Monthly news, events & updates

Building a Rainforest in the Desert | January 2024

UNM Inventor Elected into Class of 2023 National Academy of Inventors

Dr. Sang M. Han, Regents’ Professor and Chair in the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering (CBE) has been named a 2023 Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). The NAI announced that it has chosen a cohort of 162 academic inventors from around the world for election as 2023 NAI Fellows.

Election to NAI Fellow status is a high professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.

UNM Rainforest Innovations Welcomes New Board Member

Hengameh Raissy, Pharm.D.

Interim Vice President for Research

Research Professor, Department of Pediatrics

University of New Mexico Health Sciences

UNM Rainforest Innovations 2024 Calendar Has Arrived

The UNM Rainforest Innovations 2024 calendar is now available! Twelve UNM faculty members from both HSC and Main Campus are highlighted with information on their technologies and research areas. Congratulations to our featured inventors!

We will be mailing out these calendars to our UNM inventors and business community. To ensure that you receive a calendar or if your address has changed, please contact: Savanah Romero at sromero@innovations.unm.edu.

In the Spotlight - Featured UNM Inventor

Henry Lin, M.D.

Chief of Medicine, New Mexico VA Health Care System

Professor, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Department of Internal Medicine

The University of New Mexico

Dr. Lin's research areas include:

Host-gut microbial interaction
Role of resident gut microbes in health and disease
Biology and therapeutic use of bacteriophages
Novel treatment of gut dysbiosis
Impact of gut dysbiosis on neuro-behavioral changes

New Production Facility Marks Big Milestone for Pajarito Powder

On December 21, Pajarito Powder, a local startup developing and commercializing advanced electrocatalysts for electrolyzers and fuel cells, announced the completion of their new production facilities and headquarters in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This will greatly expand their operations and allow a 100-fold increase in production of catalysts used for green hydrogen.

Community Based Fundraising for Your Business

New Mexico Rainforest Seminar

January 24, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. (MST)

Join serial social entrepreneur, Mackenzie Loy for UNM Rainforest Innovations' first lunch and learn of 2024 on Crowdfunding!

During this session, Mackenzie will provide an overview of equity and debt crowdfunding, community-based alternative financing mechanisms to power your business or startup to the next level. At The New Majority, her focus is on New Majority founders, founders who identify as women, People of Color, and LGBTQIA+, but this session is open (and applicable) to all founders! This session will focus on foundational information on types of crowdfunding and learning through case studies.

This is a HYBRID event offered in-person at the Lobo Rainforest Building and virtually via Zoom.

Rainforest Accelerator Wraps up Fall 2023 Cohort

December 4 marked the final day of the 10-week long Rainforest Accelerator fall 2023 cohort. Administered by UNM Rainforest Innovations, the program brings together teams of entrepreneurial-minded faculty and students to go outside of their laboratories and into the marketplace where they can learn first-hand about entrepreneurship while they go through the market discovery process for their innovation.

See the list of participants

Interested in joining the upcoming Rainforest Accelerator spring cohort?

Receive $3,000 of funding to develop a business model and complete extensive market discovery for a disclosed UNM technology.

Deadline to apply is January 19

Learn more about the accelerator and apply

Mytegia Lee with Southwest Native Assets Coalition Selected for 2023 Invest Native Grant

Mytegia Lee is a tribal liaison for the UNMRI Tribal Entrepreneurship Enhancement Program (TEEP) and also works as the Executive Direct for Southwest Native Assets Coalition (SNAC) who recently received a grant from Wells Fargo Invest Native Initiative. The work Mytegia does through UNMRI TEEP and SNAC is invaluable to the support and growth of financial literacy education and access to capital for Native American community members and entrepreneurs in the Northwest Region of New Mexico.

Meet Heather Gomez, New Tribal Liaison for the New Mexico Tribal Entrepreneurship Enhancement Program

Heather Gomez is one of the newest Tribal Liaisons to join the New Mexico Tribal Entrepreneurship Enhancement Program. With a passion for business and helping others, Heather Gomez’s entrepreneurial prowess makes her a valuable resource and mentor for the program.

Heather is from Dulce, New Mexico and is both an enrolled member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation and Spanish. Some of her current roles include owning and handling business activities and marketing for Big D Flooring in Dulce, New Mexico; working remotely as a Project Consultant for Tribal Tech, LLC, a Native woman-owned business that manages government contracts; she works as a Digital Editor with NPR’s NextGen Radio and NextGen Radio Indigenous; she started Dulce Base Tipi on Airbnb this past year; and in the summer she runs a Facebook page called Brush of Beauty Painted Furniture where she sells chalk-painted furniture. She has also worked with the Bureau of Indian Education and the Administration for Native Americans.

Attend Upcoming Open Office Hours

Providing Mentoring for Your Startup/Idea

Marketing Mentoring Hours with Chaz Rose

January 19, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (MST)

Do you need some advice with marketing or help telling your business story?

Attend one-on-one mentoring with marketing professional, Chaz Rose. During this 30-minute session, you can talk with Chaz about some of your marketing pain points and receive advice on how to improve your marketing and tell your business story!

Chaz Rose is the founder of Towa Marketing Consultants. He graduated from Missouri State in 2016 with a degree in Marketing & Advertising. He works with business owners to develop custom marketing strategies for their business. These strategies relieve business pains, provide measurable advertising results, and increase business owners' bottom line. Sign up today to receive help creating your 2024 marketing strategy.

This is a HYBRID event offered in-person at the Lobo Rainforest Building and virtually via Zoom.

SCORE Mentor Office Hours at the Lobo Rainforest Building

January 26, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (MST)

SCORE mentors will be available for one-on-one, confidential discussions and mentoring to inventors, students, and start-up companies at the Lobo Rainforest Building.

SCORE mentors are successful business people and entrepreneurs who want to give back to the community by helping other entrepreneurs become and stay successful. SCORE has been helping small businesses start and grow in the Albuquerque area for over 50 years through mentoring and workshops and seminars. SCORE is the largest National resource partner of the Small Business Administration (SBA) with about 11,000 SCORE volunteers sharing their time and talents to help America's small businesses.

IN-PERSON at the Lobo Rainforest Building. Click "Sign up here" to select the time frame you plan to attend.

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