UNM introduces NM SPARK program with inaugural cohort of scholars

Eleven University of New Mexico faculty members have been selected as part of the inaugural cohort of the New Mexico Scholars Pursuing Advancement, Research, and Knowledge (SPARK) program, a grant initiative supporting assistant and associate professors who are advancing their research, scholarship, and creative work in alignment with the university's 2040 strategic priorities

SPARK is the newest element of UNM's WeR1 faculty success program and is a collaboration between ADVANCE at UNM, the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), and the Office of Academic Affairs.

Recipients' work explores a broad range of topics including autonomous system decision making, lithium extraction from New Mexico brines, and rural teacher development. Other projects include studying the integration of AI into undergraduate computer science education, using photobiomodulation with resistance training to help type 2 diabetics, and work to better predict cracks in concrete infrastructure.

UNM's SPARK program includes awards in two tracks, catalysts and innovators.

SPARK Catalyst grants provide up to $10,000 in one year seed funding for early-career faculty to stimulate new research directions, launch new collaborations, or respond to shifting funding opportunities.

The SPARK Innovators grants comprise three-year awards of $5,000 per year plus an honorary title for midcareer associate professors pursuing significant research expansion or redirection with broad institutional or community impact.

"The SPARK Scholars Program is an investment in both faculty excellence and the future of our university," said Barbara Rodriguez, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.

"Programs like SPARK provide the mentorship, support, and community that enable faculty to thrive as scholars and educators. By helping faculty reach their full potential, we strengthen our research enterprise, enrich student learning, and advance UNM's mission of serving New Mexico. I am proud of the inaugural SPARK Scholars awardees for their commitment to discovery, innovation, and academic excellence, and I congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition," she said.

Program reviewers looked for proposals with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, career advancement, and that can be positioned for future external funding or high-impact outcomes. This year's funding is nearly $124,000.

"SPARK and UNM's WeR1 program demonstrate how coordinating efforts across multiple units can lead to enormous success," UNM Vice President for Research Ellen Fisher said. "As New Mexico's flagship university and an R1 institution, UNM is committed to supporting innovative scholarship and discovery. SPARK seeks to continue that effort, including mentoring of early and mid-career faculty."

Others on the selection committee, including former ADVANCE at UNM director Julia Fulghum said they were impressed by the variety of the applications.

"I'm delighted that one of my last activities as ADVANCE director was collaborating on the first NM SPARK awards. It is always heartening to learn about the ideas of colleagues from around campus, and I look forward to following their accomplishments," she said.

Recipients of the Catalyst grants are:

• Jessica Carey-Webb of Spanish and Portuguese for her project Postcards from Nowhere: Alternative Political Ecologies and Amazonian Utopian Experiments.
• Flavio de Castro Magalhães of Health, Exercise and Sports Sciences for his project When Light Meets Load: A Novel Strategy to Improve Metabolic Health in Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes using Resistance Training and Photobiomodulation - A Pilot Study.
• Ursula Moffitt of Individual, Family and Community Education for her project From Insight to Action: Health Equity Research that Meets this Moment.
• Madura Pathirage of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering for this project Fracture-Based Prediction Of Crack Spacing In Concrete Infrastructure.
• Jennifer Stacy of Individual, Family and Community Education for her project Teacher Educators, Literacy Legislation, and Multilingual Students: A National Study.
• Christoph Wagner of Music for his project Bridges in Sound: Intercultural Creative Research and Album Production Across Asian Musical Traditions.
• Wenbin Wan of Mechanical Engineering for his project Quantum-Ready Safe Decision-Making for Autonomous Systems.
• Fan Xu of Teacher Education, Educational Leadership and Policy for her project PROOF-AI: A Process-Oriented Reasoning Framework for AI-Integrated Undergraduate Computer Science Education.

Recipients of the Innovators grants are:

• Michael Domínguez of Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies for his project Empowering Rural Teacher Development in Pursuit of Equity: A Change Laboratory Approach to Responding to Yazzie/Martinez Policy Mandates.
• Marygold Walsh Dilley of Geography and Environmental Studies for her project Oral Histories of Farming Along the Middle Rio Grande.
• Shuya Wei of Chemical and Biological Engineering for her project Electrochemical Direct Lithium Extraction from New Mexico Brines.

The selection process was extremely competitive; ultimately funding was not available for some outstanding proposals.

ADVANCE, Academic Affairs, and OVPR are already planning for another round of funding next year to continue the program.

"ADVANCE values our many collaborations with Academic Affairs and OVPR. I look forward to continuing these kinds of collaborative funding efforts moving forward. I recognize what a valuable form of faculty support they offer and how important they have been in both launching and furthering the research and funding trajectories of many of our faculty," said ADVANCE director Lisa Broidy.