ABQ Times

In 2016, the University of New Mexico's (UNM) 60-year-old Physics & Astronomy building was deemed inadequate for high-end research. The building lacked modern teaching facilities and had heating and cooling issues that impacted temperature-sensitive research. Located on Lomas Boulevard, across from the main campus, students had to cross a busy road to attend classes, and vibrations from passing vehicles disrupted laser-based research.

Professor Richard Rand, Chair of the Physics and Astronomy Department, noted that the old building hindered research funding and faculty recruitment due to its outdated facilities. "The old building had reached the end of its useful life," Rand recalled. "Most importantly, the laboratories had become a major obstacle to conducting forefront tabletop experimental physics research."

In response, UNM sought a General Obligation Bond (GO Bond) for $27 million in 2016 to fund a new facility aligning with the university’s Research 1 status. The bond proceeds were intended for planning, design, construction, equipment, and furnishing of a new Physics and Astronomy Interdisciplinary Science (PAÍS) building on UNM’s main campus. The total cost of PAÍS was approximately $66 million, with additional funds sourced from New Mexico legislators and UNM institutional bonds.

The GO Bond passed with 63 percent voter approval in November 2016. "We were extremely grateful to the voters of New Mexico in supporting this critical need for a new building," Rand said.

Construction of PAÍS concluded by late summer 2019. Its grand opening occurred virtually in 2020 due to pandemic-related shutdowns. Despite initial disruptions, Rand highlighted significant improvements: "The classroom technology is much better than in our old building... Our advanced level teaching labs are a vast improvement over the old building labs."

The PAÍS facility spans 137,000 square feet and includes state-of-the-art research labs for Physics and interdisciplinary studies from other departments. It also features offices, meeting rooms, upper-division teaching labs, classrooms including a 200-seat auditorium, and six large murals titled "The Cycle of Science" by late professor Raymond Johnson.

Rand appreciated the bold decision to place a modernist-style building on campus: "It's something new for UNM but it reflects its function perfectly as a facility on the international forefront of science." He added that PAÍS has even appeared in pop culture as part of an episode of "Outer Range" on Prime Video.

Since its inception in 2020 within PAÍS, UNM's Interdisciplinary Science Cooperative (ISC) has aimed to increase collaborative research opportunities across campus despite pandemic challenges. Chemistry Professor Jeff Rack stated that “the state-of-the-art capabilities that PAÍS provides have improved our ability to create more impactful research outcomes.”

Notable initiatives include hosting an annual Team Research Symposium since 2020 and housing specialized centers such as The Center for Stable Isotopes (CSI), which began hosting IsoCamp in 2021 after relocating from the University of Utah.

Other key facilities within PAÍS include The Laboratory for Magneto-optical Spectroscopy led by Rack and the Nanomaterials Characterization Facility (NCF), which houses an Aberration Corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (AC-STEM).

In recent developments within PAÍS-related projects, Physics & Astronomy doctoral student Dominic Oddo and Assistant Professor Diana Dragomir discovered five new exoplanets in 2023.

UNM continues leveraging PAÍS's advanced infrastructure to enhance educational outcomes and maintain its competitive edge in scientific research.