New Mexico: Land of Science

Since the turbulent days of WWII, when the Manhattan Project brought scientists like J. Robert Oppenheimer, John Manley, Robert Serber, and Enrico Fermi to Los Alamos to design and build a history changing weapon, New Mexico has played an increasingly important role in the world of science. On July 16, 1945, the Atomic Age was ushered in at the White Sands Proving Ground near Socorro, New Mexico. Though their immediate purpose was to create an implement of destruction, Oppenheimer et al made possible the many beneficial advances in nuclear medicine and physics that we often take for granted today. And over the years, New Mexico schools and scientists have done their part to make those advances possible.

With two of the nations largest laboratories, one of the world's premier astronomical radio observatories, an award-winning natural history museum, and the world's first commercial spaceport on the way, New Mexico has a multitude of reasons to educate and employ the best scientists. The University of New Mexico (UNM) and New Mexico Tech (Tech), along with New Mexico's other fine schools, are responsible for forming some of the country's best young scientists. UNM is listed as of the Top 20 Graduate Engineering Programs by The Princeton Review, with Tech being listed as one of the "best value" universities in the nation, ranking #12 for 2010. Tech also offers excellent opportunities for students to complement their education with on-the-job experience. In addition to over 400 graduate students actively working on research projects, nearly all professors in every academic department maintain active research projects that involve undergraduate students. Students seeking a quality, affordable education in the sciences find New Mexico to be a great place to learn.

Graduates of New Mexico universities don't have to look far for a well paying career at the forefront of current scientific research. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is the largest institution and the largest employer in northern New Mexico with approximately 16,000 employees. With a National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the world's fastest supercomputer, fuel cell research, and a variety of other projects and equipment available, LANL employees work in the areas of physics, engineering, chemistry, biology, geoscience, mathematics and computer sciences. In Albuquerque, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) employs about 8,000 aerospace, chemical and mechanical engineers, bioengineers, chemists, computer scientists, geoscientists, and physicists. Another Albuquerque company, Optical Surface Technologies, designs, manufactures, coats, and tests some of the most stringently specified hardware available, including the mirrors for the Magdalena Ridge Observatory (MRO) under construction near Socorro.

New Mexico's diverse landscape, which ranges from low desert plains in the south to high Rocky Mountain ranges in the north, with a diverse display of terrain in between, classified into six of the seven know life zones identified on earth, make it a prime location for the study of geology, biology, mycology, paleontology, and other biological and earth sciences. The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science offers an exciting look at the natural diversity of the state. The Museum's permanent "journey through time" exhibit takes the visitor on a journey from the beginning of the universe through the Ice Age in its eight journey through time halls, Origins, Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Jurassic Super Giants, New Mexico's Seacoast, Age of Volcanoes, Evolving Grasslands, Cave Experience, and New Mexico's Ice Age. The Museum also includes a fine collection of dinosaur fossils, including Stan, the second largest Tyrranosaurus rex ever found, changing exhibits, a planetarium and two floors of space-themed exhibits, and the Lockheed Martin DynaTheater, a giant screen theater similar to IMAX.

New Mexico has a proud scientific tradition and, with the plans for the world's first commercial spaceport in the works, will continue to be a leader in science for years to come. Whether a student of the sciences, a graduate looking for a good career in a state rich in cultural diversity and natural beauty, or a simply a science buff looking for and exciting learning experience; New Mexico has something for everyone.