NSF "Creative Science Studio" - 3/1/2010

This announcement from NSF and USC is another indication of the opportunities and need for collaboration between science & technology and film & entertainment.

Gary

File: NSF and USC Film School Launch.docx

Rocket Engine Test Stand - 2/15/2010

NMSU professor will build rocket engine test stand from NASA experience

Ed Conley, who has taught mechanical engineering at New Mexico State University for 20 years, has spent the last two summers researching rocket engine test stands during his NASA  Administrator’s Fellowship and plans to incorporate what he has learned into NMSU’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
http://newscenter.nmsu.edu/?page=article&action=show&id=4936

Ethics Seminar - 2/15/2010

NMSU’s College of Business to host ethics seminar

Anyone interested in the topic of ethics, particularly ethics instruction in higher education, is invited to the Daniels Fund Ethics Seminar hosted by New Mexico State University’s College of Business. The event will take place from 9-11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 26, in Guthrie Hall Room 100.
http://newscenter.nmsu.edu/?page=article&action=show&id=4937

Green Jobs - 1/27/2010

Arrowhead Center to study NM green jobs

NMSU’s Arrowhead Center is going to figure out exactly how many green jobs are in New Mexico as part of an 18-month project for the state Department of Workforce Solutions. The project is funded by $1.25 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
 
The federal grant is part of nearly $55 million in funding announced by the U.S. Department of Labor to support job training and labor market information programs across the country. Its goal is to help workers, many in underserved communities, find jobs in expanding green industries and related occupations.
 
For more information on this project, contact the Arrowhead Center at 646-7415.
 

Raising the bar for all things digital - 12/24/2009

Raising the bar for all things digital – December 23, 2009

BYGABRIEL VASQUEZ

The Las Cruces Bulletin

If Las Cruces is to make the vision of going digital a reality, the business and legislative community must be steadfast in its commitment to make technology more accessible and promote the digital industry within its schools.

That was the message tech experts from across the state delivered to an audience of about two dozen Thursday, Dec. 17, at the third annual Digital Media Summit, sponsored by the High Tech Consortium (HTC) of Southern New Mexico.  Educators, business representatives, media experts and community members gathered at the City Council Chambers to discuss the progress southern New Mexico had made thus far to “go digital,” and to talk about new initiatives to boost the digital industry locally.

“We need to develop a strategic plan,” said HTC president Gary Gomes. “We need a strong marketing program and a comprehensive ecosystem. We must identify where we, as a community, have the resources to participate and leverage our assets to accomplish this goal.”

In particular, community members and panelists were interested in integrating more digital media into classrooms, both for teachers and students.  “I’ve had a long interest in how educational technology helps reduce barriers to educational opportunities,” said Brian Ormand, director for Strategic Relations at New Mexico State University’s department of Information & Communication Technologies and statewide director for the New Mexico Learning Network. “In the K-12 environment, we’re seeing a lot of growth in terms of mobile and media learning.”

Ormand’s focus is on distance learning. He said because of the large rural population in the state, educators should be focused on providing quality over-the-net educational resources to prepare students for college or the workforce.  “We’re seeing not only 2-dimensional textbooks as being the source of knowledge,” he said, “but multimedia-rich elements that provide opportunities.”

Marcy Oxford, technology integration specialist for Las Cruces Public Schools, said she works closely with teachers to help improve their abilities to boost student achievement using technology.  “In our district, we have a couple of middle schools that already have really marvelous digital media programs,” she said. “And we have a robust dual-credit program between our schools and the New Mexico State University system.”  LCPS students have the option of earning dual-credit for taking courses within NMSU’s Creative Media Institute and Doña Ana Community College’s Creative Media Technologies program. But because of CMI’s popularity and demand from incoming students, for now, students are only participating in the CMT program at DACC, she said, adding that she hopes to see that change as the program grows.  “The potential for online learning or even hybrid learning, where a teacher will provide resources and a virtual classroom to extend her own classroom in an online environment is great,” she said. “We’re seeing more and more interest in that.”

The challenge, Oxford said, is getting teachers accustomed to the new technology and getting them to “buy in” to the idea that technology based learning is just as effective, if not more, than traditional learning.  “Once you get a teacher interested in using technology in their personal lives, they naturally extend that into their classrooms,” she said. “I know a lot of teachers who are still technophobic. And we still have an access problem and a problem in the amount of money it takes to hook up the classrooms with technology.”

The ultimate goal, Gomes reminded listeners, was to produce a quality workforce in southern New Mexico that could transition between the various applications of digital media to create a “digital hub” for high-tech companies.  “It’s not just film that provides employment opportunities for our graduates in these programs,” he said, “but small businesses too.”

