Donate equipment, cash to schools under new MESA agreement
Have extra equipment you can donate to school math and science programs?
Jim McNally, for nmOptics, and Diego Gallegos, for New Mexico Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (NM MESA), recently signed an MOU to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics, in general, and optics and photonics education in particular.
MESA operates in 120 schools and reaches 4,800 New Mexico students, from 6th grade through high school. It requires students to take four years of math, science and English and earn passing grades; in return, they’re eligible for rewards and can also earn points toward scholarships.
Companies can donate equipment or cash through nmOptics or MESA and receive a tax deduction.
“This is a long term project to get more kids interested in science and to knit together various programs to provide a skilled future tech workforce," says Ed Spivak, nmOptics treasurer and MESA board member.
The three-year agreement between the two organizations calls for nmOptics to support the educational “Hands-On Optics” program with grants, volunteers and materials. Both will support student science competitions and work together to raise money.
Training opportunity
Need to train your employees?
CNM’s Workforce Training Center has received state funding that allows it to offer a 25 percent discount on local training. Sign up now while funds last.
Contact Denise Gardner at 224-5227 or dgardner4@cnm.edu about training in:
· Technicians like electronics, optics, LEED, machine tool, and welding;
· Soft skills like communication, English as a Second Language, and leadership;
· Certificates and licenses like IPC, electrical CEU, CDL exams, NCCER and OSHA;
· Computer skills, introductory to advanced;
· Trades like HVAC, backflow, green, journeyman prep, and review and safety.
Ins and outs of taxation
Anita Williams Kelly, of Meyners + Co., walked nmOptics members through New Mexico’s gross receipts tax during an Executive Roundtable on Oct. 21.
The tax on goods and services is 5% and cities and counties can add on. The four major categories are tangibles for sale, services, leased property and R&D performed outside New Mexico when the product will be used in the state initially.
“The state has a team of auditors who go out of the state. They return $12 for every $1 spent on travel,” Anita said. Big companies would rather just pay the interest and penalties than hire staff to track the complex tax.
R&D performed outside the state is a potential pitfall for tech companies, and they need to learn how to minimize that tax. “The state is unforgiving,” she said.
Another pitfall is the compensating tax. “If you buy a computer out of state and use it here, you owe compensating tax,” she said. The state’s auditors will look for receipts showing local purchases. As oil and gas revenues decline, she expects the state to become more aggressive about collecting this tax.
“It’s not about not paying your fair share but about doing it right,” said Bruce Malott, managing principal. “You have a right to minimize your exposure.”
Think you owe taxes? The chances of being audited are small, but “playing audit lottery is risky,” Bruce said. They encourage people to use the voluntary managed audit, a process companies can use if they owe taxes.
Regulatory changes proposed in health and safety
The state Occupational Health and Safety Bureau has proposed changes in regulations that apply to employers in industry.
The language reads, in part: “Employers shall provide a place of employment that is free of unlawful drug use and free of alcoholic beverage use by employees.” Other changes require employers to have a written policy to that effect and to warn that violations will be penalized.
You can submit written comments to butch.tongate@state.nm.us. There will e a hearing at 10 a.m. on Dec. 1 in Room 317 of the State Capitol.
Member News
Boulder Imaging, a digital video recording manufacturer, has tripled the size of its facility to 6,555 square feet in the Colorado Technology Center.
The expansion allows the Louisville, Colo., company to grow its operations: the new VisionRecorder™ product line, the machine vision business, R&D, and custom work.
With the expansion, Boulder Imaging will also be hiring senior software engineers, a vice president of sales and marketing, technical support, and sales representatives.
Carlos Jorquera, president and senior systems engineer, founded the company in 1995 after experience in imaging systems for spacecraft and ground-based telescopes at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Lumidigm and Methode Electronics, an automotive supplier, have agreed to jointly develop an automotive-grade biometric solution. Methode demonstrated the technology at “Convergence” in Detroit in October. First adopters will probably be fleet managers who have a need to know the identity of their drivers. Features such as access and convenience will follow.
Dave Durgin, co-founder of the Verge Fund, will talk about entrepreneurism and venture investing during a book signing Nov. 12. The book, Entrepreneur to Investor The Hard Way, recounts his experience in business and his evolution as an investor. The event is Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at Page One Books.
