The University of New Mexico School of Engineering has announced the recipients of its Regents’ and Dean’s Excellence Professorships and Lectureships. These honors are given to faculty members recognized for their achievements in teaching, research, and leadership at the university.
The Regents’ Professorship is awarded to full-time tenured professors nominated by the dean and selected by the provost. The title is held for the duration of a faculty member’s career. This year, Meeko Oishi, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received this recognition. Oishi’s work focuses on safety assurances in autonomous cyber-physical systems. Last year, she was awarded a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship for her project “Resilient and Responsive AI for Autonomous Systems Engineering,” which establishes a graduate program addressing the social context of machine learning and AI algorithms.
Regents’ Lecturers are full-time tenure-track assistant professors or tenured associate professors who demonstrate excellence as teachers, scholars, and leaders. Nathan Jackson, an associate professor in Mechanical Engineering, was named this year’s Regents’ Lecturer. His research centers on microfabricated smart materials used in micro-electro-mechanical systems and biomedical applications. He also directs the Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering graduate program and is part of the Center for High Technology Materials.
The Dean’s Excellence Professorship recognizes select full-time tenured professors for outstanding performance in research, scholarship, teaching, and leadership. This year’s honorees include Rafiqul Tarefder from Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering; Abdullah Mueen from Computer Science; and Adam Hecht from Nuclear Engineering.
Dean’s Excellence Lectureships are given to select full-time tenure-track assistant or tenured associate professors who show innovation across research, teaching, scholarship, and leadership. The 2025 recipients are Fernando Moreu (Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering), Leah Buechley (Computer Science), Ali Bidram (Electrical and Computer Engineering), and Osman Anderoglu (Nuclear Engineering).
According to UNM School of Engineering officials: “The titles are bestowed upon select faculty who merit recognition for their accomplishments as teachers, scholars and leaders at UNM and beyond.” Recipients receive annual stipends during their three-year terms.
