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Two UNM engineers receive NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

May 12, 2025 - Carly Bowling

Two students from The University of New Mexico School of Engineering were named recipients of competitive National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.

Mia Baca, a senior graduating with a degree in Chemical Engineering, and Abel Molinar, a senior graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, were each selected. The competitive awards are not frequently given out to current undergraduate students. Both Baca and Molinar are UNM Ronald E. McNair Scholars. They both plan to begin Ph.D. programs in the fall.

Mia Baca

photo: Mia Baca
Mia Baca

Baca began doing research as a first-year college student with Marek Osinski, a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering, where she synthesized and characterized nanomaterials. The project, which was in collaboration with the Air Force Research Lab, focused on the optical refrigeration of levitated nanoparticles with a goal to create high-precision accelerometers. Such technology could aid air and space vehicles in course navigation in GPS-jammed environments. Baca expanded on this work in her NSF Graduate Research Fellowship application, proposing to use optically levitated nanoparticles to sense low-frequency (LF) and very-low-frequency (VLF) radio waves. Many low-frequency electromagnetic waves are caused by space weather. Greater detection of these radio frequencies could improve rocket and satellite launches to better protect astronauts and other space assets and open up additional bands of communication. Currently, these frequencies are best detected by large antennas the size of football fields. The systems Baca proposed as part of her NSF Graduate Research Fellowship can instead be placed on small chips, making them highly advantageous for use in space vehicles.

“I was quite surprised to learn I had been selected. I was taken aback and really proud of myself to say the least. Both the other scholar and I are first-generation college students. It was really reassuring because it makes me feel like I am on the right track, that I’m all set to go for grad school, that I belong in the research community, and it gives me faith that I’ll be able to continue to thrive in my graduate program,” Baca said.

Baca will begin a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall.

Abel Molinar

photo: Abel Molinar
Abel Molinar

Molinar first began doing research on autonomous systems in January 2024 with Wenbin Wan, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. Passionate about math, Molinar first became interested in studying autonomous systems algorithms because he was interested in a math-heavy application of mechanical engineering. Molinar says working in Wan’s lab motivated him to stay at UNM for graduate school, where he will begin a Ph.D. program next year. In his autonomous systems research, Molinar frequently uses Python and has recently worked on writing programming modules that work together to help an autonomous system he built in Unity Engine to move independently.

Currently, autonomous systems operate most effectively in environments specifically designed for them. This presents a great challenge for the continued development of the technology.

During his graduate studies, Molinar will work to design a state estimation framework for systems under high uncertainty and then incorporate the framework with the system control.

“I remember thinking to myself that I should try and apply for the fellowship no matter what, even if it was really competitive, and I was so happy when I found out I got it,” Molinar said.

Molinar will continue to work with Wan during his Ph.D. at UNM.