The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech and formerly New Mexico School of Mines) is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

Socorro, New Mexico Socorro (, '' sə-KOR-oh'') is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of . In 2010 the population was 9,051. It is the county seat of Socorro County. Socorro is located south of A ...

. It offers over 30 bachelor of science degrees in

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

, the

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, and

technical communication Technical communication is used to convey scientific, engineering, or other technical information. Individuals in a variety of contexts and with varied professional credentials engage in technical communication. Some individuals are designated as ...

, as well as graduate degrees at the masters and doctoral levels.Carey, John A. (February 2003) "New Mexico Tech One of State's Best Assets" ''New Mexico Business Journal'' 27:2 pp48-49

History

With 1,244 undergraduate students as of 2021, New Mexico Tech is a relatively small university focused on science and engineering. The institution was founded by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature in the year 1889 as the New Mexico School of Mines to both boost the territorial economy and teach mining specialties on the college level. During the 1930s, petroleum engineering and technology also became an important field of study at the institute. In 1946, New Mexico Tech began offering graduate degrees. The institute adopted its current name in 1951, but the change was not legally effective until 1960, when its name was changed by an amendment of the New Mexico State Constitution, Art.XII, Section 11.

Research and teaching

New Mexico Tech's well-known areas of research and teaching include

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

atmospheric physics Within the atmospheric sciences, atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere. Atmospheric physicists attempt to model Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of the other planets using fluid flow equations, che ...

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

information security Information security, sometimes shortened to InfoSec, is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorize ...

Earth Science Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

, energetic materials engineering, and

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

recovery. With funds from the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

, in 2003, New Mexico Tech purchased the town of

Playas, New Mexico Playas is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 74. History It is a former company town, named after a nearby former settlement along the Southern Pacific ...

and the surrounding to develop the Playas Training and Research Center, operated by New Mexico Tech's

EMRTC The Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC) is a research division of New Mexico Tech, which performs testing of high explosives, bombs, and other munitions, as well as the means to deliver such munitions. It also offers courses for ...

, which provides training and research for the university's

first responders A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, disaster, medical emergency, structure fire, crime, or terr ...

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...

, and Air Force programs.

Rankings

According to the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

, as of 2022, New Mexico Tech ranks 18th among the top 50 universities that produce Ph.D. students, sixth nationwide among all Physical Science and Earth Science universities, and first among all public universities for the percentage of bachelor’s students who later complete a Ph.D. In the 2022 '' U.S. News and World Report'' college rankings for the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

, New Mexico Tech ranked 18th best Regional University and fifth among public colleges.

Affiliated science and engineering centers

* New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources *

Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center The Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC) is a research division of New Mexico Tech, which performs testing of high explosives, bombs, and other munitions, as well as the means to deliver such munitions. It also offers courses for ...

* Institute for Complex Additive Systems Analysis *

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) is a university research consortium dedicated to exploring the Earth's interior through the collection and distribution of seismographic data. IRIS programs contribute to scholarly research, ...

Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research The Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research is a scientific laboratory studying the cloud processes that produce lightning, hail, and rain, located in the Magdalena Mountains of central New Mexico. The lab is operated by the New Mexico Inst ...

Magdalena Ridge Observatory The Magdalena Ridge Observatory (MRO) is an astronomical observatory in Socorro County, New Mexico, about 32 kilometers (20 mi) west of the town of Socorro. The observatory is located in the Magdalena Mountains near the summit of South B ...

* National Cave and Karst Research Institute *

National Radio Astronomy Observatory The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a federally funded research and development center of the United States National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. for the purpose of radio a ...

(an independent research organization operated by

Associated Universities, Inc. Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) is a research management corporation that builds and operates facilities for the research community. AUI is a non-profit organization, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, headquartered in Washington, DC. T ...

located on the New Mexico Tech campus) * Petroleum Recovery Research Center * Playas Training and Research Center

Student life

NMT hosts an annual Performing Arts Series that is free to students, and, along with the broader Socorro community, city, and county, supports a great number of special events each year. New Mexico Tech is located approximately an hour south of

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

in a region of high deserts to subalpine mountains that offers considerable outdoor recreation opportunities, including rock climbing, road and mountain biking, a triathlon, and hiking opportunities. New Mexico Tech also hosts numerous active student clubs, a Part 15 AM radio station, and a biweekly student newspaper, ''Paydirt''. The campus includes an 18-hole championship golf course. The campus population has historically been predominantly male, but it has moved increasingly towards a balance between the sexes. The gender distribution at New Mexico Tech is 68% male and 32% female.

