Emerging Areas of Research Opportunity

Strategic Research Areas

The vision of the Office of Research, Creativity and Economic Develoopment (RCED) is to advance a culture of excellence in research, scholarship, and creative activity. As NMSU aspires to reach the highest Carnegie research status (R1), RCED coordinates investment and commits resources to building strong programs in emerging areas of research opportunity that have considerable potential for national impact and long term growth.


1. Cybersecurity

Critical infrastructure, military systems, and other strategically important national security systems are becoming increasingly dependent on vulnerable networked computer systems. Protecting these systems against growing cyber threats is one of the great challenges of the 21st century.

This area aligns with:

Department of Defense, Digital Modernization Strategy [DOD1] and Modernization Priorities [DOD2].
Department of Homeland Security, Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2020-2024 [DHS]
National Academy of Engineering, Grand Challenges for Engineering: Secure Cyberspace [NAE5]
NMSU LEADS2025, Global Challenges: Cybersecurity [LEADS1]
Cybersecurity, girl with laptop

2. Biomedical Informatics and Telehealth

Biomedical informatics (BMI) is defined as "the interdisciplinary field that studies and pursues the effective uses of biomedical data, information, and knowledge for scientific inquiry, problem solving, and decision making, driven by efforts to improve human health" [Kulikowski]. Telehealth is defined as "the use of electronic information and telecommunication technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health, and health administration" [HRSA].

This area aligns with:

Department of Defense, Digital Modernization Strategy [DOD1] and Modernization Priorities [DOD2].
Centers for Disease Control, Programs for Telehealth [CDC]
National Academy of Engineering, Grand Challenges for Engineering: Advance Health Informatics [NAE6]
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, Scientific Program Area [NIBIB]
NMSU LEADS2025, Global Challenges: Healthy Border Issues and Health [LEADS1]
National Institutes of Health, Strategic Plan for Data Science [NIH16]
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3. Quantum Information Science

Quantum Information Science (QIS) is an emerging field with the potential to cause revolutionary advances in fields of science and engineering involving computation, communication, precision measurement, and fundamental quantum science.

This area aligns with:

Department of Defense, Modernization Priorities [DOD2]
Department of Energy, Office of Science, Initiatives of Special Priority: Quantum Information Science [DOE3]
National Academy of Engineering, Grand Challenges for Engineering: Engineer the Tools for Scientific Discovery [NAE7]
National Science Board, Vision 2030 [NSB]
National Science Foundation10 Big Ideas: The Quantum Leap [NSF4]
President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Industries of the Future (IotF) [PCAST]
Fractal Image

4. Space Commercialization

Commercial use of space is "the provision of goods or services of commercial value by using equipment sent into Earth orbit or outer space. Examples of the commercial use of space include satellite navigation, satellite television and commercial satellite imagery" [WIKI].

This area aligns with:

Department of Defense, Modernization Priority, [DOD2]
NMSU, a Space-Grant University [NMSU]
NASA, Space Technology Grand Challenges: Economical Space Access [NASA1], Plan for Sustained Lunar Exploration and Development [NASA2]
Spaceport America

Aspiring Area of Research and Creativity Opportunity

Arts and Humanities

NMSU aspires to be a regional leader in the creative arts and humanities. This area aligns with: NMSU LEADS2025 Objective 2.2 [LEADS3]

Artist interpretation of the two side of the brain.

References

[CDC] Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Programs for Telehealth, "Telehealth in Rural Communities," https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/telehealth-in-rural-communities.htm

[DOD1] Department of Defense, "Digital Modernization Strategy," https://media.defense.gov/2019/Jul/12/2002156622/-1/-1/1/DOD-DIGITAL-MODERNIZATION-STRATEGY-2019.PDF

[DOD2] Department of Defense, "Modernization Priorities," https://www.cto.mil/modernization-priorities/

[DOE3] Department of Energy, Office of Science, "Initiatives of Special Priority: Quantum Information Science,” https://www.energy.gov/science/initiatives/quantum-information-science

[DHS] Department of Homeland Security, “The DHS Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2020-2024,” https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/19_0702_plcy_dhs-strategic-plan-fy20-24.pdf

[Kulikowski] C. A. Kulikowski, et. al., "AMIA Board white paper: definition of biomedical informatics and specification of core competencies for graduate education in the discipline," Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, vol. 19, issue 6, Nov. 2012, pp. 931–938, https://academic.oup.com/jamia/article/19/6/931/729127

[LEADS1] New Mexico State University, "LEADS 2025: Global Challenges” https://www-1888.nmsu.edu/LEADS/

[NAE5] The National Academy of Engineering, "Grand Challenges for Engineering: Secure Cyberspace," http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/challenges/cyberspace.aspx

[NAE6] The National Academy of Engineering, "Grand Challenges for Engineering: Advance Health Informatics," http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/challenges/informatics.aspx

[NAE7] The National Academy of Engineering, "Grand Challenges for Engineering: Engineer the Tools of Scientific Discovery," http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/8965.aspx

[NASA1] National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Space Technology Grand Challenges: Economical Space Access, https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/503466main_space_tech_grand_challenges_12_02_10.pdf

[NASA2] National Aeronautics and Space Administration, “NASA’s Plan for Sustained Lunar Exploration and Development,” https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/a_sustained_lunar_presence_nspc_report4220final.pdf

[NIBIB] National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, Scientific Program Area, https://www.nibib.nih.gov/research-funding/division-health-informatics-technologies-dhit

[NIH16] National Institute of Health, “Strategic Plan for Data Science,” https://datascience.nih.gov/strategicplan

[NMSU] NASA Space Grant Consortium, https://www.nasa.gov/stem/spacegrant/home/Space_Grant_Consortium_Websites.html#NM

[HRSA] Health Resources & Services Administration, https://www.hrsa.gov/rural-health/telehealth

[NSB] National Science Board, "Vision 2030," https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2020/nsb202015.pdf 

[NSF4] National Science Foundation, "NSF's 10 Big Ideas: Quantum Leap," https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/big_ideas/quantum.jsp

[PCAST] President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, "Industries of the Future (IotF)," https://science.osti.gov/-/media/_/pdf/about/pcast/202006/PCAST_June_2020_Report.pdf

[WIKI] Wikipedia, "Commercial use of space," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_use_of_space