James B. McNally, son of nmOptics chairman Jim McNally, has been awarded the Harvard Business School Life Science Fellowship. A chip off the old block, young McNally co-founded a start-up, Rogers Sciences, to develop breast cancer treatments using photodynamic therapy. His master’s is in optical sciences from the University of Arizona, where he received the University Imaging Fellowship.
New Mexico Tech won a VIVA award from the Association of Commerce and Industry, which said the school “is widely considered one of the best small technical schools in the U.S.”
Education Matters
Science fair judges are needed by the Coalition of Educators for Native American Children (CENAC), made up of 12 schools serving Pueblo children. The CENAC Science Fair will be held Nov. 20 for grades 5-8 at Sky City Community School, Acoma Pueblo. Projects will be evaluated on both scientific approach and cultural merit, the latter provided by Pueblo judges. This is a great opportunity to mentor Native students.
“Our youth need role models to encourage them to pursue careers in math and science,” says Viola Archuleta.
Complete an online registration at www.tribalcoalition.org or call Viola at 505-989-6340.
Optics News
OP-TEC, the two-year-old National Center for Optics and Photonics Education, has revised skill standards, prepared program planning guides, and completed curriculum materials.
Previously an OP-TEC survey revealed that the industry needs 1,800 new photonics techs a year. Another study showed there are 20 colleges producing about 200 photonics professionals a year. The organization’s mission is to close the gap.
So far, OP-TEC has added two new programs, interested 270 colleges in adding photonics, and developed online courses.
In the coming year, OP-TEC will re-survey employers to update hiring needs and work with the Employer Council.
Ed Spivak represents nmOptics on OP-TEC’s Employer Council.
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the bailout, extends the research and experimentation tax credit, which expired last year, through Dec. 31, 2009.
Science funding will be flat through March 2009, according to ASTRA (Alliance for Science & Technology Research in America). Emergency supplemental funding previously promised to the DOE’s Office of Science, the NSF and the NIH is off the table, and budget decisions will be passed to the new administration. For more information see www.usinnovation.org.
Optics Research in New Mexico
How many academics does it take to replace the light bulb?
The NSF’s new Engineering Research Center will supplant the light bulb with smarter, greener lighting. Participating institutions are Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, UNM and Boston University. The program will also involve schools and Sandia.
UNM will provide the nanotech, led by Stephen Hersee, an EECE professor. His team will include CHTM Director Steve Brueck and Marek Osinski. UNM will receive $4 million to $5 million for its research. One of UNM’s projects will be to develop a dime-sized, solid-state microscope with no lenses or moving parts.
UNM researchers were awarded a three-year, $1.1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to build an optical scanning nanoscope for the UNM Cancer Center. It will provide real-time images of biological processes at nano and pico scale resolutions, a feat never achieved before.
The lead investigator is physics professor Jean Claude-Diels. Physics Professor Sudhakar Prasad will perform efficient image and data compression for the imaging. And assistant professor Keith Lidke will provide expertise in high-resolution optical imaging and will manage hardware integration.
Magdalena Ridge Observatory’s fast-tracking 2.4-meter optical telescope is open for business. A contractor has been testing the mirror for the last two years, and New Mexico Tech in October opened the facility to paying customers.
The facility has a three-year $825,000 contract with NASA to study Near-Earth objects on a potential collision course with the Earth.
Van Romero, vice president of research and economic development, said the observatory is a crowning achievement for New Mexico Tech.
Upcoming Events
At NMBio’s Nov. 11th meeting, Richard S. Larson, vice president for translational research and senior associate dean for research at the UNM Health Sciences Center, will present a sample of HSC’s research successes, commercial ventures, and strategies for continued growth of research. Besides his management duties, he maintains a lab that’s developing diagnostic and imaging tests and devices.
The meeting is 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the UNM Science and Tech Park rotunda. For information see www.NMBio.org.
Col. Richard M. Stuckey, AFNWC Vice Commander, will speak at the next PACA meeting on Nov. 18 at the Mountainview Club at Kirtland Air Force Base. The luncheon is free to members and $15 to nonmembers or guests. RSVP to paca@ngc.com or call 842-8911, ext. 333.
