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New Mexico State University

Institute for Energy and the Environment

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The Institute for Energy and the Environment is a multidisciplinary, energy sector resource serving the Southwest and beyond. The NMSU College of Engineering has integrated several Centers of Excellence to form the Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE). 

IEE partners include:

The Institute is guided by the following vision:

To provide global leadership, expertise, and technology for public policy, technical, and human resource development to meet growing energy and water needs.

Programs and Innovations

  • The Arsenic Water Technology Partnership program - researchers are moving technologies from the bench-scale to demonstration and assisting utilities with their implementation. Institute for Energy and the Environment’s (IEE) WERC division continues to evaluate the cost effectiveness of these technologies and provide education, training, and technology-transfer support to communities. Through this program, WERC has created CoAsT, Comprehensive Arsenic Tool, a free, user-friendly, web-based (and therefore readily available), interactive tool that integrates several arsenic decision tools. CoAsT is geared for use by small communities, decision-makers, and design engineers.
  • The Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility has been created in the Tularosa Basin. IEE, New Mexico State University’s Water Resources Research Institute, College of Engineering, and College of Agriculture have been selected to provide daily management and technical support.
  • The Pollution Prevention Center, in Albuquerque, NM - Provides education to businesses and communities on cost-effective ways to reduce pollution and preserve New Mexico’s valuable environmental resources.  The Pollution Prevention Center also provides technical assistance.
  • The Annual Environmental Design Contest continues its 18-year tradition of bringing together industry, government, and academia in the search for improved environmental solutions. Hundreds of college students throughout the United States and around the world gather to collaborate with environmental professionals in this distinctive contest. The student teams work to solve real-world problems and develop fully operational bench-scale solutions that are evaluated by judging panels comprised of experts working in the field. The teams prepare written, oral, poster, and bench-scale model presentations.  (Information about this year's contest)  (MEDIA KIT)
  • The New Mexico Organic Waste Utilization project - researchers are studying technologies for composting dairy waste with other agricultural and industrial organic waste materials to alleviate problems with applying raw dairy waste to the land. Currently, we are focusing on the main obstacle affecting the marketability of compost: excessive compost salinity. Researchers are exploring manipulations in compost methodology and of compost substrates to see how they reduce salinity. We hope to present a marketable finished compost product to agricultural-based industries, the landscaping industry, and the NM Highway Department. Our work will greatly reduce current cost barriers to using composted dairy waste, which are related to product quality.
  • Biomass Development of Distributed Energy Resources - IEE researchers have developed a two-phase bio-fermentation system has been designed and constructed for the conversion of dairy manure to methane gas.  The gas will then be used to power a generator for the production of electricity to be used on site with excess power to be sold the local utility.  The reuse of resulting solids as a beneficial soil amendment is also being evaluated.  IEE researchers will also examine the viability of replicating and implementing systems like this in New Mexico and Texas, as well as the financing alternatives common to the agriculture industry.
  • The Abandoned Mine Lands Project - IEE researchers are conducting applied research and a field demonstration on innovative methods of safeguarding abandoned mine lands.  A light weight, crumb-rubber slurry has been developed from used tires for the purpose of filling potentially hazardous land cavities in the Boston Hill mining area of Silver City, NM.  The ground rubber replaces the aggregate normally used in a cement slurry mixture.  The project is funded by the Bureau of Land Management.

Recent News & Articles

Contact IEE:

        Abbas Ghassemi                                       IEE Telephone:      575-646-2038

        Executive Director                                    Toll Free:                800-523-5996

        575-646-2357                                         Fax:                        575-646-5474

        aghassem@nmsu.edu