INRAM

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INRAM What is it? The Institute for
Natural Resource Analysis and Management
the Center for Natural History Collections
new players in remote sensing, hydrology,
fire modeling... How did it start? NSF
EPSCoR proposal (Dan Howard et al.) ? funding
(1.27M), NMSU AS (0.90M),
similar buy-ins at UNM, NM Tech,
Highlands, ENMU, WNMU with nanotech,
networking 6M NSF What did it achieve?
Powerful database, Website, servers, new
software, data management, modeling
capabilities, spatialization of data
fundamentally new design/use of
freeware Laboratory of Environmental
Chemistry (1M capital eqpt.) GIS
laboratory, outreach Website, hydrology, land use
groups Lasting collaborations all
museums, informaticians, others new
collaborations within NMSU (3 colleges)
Undergraduate and graduate training informatics,
systematics, GIS, stable isotopes
applications seminar series
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• What is the current condition of INRAM ?
• EPSCoR funding began July, 2002, ended
  August, 2005
• Yet New equipment grant to LEC lab just
  received
• Infrastructure in place
• Servers, database, Website, software,
  design document
• INBRE collaboration for maintenance,
  videoconferencing
• Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry
• GIS laboratory (workstations, software,
  printers, tablets)
• Faculty time for maintenance and
  development gratis
• Moore Foundation support of database
  development
• Georeferencing, at UNM being subsumed
  into complete
• database

3

• What is the future of INRAM and its value to
  NMSU?
• Who are the players still playing?
• NMSU Biology faculty - Boecklen,
  Gutschick, Milligan
• staff - Sweeney, Yarnes students - CS
  students
• NMSU Agronomy Horticulture Sammis,
  Wang
• NMSU Engineering Leslie
• Scientific development
• Database linkage with GIS (powerful
  freeware, qGIS)
• Extension to remote sensing, hydrology
  (Sammis, Wang)
• Extension to fire modeling, tracking
• Niche settling / long-term collaborations
• RGIS database, GAP project

4

• Continued What is the future of INRAM and its
  value to NMSU?
• Value to NMSU
• ? Revenue
• Database, information management,
  modeling
• Challenges
• Web-based services price
  resistance
• ? Free core fee-based
  training and custom services
• Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry
• Novel business plan partly DIY
  for reduced fee
• Constitutes educational
  mission, also
• Both, and remote sensing/ hydrology/
  fire modeling
• Land managers
• ? Scholarship
• Extant capabilities extensions to
  remote sensing, hydrology
• Longer-range vision Natural
  Resources Center
• ? National and international prominence
  

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• Continued What is the future of INRAM and its
  value to NMSU?
• Financial support
• Recent proposals (not funded) Keck
  Foundation, NSF
• Far along NM Forest and Watershed
  Restoration Institute
• Estimated 1.2M FY 06, 5M FY 07
  INRAM 0.4M FY06
• Legislation established institutes
  in 3 states
• (P.L. 108-317) NM Highland
  University is lead
• Charter signed by governors of 3
  states
• FY 06 workplan set
• FY 07 workplan being written
  collaboratively
• rapport with FWRI director Tony
  Gallegos
• Market study College of
  Business/Arrowhead Center
• Biosciences Research Cluster

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• How do we get there?
• Time-critical developments
• For participation in well-advanced project
• Developing demonstration of extra
  capabilities relevant to
• the NM Forest and Watershed
  Restoration Institute
• Stakeholder meetings begin 28 October
• For averting loss of expertise
• Support of informatics students heavily
  involved in
• design and manintenance of database
  / Web / modeling
• Support of collections management
• Collections manager Mike Sweeney is
  leaving
• Support of LEC lab
• Lead technician Chris Yarnes is
  job-hunting
• Prospective funding sources
• NM Forest and Watershed Restoration
  Institute
• Biosciences cluster (Natural resources
  cluster funds committed)

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• Continued How do we get there?
• At a more deliberate pace
• Additional proposals to federal agencies
  who writes them?
• Marketing to outside users who does it?
• Natural Resources Institute
• Academic component Ph. D. program,
  already in development
• Administrative setup lines of
  authority, release time, ...
• Physical facilities building request
  ( 8 years hence)

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Undergraduates employed (18) Edna Aragon,
Yosune Casana, Jennifer Fish, Terese Flores,
Jeremy Hale, Robyn Hawkinson, Vinay
Kanagiri, Randi Mariscal, Melissa Marquez,
Roberto Marquez, Horacio Perez, Niki Rockwell,
Francisco Sanchez, Lisa Schauer, Erik Skaggs,
John Sundheimer, Wesley Thompson, Kaati
Tuominen Graduate students employed (17)
Patrick Alexander, Xinxia An, John Ciju, Bo Du,
Subhash Gutti, Christine Laney, Chongbing
Liu, Randi Mariscal, Jana McFarland, Mohsen
Mohseni, Jorge Porrata, Yu Pan, Dayong Qu,
Quentin Ray, Pritish Shah, Chris Stubben,
Chris Yarnes Graduate students trained in
analytical chemical techniques/stable
isotopes/GIS (7) Andrea Campanella, Shawn
Collier, Frank La Sorte, Alan Mabry, Mark
Robertson, Octavio Rosas, Nate Swenson Profession
al staff employed (8) Ericha Courtright, Greg
Forbes, Janet Greenlee, Craig Meier, Bob Melson,
Co Ngo, Mike Sweeney, Mike Yarnes
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Public school teachers employed Ray Bowers,
Patsy Jones NMSU faculty supported Donovan
Bailey, Bill Boecklen, Mike Demers, Jennifer
Frey, Vince Gutschick, Dan Howard, Brook
Milligan, Yong Tian NMSU faculty collaborators,
unpaid Kelly Allred, Dennis Johnson, Ralph
Preszler, Dave Richman, Ted Sammis Faculty
supported in research by LEC lab Marvin
Bernstein, Becky Kramer, Gary Roemer Outside
collaborations of NMSU personnel alone Many,
in NM (all 6 universities, LANL, Nature
Conservancy,), CA, CO Finland
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