Current (2026) Funded Initiatives & Grant Portfolio

MAE department bridges elite R1 research with transformative student success. Our grant portfolio reflects a variety of federal, institutional, and corporate funding that generates fundamental discoveries and steers our technical innovations while aiding in the social mobility of our student body.

• NASA; Manufacturing and Mechanical Properties of Carbon/Phenolic Ablators; Dr. Francisco Torres-Herrador; $125,000

• NASA (Science Mission Directorate, Research Initiation Awards); Muscle-Driven Limbless Robot Locomotion for Planetary Extreme Access Environment; Dr. Mahdi Haghshenas-Jaryani; $299,923

• New Mexico Space Grant Consortium; Undergraduate fellowship (Sabrina Montoya); Dr. Mahdi Haghshenas-Jaryani

• New Mexico Space Grant Consortium; Joule-Heated and Oxygen Plasma Source; Dr. Francisco Torres-Herrador; $20,000

• Sandia National Laboratories; ReHEAT: Experimental Study of Internal Thermo-Chemical Response of Ablators by Means of a Laser-Heated Facility; Dr. Francisco Torres-Herrador; $300,000

• USDA/NIFA (Agriculture and Food Research Initiative); Robot-Enabled Soil and Crops Monitoring for Precision Agriculture and Water Management in NM Green Chile Pepper Farming; Dr. Mahdi Haghshenas-Jaryani; $727,981