NMSU Postdoc Association

The New Mexico State University Postdoc Association (PDA) originated in 2022 by Postdocs for Postdocs. The PDA hosts professional development and social opportunities for Postdoctoral Researchers and their supervisors. Browse this site to meet our Postdocs, learn about our events, and to check out additional resources. Contact Ruth Torres (rutorres@nmsu.edu), Postdoc Representative, for questions about our website. 

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Beyond the Lab: University Structure Every Postdoc Should Know

The University of Texas - El Paso (UTEP) and the University of Texas - Arlington (UTA) Postdoc Associations hosted a webinar on February 27, 2025. Panelists included Dr. James Grover, Dean of the Graduate School at UTA and Dr. Cory Brown, Director of the Office of Sponsored Projects, Research & Innovation (UTEP). The panel focused on how university research resources are structured and how to access them. We encourage postdocs to watch this recording, and it especially valuable for those interested in a future academic career or support for current research

https://youtu.be/elYL1j8tpac?si=Vka-C9gEw9Ki7dEP 

Research and Creativity Week

Save the date for NMSU'S Research and Creativity Week (RCW): Wed, April 23 - Tues, April 29, 2025. The PDA will host Lightning Talks for postdocs to participate in. More information to come! 

Research & Innovation Webinar

Wednesday, March 5, 1-2 pm
Featuring Talks
Cory Windorff, PhD, Assistant Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, New Mexico State University
– Building Radiochemical Capabilities and Understanding Unusual Elements
Christopher A. Baker, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry, New Mexico State University
– Measuring Molecular Size from Attomole Samples

 

The Research & Innovation Webinar Series is held on the first Wednesday of the month. This series brings together research organizations from across New Mexico to share and explore groundbreaking research happening within the state. Participating institutions include UNM Main Campus and Health Sciences, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Tech, Sandia National Laboratories, and Los Alamos National Laboratories. Join the mailing list to receive information about upcoming sessions! This webinar is not organized by the NMSU PDA.

NPA SMART SKILLS

Designing Your Life in the United States
Speaker: Rita Maria Brown, M.F.T., M.A., integral master coach and intercultural trainer
March 25, 2025

Sponsored by the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA), SmartSkills is a free, virtual course for postdocs who are members of the NPA. See "More Resources" on the bottom of our website on how to join for free. Monthly classes are taught by experts and focus on building skills critical to career and personal success. For more information and to register, click here.

Academic Job Search Learning Series

The PDA is sponsoring a three part series to assist you in preparing for an academic job search. 

Spring 2025: Mock Interviews
Postdocs are invited to practice interviewing for an academic position. Express your interest to participate through this form: here
Thursday, October 31 at 11 am: Applying for Jobs (View the recording here)
with former NMSU Postdoc and current Assistant Professor at Northern Illinois University Richard Ortiz, PhD
Thursday, November 14 at 4 pm: Interviewing for Jobs (View the recording here and resources from the presentation here)
with NMSU's Associate Dean of the Graduate School  Rick Marlatt, PhD

 

MEET THE NMSU POSTDOC ASSOCIATION

Faculty Fellow

Abdessattar Abdelkefi headshot

Abdessattar Abdelkefi
Professor
College of Engineering

Current Postdocs

NMSU postdocs can get featured by completing this form.

 

headshot of Ruth Silvia Salinas, PhD

Ruth Torres Castillo

PDA Representative

Department: Innovative Media Research and Extension

Supervisor: Barbara Chamberlin 

Silvia Salinas Lopez

PDA Representative

Department: Public Health Sciences

Supervisor: Rebeca Palacios 

 

