The Globally-Engaged Research Award is offered by the Global Education Office (GEO) and the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) at The University of New Mexico (UNM) to highlight the dynamic international research conducted by UNM faculty and students.

Bridging both national and institutional borders, internationally focused research enhances knowledge production by simultaneously broadening the investigative lens and generating a more nuanced analysis through the incorporation of global diversity. This award showcases existing activities and serves to elevate the visibility and caliber of future research by promoting the incorporation of cross-cultural perspectives and international relevance into the UNM research enterprise. The award emphasizes our commitment to robust, intentional, international partnerships in our research and classrooms to solve a wide range of global issues and prepare a new generation of scholars to work and live in an interconnected and rapidly evolving world.

The 2022 nomination period is closed. Read more about our inaugural winner of the faculty award below. A call for nominations for 2023 awards will be posted in Spring 2023.

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The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) is pleased to announce the inaugural winner of the Globally-Engaged Research Award, Dr. Tobias Fischer. Dr. Fischer has been on the UNM faculty since 2000 and is currently Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Director of UNM’s Volatiles Laboratory.

The Globally-Engaged Research Awardwas created by the OVPR and the Global Education Office to recognize outstanding international research activities and promote the incorporation of cross-cultural perspectives and international relevance into the UNM research enterprise. The award emphasizes our commitment to robust, intentional, international partnerships in our research and classrooms as tools to solve a wide range of global issues and prepare a new generation of scholars to work and live in an interconnected and rapidly evolving world.

Professor Fischer specializes in the study of active volcanoes and hydrothermal systems, incorporating field work to establish monitoring systems in remote areas of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Antarctica, Bolivia, and Papua New Guinea. His work has led directly to the development of monitoring systems that can serve as early warning systems to forecast volcanic eruptions and to improve modeling of global carbon cycling and climate change. Although his laboratory represents a unique resource for a U.S. University, Fischer has headed numerous cross-national workshops and training programs that have led to the establishment of expertise and monitoring laboratories in those places where they are most needed. For 8 years, he directed the Deep Carbon Degassing Initiative, a collaboration of more than two dozen researchers from 10 countries aimed at assessing global volcanic gas emissions to the atmosphere. He currently leads a National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network that seeks to coordinate between academic institutions and federal agencies thereby improving evaluation and response to volcanic eruptions. His work has been published in more than one hundred and fifteen peer-reviewed articles.

In the words of his nominator, Distinguished Professor Yemane Asmerom,

“There are very few mid-career scientists whose name is synonymous with an earth system, as is Fischer’s with volcanic gases. This association resulted from a relentless research effort by Tobias Fischer in the field, the laboratory, and outreach to the scientific community…[he has] placed UNM at the center of this global effort.”

Dr. Fischer will receive a formal presentation of the award during Research and Discovery Week, November 5-11, 2022. The selection committee received many exemplary nominations for this year’s Globally-Engaged Research Award, highlighting the high level of international engagement by our faculty. We anticipate adding future award opportunities for globally-engaged student research.

More about Dr. Fischer’s work:

http://news.unm.edu/news/exhaling-earth:-scientists-closer-to-forecasting-volcanic-eruptions

https://eps.unm.edu/research/analytical-laboratories/labs/volatiles-laboratory.html