CAMPUS/SPORTS
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Ryan Herbon, a graduate student and M-TEC engineer, designed,
engineered and prototyped the chile-sorting machine.
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M-TEC creates chile-sorting machine
that helps New Mexico growers and processors
New Mexico State University’s Manufacturing Technology
and Engineering Center (M-TEC) has teamed up with the New
Mexico Chile Task force in designing and building new machinery
that is critical to the chile industry.
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The first of three major initiatives to be completed is a
chile-sorting machine that removes debris from mechanically
harvested red chile. The other two projects are a thinning
machine and a de-stemmer.
To remain viable in today’s global agricultural trade
environment, the chile industry is faced with the need to
substantially cut production costs. Otherwise less expensive
imports will crowd out domestically grown chile.
With funding from M-TEC and the Chile Task Force, New Mexico
State graduate student and M-TEC engineer Ryan Herbon designed,
engineered and prototyped a chile-sorting machine that could
help modernize the commercial chile industry and help New
Mexico farmers be more competitive.
“The pressure from foreign imports is still high,”
said Rich Phillips, a project manager with New Mexico State’s
Cooperative Extension Service and a project coordinator with
the Chile Task Force.
“Industry leaders believe that developing an effective
way to clean debris from machine-harvested chile is the single
most important step in staying ahead of the competition.”
Though growers have been attempting to make the transition
to mechanical harvesting for years, they are being held up
because of introduced debris during the harvesting process.
The chile-sorting machine has a multi-stage, full scale cleaning
process.
The chile industry in New Mexico’s Dona Ana, Luna and
Hidalgo counties generates $418 million annually in economic
activity. That includes 10,000 to 15,000 part-time harvesting
jobs and 5,322 permanent jobs created directly in the chile
industry and indirectly in other business sectors.
The estimated cost of the machine, which is still in the
patent process, is $50,000 and processors would save about
$93,000 a year for each machine implemented, Herbon said.
M-TEC, housed in the College of Engineering, is an outreach
program chartered to provide engineering assistance to businesses
in New Mexico in order to aid in economic development.
The Chile Task Force, coordinated by the College of Agriculture
and Home Economics, is a consortium with members from the
university, industry and government agencies. It was created
in 1998 to identify and implement ways to keep chile pepper
production profitable in New Mexico.
Jeany Llorente ’00
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Business Hall of Fame inducts
two alumni
Wetherbe |
New Mexico State University’s College of
Business Administration and Economics Hall of Fame inducted
two new members during a special ceremony March 29.
The business college initiated the Hall of Fame
six years ago to honor outstanding alumni who have distinguished
themselves in their careers and to develop a stronger relationship
between the college and the business community.
This year’s inductees were James Wetherbe
’71 of Albuquerque and C. Leroy Crow ’72 of Phoenix.
Wetherbe is the current Stevenson Chair of Information
Technology at Texas Tech University. He is a speaker, author
and leading authority on the use of computers and information
systems to improve organizational performance and competitiveness.
Crow is the executive vice president of refining
for Giant Industries Inc. in Scottsdale, Ariz. He is responsible
for all commercial issues involving Giant’s Refining Division
including crude oil and raw materials purchases, and the marketing
of refined products for the Bloomfield, N.M., Gallup, N.M.,
and Yorktown, Va., refineries.
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Crow |
Cuellar named Academic All-American
Cuellar |
Rachel Cuellar has become the first cross country athlete at
New Mexico State University to be named to the Academic All-American
team.
Cuellar, of Albuquerque, is a junior majoring in biology and
has a 3.75 grade point average. She was one of 43 athletes nationwide
to be selected as an Academic All-American for 2002-2003.
She was the first Aggie to compete in the NCAA Championships
after placing 11th in the Mountain Regional Championships last
fall. She also helped the Aggie track team earn its first Sun
Belt Conference title last season by placing first in the 10,000-meter
run and third in the 5,000-meter run.
