexico and our nation – I’m excited to see how this award helps them advance their science,” he said.

Funding for the Women in STEM Awards is from an anonymous gift made to UNM to support research by, and professorships for, women faculty in science, technology, engineering, and math. Income from the gift is used to help women assistant and associate STEM professors at UNM to establish new lines of research and to develop research collaborations.

Support also comes from the UNM Office of the Vice President for Research.