Scott Krahling, Doña Ana County commissioner and marketing consultant for systems to talk, manipulate data and interact in real-time.  Digital Solutions, said digital media and the marketing industry have become almost synonymous.  “I’m constantly looking at trends in online marketing,” he said. “And like digital media in education, the evolution of online marketing is going in the same direction.”  Website advertisement, web page building and mobile applications represent the next wave of advertising and marketing, he said.  “And it’s not as difficult to create as some people think,” he added.

Barry Eldridge of IBM and Rachel Nicoll of Sony Pictures Imageworks talked about the importance of telecommuting and explained how the development of infrastructure has attracted major companies to set up operations in New Mexico.

Eldridge said he’s one of about four other IBM employees in Las Cruces, “which I’ve never even met,” he said, adding that IBM employees no longer have to work at “home-base” to be productive.

“We work in (Albuquerque) as if we were in the building next door to (Los Angeles),” Nicoll said. “I was part of the first wave of 12 people who came out here about a year ago. Now our office in Albuquerque has just under 50 people.”  “Obviously, we came out here because of the film incentives,” she said

Sony Imageworks provides production assistance to Sony’s California production facilities and uses state-of-the-art teleconferencing “If you’re watching CNN and you see these guys talking back and forth on satellite – we’re taking the same technology and compressing it so we can use it on the web,” he said. “Ultimately it all comes down to bandwidth, but this is very cool stuff.”

Steve Chavira of Comcast Cable Corp. said his company has been actively improving broadband infrastructure in southern New Mexico, with the ultimate goal of connecting rural communities to “the world” using high-speed Internet.  “People have to buy into what we’re doing in order to improve what we have here,” he said. “When people are looking at this area and trying to spend money here, the technology has to be here for those people to effectively do their work. It’s a bit of an expense, but we as a company are trying really hard to bring that technology in.”

In cities such as Chaska, Minn., Anderson, Ind., Binghamton, N.Y., Clearwater Beach, Fla., and Mountain View, Calif., residents enjoy access to municipal wireless networks, free Wi-Fi offered by the respective cities designed to encourage high-tech industries and affordable access to the Internet.

But Las Cruces probably won’t see such a system any time soon, in fact, educators interested in bringing technology here are having a hard enough time getting funding for training and equipment, Gomes said.

When asked if it was possible that a Sony Imageworks satellite office could be set up in Las Cruces, Nicoll said, “I don’t really have an answer to that. I can’t tell you what the next five years will bring, but it is possible.” 

Petition seeks aerospace engineering funding - 12/18/2009

Wilderness Economics Conference - 12/3/2009

Conference to highlight economic benefits of wilderness

By Heath Haussamen 12/3/09 10:10 AM

With a bill to designate the Organ Mountains and other areas in Doña Ana County as wilderness pending in Congress, several groups plan a conference Saturday in Las Cruces to highlight the economic benefits of land conservation.

The event is free and open to the public.

U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. and sponsors of the pending bill, will be on hand for the conference, which is sponsored by the Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces, High Tech Consortium of Southern New Mexico and New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.

The goal of the conference, according to a news release, “is to learn from national and local experts about the range of economic development opportunities that can be developed in Doña Ana County through the protection of important local landmarks such as the Organ Mountains as federal wilderness and national conservation areas.”

“Wilderness designation has helped communities across America protect their nearby natural treasures and boost local economies,” Gilbert Apodaca, President of the Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces, said in the release.

“Wilderness economics and land conservation can create wonderful new opportunities for our region, particularly in attracting high-tech companies and workers,” said Gary Gomes, President of the High Tech Consortium of Southern N.M.  “These opportunities will benefit all of us in one way or another.”

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Farm and Ranch Museum in Las Cruces. Complimentary breakfast and lunch will be served. To RSVP, call (575) 527-9962

NMSU Aerospace Program Status - 11/21/2009

At the November 20, 2009 HTC meeting, Dr. Thomas Burton, Head of NMSU's Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Departments, provided an overview of the status of the growing Aerospace program and identified some of the challenges it faces in helping to build a sustainable commercial space industry sector in Southern New Mexico.

For those who were not able to attend, the PowerPoint presentation is attached.

File: Aero_HTC_Nov_09.pptx

NM Business Tax Credits - 10/4/2009

The State of New Mexico offers a wide variety of tax credits to encourage the growth of Nex Mexico Businesses.  Too often local businesses are unaware of programs for which they could qualify.

Thanks to the help of State Representative Jeff Steinborn, HTC is able to provide you with a single source document that covers the range of programs available.

I think you will find the attached docmunent a valuable resource.

File: tax credits - nm.pdf