Photo of Gholamreza Eslamifar

Reza Eslami

Department: New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute

Supervisor: Alexander G. Fernald

cynde-photo-2.jpg Cynthia Wise

Department: Borderlands & Ethnic Studies

Supervisor: Dulcinea Lara 

Md Shariful Islam

Md Shariful Islam

Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry

Supervisor: Dr. Erik Yukl

Arvind Kumar headshot

Arvind Kumar

Department: Mathematical Sciences

Supervisor: Louiza Fouli

Chatura Kuruppu headshot

Chatura Kuruppu

Department: Physics

Supervisor: Prof. Stephen Pate-Morales

Abu Saleh Md Tayeen 

Abu Saleh Md Tayeen

Department: Computer Science

Supervisor: Dr. Satyajayant Misra

Hui Yang Photo

Hui Yang

Department: Plant & Environmental Sciences

Supervisor: Manoj Shukla

Mohammed photo 

Mohammed Omer

Department: Extension Plant Sciences

Supervisor: Dr. John Idowu

Charles Miller 

Charles Miller

Department: Astronomy

Supervisor: Jason Jackiewicz

Yang Hu

Yang Hu

Department: Mathematical Sciences

Supervisor: Prasit Bhattacharya

Pramod Acharya 

Pramod Acharya

Department: Agricultural Experimentation Station (Clovis)

Supervisor: Rajan Ghimire

Himali Delanka-Pedige

 Himali Delanka-Pedige 

Department: Civil engineering

Supervisor: Dr. Pei Xu

post doc association logo

Jingyu Dai

Department: Plant and Environmental Sciences

Supervisor: Niall Hanan

 post doc association logo

Guru Yadahalli

Department: Plant and Environment Science

Supervisor: Dr Sangu Angadi

headshot of RuthLuci Lu

Department: Jornada Experimental Range

Supervisor: Brandon Bestelmeyer

Former Postdocs

 

Maryanne Long headshot

 

 

 Maryanne Long

PDA Representative

Department: SOAR Evaluation and Policy Center

Supervisor: Dr. Rachel Boren

 

More Resources

Past Events

The NMSU Teaching Academy and Postdoc Association co-sponsored the Entering Mentoring workshop. The two-part seminar facilitated by Dr. Niall Hanan from the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences left participants with techniques for effective communication, setting expectations, and others. Thank you, Dr. Hanan!


Thank you for celebrating National Postdoc Appreciation Week! On Friday, September 20, 2024, NMSU PDA hosted the NM Postdoc Symposium with attendees from New Mexico State University (NMSU), the University of New Mexico (UNM), the University of Texas- El Paso (UTEP), Sandia National Lab, and Los Alamos National Lab (LANL). Check out some of the photos below!
Below: Dr. Matheus Cezarotto, former postdoc and current assistant professor of the Innovative Media Research and Extension team at New Mexico State University, delivered the key note presentation titled, Embracing Your Postdoc Experience.

key note speaker

Below: (L-R) Dr. Luis Cifuentes (NMSU), Dr. Stephen Crites (UTEP), Dr. Om Perumal (UNM), and Dr. Sergei Tretiak (LANL) served as panelists and addressed questions regarding Empowering Postdocs. 

panel photo


The PDA hosted a Meet and Greet with our Faculty Fellow on Monday, April 29 at 3:30 pm in O’Donnell Hall room 301. Richard Ortiz and Maryanne Long shared their experiences from attending the National Postdoc Association conference.
On Wednesday, March 27,  Drs. Barbara Chamberlin and Matheus Cezarotto from the Department of Innovative Media Research & Extension offered a Zoom workshop, “Creating an Individual Development Plan (IDP).” Watch the recording here.

Thank you to the postdocs who participated in the 3 Minute Lightning Talks during the February 2024 Research and Creativity Week. Review the full program here and congratulations to the winners:
  • First Place Winner William Bahureksa, Presentation Title: From A to PFAS: Forever Chemicals Around Us
  • Second Place Winner Kimberly Cervantes, Presentation Title: Nuts About Microbes: Investigating the Pecan Microbiome
  • Third Place Winner Jessica Martin, Presentation Title: Studies of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) in its Endemic, Transition, and Outbreak Regions in Mexico

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