UNM Grand Challenges teams receive congressionally directed funds for research

Two UNM Grand Challenges teams will receive congressionally directed funds this year to complete research projects. Due in part to the efforts of Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, the Sustainable Space Research team and the Child Health team will each receive funding for their projects. These funds are facilitating education, community engagement, and workforce development, all important objectives of Grand Challenges research programs.

Sustainable Space Research
The research team, comprised of UNM Principal Investigator (PI) Louis Scuderi, David Hanson, and Stewart Copeland, will receive $840,000 for the project titled, "Artemis in 3D STEAM Challenge and Training Program." The project aims to attract, train, and retain students in high-tech 3D technologies with a focus on workforce needs in New Mexico. To accomplish this, researchers will acquire Virtual Reality (VR) equipment that allows users to interact with immersive environments such as the lunar and Martian surfaces.

"As part of the project we will develop databases for immersive experiences using data from NASA's rovers (Curiosity and Perseverance) and orbital imaging of Mars, as well as imagery from past Apollo landing sites and lunar orbiters to create these immersive environments on these two bodies," Scuderi explained.

The VR equipment will be installed in two laboratories on campus - the existing Newsom VR/MR Laboratory (NV/MRL), which can display 3D visualizations of Mars; and a new Community Immersive Technology Hub (CITH), which will be housed inside the ARTSLab and will focus on the development and display of immersive 3D visualizations of the moon and Mars and other relevant scientific visualizations.

"A primary goal of the project is to develop a pipeline of students, beginning in K to 12 and extending through college, that learn how to code in this critical VR environment," said Scuderi. "We recognize that VR has already become important in a number of fields and believe that encouraging and facilitating this type of learning in the next generation of students will be key to their future success."

To accomplish this, the team plans to create an online portal with educational modules aiming to engage K-12 through post-secondary students and educators, along with training materials on the use of VR equipment. This will allow them to train K-12 and university-level instructors on the use of the VR equipment; those instructors will then return to their classrooms ready to teach their students to use the equipment.

The team also plans to hold 3D challenges at UNM where students at all levels can work to identify transformative solutions to major problems in the field.

"We believe that the VR resources we develop and make accessible to the public in our two VR laboratories and to other researchers through software we develop will mark the beginning of a new era of technological development with high paying jobs as well as an informed public in New Mexico," Scuderi noted.

Child Health
PI Rebecca Girardet, Gabriel Sanchez, Johnnye Lewis and Sara Nozadi will receive $500,000 for the project titled "Measuring Child Maltreatment to Inform Prevention: A Path to Brighter Futures." They bring their diverse expertise in the areas of pediatrics, political science, community-partnered research and child psychology to the project. Through a randomly drawn survey of young adults who were raised in New Mexico, the team seeks to understand the scope of child abuse and neglect in the state, providing needed data to support families and communities. The survey will also inquire about protective factors such as community or cultural support available to children in the state.

"Currently available data on child abuse and neglect in New Mexico is limited to cases that are investigated by state authorities and does not include cases on federal lands or those that are never reported," said Girardet. "We also know that community and cultural practices can be a source of significant support to children and families. Given New Mexico's tremendous cultural diversity, learning about these factors may provide additional avenues for preventing child maltreatment in the future."

Earlier this year, the Child Health Grand Challenges team received a $300,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for similar work. The project has been approved by UNM and state tribal boards and will launch soon. The team hopes to reissue the survey at five-year intervals so that policymakers and private foundations will have a metric by which to measure changes in child and community well-being over time.

The team's efforts are guided by a multicultural advisory group of researchers and community members to help ensure that New Mexico's diverse communities are represented. The advisory group oversaw development of the project protocol and will remain involved to help interpret and communicate project results in a culturally appropriate way.

"The topic of child abuse and neglect is a sensitive one, and people from different cultural backgrounds and communities can have varying perspectives on how to define and prevent it," explained Girardet. "The success of this project depends on incorporating diverse perspectives, so that families and communities will engage in discovering solutions together."

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