Popular culture

A number of television shows have focused on New Mexico Tech faculty, students, and research.

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that focu ...

's ''Man vs. Cartoon'' features attempts by Tech's

to re-create contraptions and situations found in

Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short '' Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episode, ...

cartoons.

MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internatio ...

National Geographic Explorer ''National Geographic Explorer'' (or simply ''Explorer'') is an American documentary television series that originally premiered on Nickelodeon on April 7, 1985, after having been produced as a less costly and intensive alternative to PBS's '' ...

BBC Horizon ''Horizon'' is an ongoing and long-running British documentary film, documentary television series on BBC Two that covers science and philosophy. History The programme was first broadcast on 2 May 1964 with "The World of Buckminster Fuller" whic ...

and

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

have also featured Tech in various episodes. Another TV show featuring Tech's Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center, ''

Blow Up U Blow commonly refers to: *Cocaine *Exhalation * Strike (attack) Blow, Blew, Blowing, or Blown may also refer to: People * Blew (surname) * Blow (surname) Arts and entertainment Music *The Blow, an American electro-pop band Albums * ''Blow ...

'', began filming in the spring of 2009.

Notable alumni

Conrad Hilton Conrad Nicholson Hilton Sr. (December 25, 1887 – January 3, 1979) was an American businessman who founded the Hilton Hotels chain. From 1912 to 1916 Hilton was a Republican representative in the first New Mexico Legislature, but became disil ...

(born 1887), American hotelier and the founder of the

Hilton Hotels Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton. The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...

chain *

Larry Soderblom Laurence A. Soderblom (born 1944) is a geophysicist with the Astrogeology Science center at the United States Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona where he has served as Chief of the Branch of Astrogeology. Soderblom is best known for his work i ...

(born 1944), American geophysicist with the Astrogeology Science center at the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...

where he has served as Chief of the Branch of Astrogeology *

Don Tripp Don L. Tripp (born February 23, 1946 in Pasadena, California) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the New Mexico House of Representatives for District 49 from January 1999 to 2017. Education Tripp earned his BA fr ...

(born 1946), American politician and a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

New Mexico House of Representatives ) is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature. There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico. The most recent elections were held on November 3, 2020. Composition Leadership Cu ...

representing District 49 since January 1999. * Fred Baker (born 1951), American engineer, specialized in developing

computer network A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ...

protocols for the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. * Ibrahim Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum (born 1954), Iraqi Minister of Oil from May 2005 to December 2005, while he was a member of the

Islamic Virtue Party Islamic Virtue Party (in Arabic حزب الفضيلة الإسلامي العراقي, transliterated as Ḥizb al-Faḍīla al-Islāmiyya al-ʿIrāqi or just Al-Faḍīla Party) is an Iraqi political party. After the 2003 Iraq War, the Hizb al- ...

. *

Terry Wallace Terry Wallace (born 13 December 1958) is a former professional Australian rules football player and coach. As a player, his career spanned three VFL/AFL clubs; most notably Hawthorn where he played in three premierships. After one season with ...

(born 1954), Director of

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...

Lukas Lundin Lukas Henrik Lundin (3 July 1958 – 26 July 2022) was a Swedish-Canadian businessman, based in Geneva, Switzerland. He was the chairman of Lundin Mining, Denison Mines, Lucara Diamond, NGEx Resources Inc, Lundin Gold Inc, the Lundin Foundation ...

(born 1958), Swedish-Canadian

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...

businessman * Jeffrey A. Lockwood (born 1960) is an author,

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

, and

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

professor of Natural Sciences and Humanities. * Axel Scherer, Professor,

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, inventor of the Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) * Jason Harper, is an American politician and a

member of the New Mexico House of Representatives representing District 57 since January 15, 2013. * Pauline Irene Nguene, Petroleum Engineer and Cameroon Minister of Social Affairs

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Mexico Institute Of Mining And Technology Schools of mines in the United States Technological universities in the United States Public universities and colleges in New Mexico Buildings and structures in Socorro County, New Mexico Education in Socorro County, New Mexico 1889 establishments in New Mexico Territory Educational institutions established in 1889 Summer Science Program Socorro, New Mexico