UNM’s School of Engineering announces Regents’ and Dean’s Excellence Professors and Lecturers

September 25, 2025 - By Carly Bowling

photo: The exterior of the Centennial Engineering Center, with grasses and trees in the foreground.

The University of New Mexico School of Engineering is proud to announce recipients of the Regents’ Professorship and Lectureship and the Dean’s Excellence Professorship and Lectureship. The titles are bestowed upon select faculty who merit recognition for their accomplishments as teachers, scholars and leaders at UNM and beyond. In addition to the titles, recipients also receive annual stipends during their three-year terms.

Regents’ Professor

Nominated by the dean and selected by the provost, Regents’ Professors are full-time tenured professors who merit recognition for excellence exhibited as teachers, scholars and leaders. Once bestowed with the Regents’ Professorship, faculty hold the title for the duration of their career.

Meeko Oishi, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, studies assurances of safety in autonomous cyber-physical systems. Last year, she received the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship award for her project titled, “Resilient and Responsive AI for Autonomous Systems Engineering”. The interdisciplinary project establishes a graduate program focused on the social context of machine learning and AI algorithms.

Regents’ Lecturer

Nominated by the dean and selected by the provost, Regents’ Lecturers are full-time tenure-track assistant professors or tenured associate professors who merit recognition for excellence exhibited as teachers, scholars and leaders.

Nathan Jackson is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His research focuses on developing microfabricated smart materials and their applications in micro-electro-mechanical systems and the biomedical field. He is the director of the Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering graduate program and a member of the Center for High Technology Materials.

Dean’s Excellence Professorship

Bestowed upon select full-time tenured professors who exhibit excellence and innovation in research and scholarship, teaching and leadership.

  • Rafiqul Tarefder is a professor in the Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering.
  • Abdullah Mueen is a professor in the Department of Computer Science.
  • Adam Hecht is a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering.

Dean’s Excellence Lectureship

Bestowed upon select full-time tenure-track assistant or tenured associate professors who exhibit excellence and innovation in research and scholarship, teaching and leadership.

  • Fernando Moreu is an associate professor in the Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering.
  • Leah Buechley is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science.
  • Ali Bidram is an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
  • Osman Anderoglu is an associate professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering.