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Albuquerque: The University of New Mexico (UNM) has announced its selection for the PNM Chair in Microsystems, Commercialization and Technology. Andres C. Salazar, a New Mexico native with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Michigan State University, will fill the position beginning this fall. The PNM Chair, with the title of Professor, is a joint appointment between the College of Engineering and the Anderson Schools of Management, and was funded by the PNM Foundation to help provide world-class instruction in the commercialization of and advanced training in microsystems technology. “This chair is a nice fit with the PNM Foundation,” said Barbara Barsky, past-president of the PNM Foundation and a member of the chair search committee, “because the foundation is focused on improving educational opportunities in the state. One way to accomplish this goal is to support outstanding faculty who will challenge students to achieve greatness.” Salazar’s experience is a mix of engineering, research and business development and leadership. In addition to his doctorate, he also has a M.B.A. from Ebinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from UNM. His undergraduate degrees from UNM are in math and electrical engineering. Besides teaching courses in both the engineering and business areas, Salazar will be involved in helping to grow the microsystems industry base in New Mexico. Salazar spent 16 years at Bell Labs and AT&T Information Systems, where he acquired an interest in microsystems. It was there he designed a micro-code and systems architecture for high speed digital signal processors and participated in other microchip applications. While at Bell Labs he recruited students from UNM and New Mexico State University to work at Bell Labs and AT&T. He was a vice president at AT&T Paradyne in Florida where he restructured the company’s marketing and engineering departments; CEO at Digital Transmissions Systems, Inc., where he headed merger and acquisitions activities; senior vice president of operations at Avanti Communications Corp., where he managed hardware and software development, as well as manufacturing. In addition, Salazar was vice president of engineering at Infinet, Inc in Massachusetts, a digital communication expert with the United Nations, (International Telecommunications Union) in Mexico City and has conducted seminars at various universities, including University of California at Davis, University of Florida and Polytechnic Institute of Mexico. In his application letter Salazar said, “I have witnessed the enormous impact that the miniaturization of electronic circuits has had on society. On a small segment of semiconductor material tremendous processing power can be realized so that electronic applications benefiting society can be made smaller, more cheaply and more reliably.” Dean Smith, chair of the search committee and dean of the Anderson Schools of Management at UNM, said he feels the university and the state “are indeed lucky to be beginning a relationship with someone whose reputation and qualifications are as outstanding as Dr. Salazar’s.” “The creative and innovative ways in which Professor Salazar has combined commercialization and technology throughout his illustrious career exemplifies what Dean Smith and I envision for our business and engineering partnership,” said Joe Cecchi, Dean of the School of Engineering, and co-chair of the search committee. “Given his background and accomplishments, Andy is ideally positioned to lead this exciting, collaborative engagement.” PNM is a combined electric and gas utility serving approximately 1.3 million people in New Mexico. The company also sells power on the wholesale market in the Western U.S. PNM stock is traded primarily on the NYSE under the symbol PNM. For more information about PNM, see the company's web site at www.pnm.com.
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