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Franco accepts post at Utah State
Franco
Franco |
Juan N. Franco ’76, regents’ chief of staff at New
Mexico State University, has accepted an appointment as vice
president for student services at Utah State University in Logan.
“I have mixed feelings because I love this university
and its students, and I really enjoy my current position working
with the Board of Regents,” he said. “But over the
past year I have found that I really miss working with students.”
Franco, who has served for 28 years at New Mexico State, was
interim vice president for student services at New Mexico State
before becoming regents’ chief of staff in August 2001.
He previously was vice president for administration.
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New Mexico State President Jay Gogue, a former provost
at Utah State, said Franco’s shoes will be hard to fill. “
We’re awfully proud of Juan and we know he will
do a fine job at Utah State,” Gogue said. “Juan will be
sorely missed.”
Karl Hill
Pan Am Center receives funds
for improvements
New Mexico State University’s Pan American Center
will receive a $12 million face-lift thanks to a bill signed in March
that allocates $8 million from the state and $4 million from the university
for renovations and additions.
Renovations to address immediate needs include new ticketing
areas, concession stands, a team retail store, restrooms, a service
and passenger elevator, and expanded entry lobbies.
Improvements also will be made to “back of house”
facilities including a loading dock and drive-on floor access. Additions
to the Pan Am Center include a practice gymnasium, locker rooms, coaches’
offices, and training and treatment areas.
Conniff elected Board of Regents
president
Conniff |
Laura M. Conniff ’75 of Las Cruces was elected president
of the New Mexico State University Board of Regents in March.
Steve Anaya ’79 of Moriarty, N.M., was elected vice president
of the fivemember board. New Mexico State student regent Felicia
Ybarra was elected secretary-treasurer.
Conniff replaces board member James C. Manatt Jr. of Roswell,
N.M., as president.
The fifth member of the board in Bob Gallagher ’77 of
Rio Rancho.
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New Equine Education Center opens
on campus
Duff |
With a tip of the hat to decades of horse-rich
tradition, New Mexico State University unveiled its new Equine
Education Center at an April grand opening.
Students who had yearned for space to stow their
saddles and the basic creature comforts of restroom and locker
facilities proudly showed visitors through the new center on
Stewart Street on the southwest edge of campus.
Construction began June 25, 2002, for the 3,885-
square-foot facility, which houses a classroom, tack room, locker
rooms and offices for instructors and coaches.
Funding for the project came from $100,000 in
severance taxes from the state Legislature and $500,000 from
a general obligation bond New Mexico voters approved in 2000,
supplemented with private donations from supporters.
Shortly after the center opened, equestrian team
members reined in a third place in horse judging at the Intercollegiate
Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championships in Murfreesboro,
Tenn. New Mexico State rider Kristi Gottsponer ’03 finished
in the top 10 for two alumni events.
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Gottsponer |
In the horse-judging contest, senior Rachel Rosencrans
placed third in high-point individual reasons, sixth in high-point
overall individual and ninth in high-point placings. She also received
an $800 IHSA academic scholarship. Erin Frye, a senior from Los Alamos,
N.M., finished ninth in high-point individual reasons. Other competitors
were Lindsey Hansen, Christina Gonzales and Elizabeth Knight.
Rosencrans, Frye, Hansen and Knight finished fourth
overall in the competition’s Horse Quiz Bowl, a new event at
nationals. Rosencrans was second high individual and received a $600
award.
In riding events, Gottsponer placed ninth in alumni
Western horsemanship and eighth in alumni reining. The Las Cruces
native also received an 11th in alumni over fences and 16th in English
equitation. Junior Megan Duff was a finalist in both the American
Quarter Horse Association reining and horsemanship classes.
D’Lyn Ford ’97
Former walk-on Siddeeq Shabazz
drafted by NFL
Shabazz |
The Oakland Raiders drafted New Mexico native and former New
Mexico State University walk-on football player Siddeeq Shabazz
’02 in the seventh round of the 2003 National Football
League Draft in April.
Shabazz, a native of Chaparral, N.M., became the first New
Mexico State football player drafted by the NFL since running
back Chris Barnes was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the
2001 draft.
“He did it all at New Mexico State,” said Aggie head
football coach Tony Samuel. “He took it from being a walk-on
to being drafted in the NFL. He’s a great kid. He is the
true picture of getting the most out of what you’ve got.”
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Shabazz was a first team all-Sun Belt Conference pick
the last two seasons. In 2001, he tied for the Sun Belt Conference
lead in tackles with 107 and registered two interceptions. In his
final season with the Aggies, he had 93 tackles and two interceptions
including an intercepted pass against Idaho to seal the 35-31 win
in his last game as an Aggie.
Shabazz graduated in December 2002 with a degree in
business management.
Spence to lead women’s basketball
team
Spence |
Darin Spence has been named the ninth coach of the New Mexico
State women’s basketball program.
Spence comes from six years at Cowley County Community College
in Arkansas City, Kan., where he won five Jayhawk Conference
Eastern Division titles and 171 games. He holds a 317-80 coaching
record in 13 seasons at Cowley, Butler County Community College
in El Dorado, Kan., and Marymount College of Kansas.
He has coached 10 All-Americans, 25 All-Region players and
five All-District players. He has won at least 23 games in a
season 10 times and has three seasons with 30 victories or more.
During the past season, his team at Cowley posted a 28-6 record
and went to the National College Athletic Association Regional
Finals.
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New Mexico State 2003
Football Schedule
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Aug. 30
Sept. 6
Sept. 13
Sept. 27
Oct. 4
Oct. 11
Oct. 18
Oct. 25
Nov. 1
Nov. 8
Nov. 15
Nov. 25
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at Texas
Western New Mexico
at Oregon State
at New Mexico
Idaho*
at Middle Tennessee*
at UL Lafayette*
at UL Monroe*
Arkansas State* (Homecoming)
Utah State*
at Arkansas
North Texas* (ESPN)
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TBA
6 p.m.
2:30 p.m.
6 p.m.
6 p.m.
1 p.m.
TBA
TBA
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
TBA
5 p.m.
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* Sun Belt Conference Game
Home games in bold
All times Mountain |
Provost appointed to National
Hispanic Cultural Center board of directors
Flores |
New Mexico State University Provost William Flores has been
appointed to the board of directors of the National Hispanic
Cultural Center of New Mexico.
Flores is among 10 New Mexicans appointed by Gov. Bill Richardson
and confirmed by the state Senate to oversee the activities
of the new center.
“It is an honor to be selected to serve on the board of
directors of this important center, which is the premier Hispanic
cultural center in the country and a place for people of all
cultural backgrounds to learn about the rich Hispanic culture
of our region,” Flores said. “Education is central
to the mission of the center and I look forward to the wonderful
opportunities this world-class facility makes possible.”
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The center, part of the state Office of Cultural Affairs,
opened in Albuquerque’s historic Barelas neighborhood in 2000,
at the intersection of 4th Street SW and Avenida Cesar Chavez.
“The National Hispanic Cultural Center is an important
institution in New Mexico and around the world,” Richardson said.
“I’m counting on the board of directors to guide the center
through its completion so it will be the premier showcase of Hispanic
culture and arts.”
Karl Hill
Moore is Player of the Year
Moore |
James Moore, a 6-foot-8 forward for the Aggie men’s basketball
team, has made history by becoming the first New Mexico State
University basketball player to receive a Conference Player
of the Year award.
Moore, of Dolton, Ill., also was named a firsttime All-Sun
Belt selection and is the fifth player in the university’s
history to be named to the Associated Press (AP) All-America
team and the first to be named as an honorable mention.
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During the 2002-2003 season, he led the Aggies in points
per game, field goal percentage, steals and blocks. He became the
Aggies’ all-time leader in blocks and the 21st player to reach
1,000 points in his career.
Lou Henson has coached all five New Mexico State basketball
players named to the AP Honorable Mention All-America team. Moore
is the second player during Henson’s 39-year career to receive
an honor such as player of the year.