Opportunities for UNM lie in the hands of Los Alamos National Labs.
University of California manages the labs, and the contract will be up for bid soon.
Even though UNM will not be a part of the management team, it is in the best interest of the University for UC to get the lab, UNM President Louis Caldera said. He said the goal of the University is to be involved in research at LANL, and UC manages the labs because it does world-class scientific research.
The institute will provide opportunities for UNM students and faculty to work in scientific research and technological and educational aspects of the labs' operation.
"I think there will be a strong sense that a UNM and New Mexico consortium support the University of California on this bid," Caldera said.
Caldera said UNM set a goal to be involved in 25 percent of work at the labs, including research and unclassified work to be done at UNM. A lot of research the labs do is related to national security applications.
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After a career as vice chancellor for university advancement for the California State University system, Caldera said he has maintained a strong relationship with UC.
He said there is a strong foundation for the possibility of bringing the institutions together.
He said he thinks UC will most likely win the bid.
A collaboration of all New Mexico universities led by UNM will run the institute at the labs.
Terry Yates, vice president for research and economic development, said he sees this as a collaborative opportunity for UNM and LANL communities.
"It will give our students and faculty access to labs and facilities and Los Alamos National Laboratory employees and their families access to UNM labs and workforce," Yates said.
He said the relationship between UNM and the labs has been more on a scientist-to-scientist basis than on a large organization basis.
Yates said collaboration between the institutions would be unbeatable.
"Money will actually flow into students' pockets with the institute, and there will be a large impact on the nation in terms of research," he said.
After the Department of Energy puts out a request for proposals, all potential bidders will be reviewed.
Yates said UNM will be involved in writing the proposal in support of UC.
Chris Harrington, spokesman for University of California, said UC is preparing as though it will compete for the bid. The university's board of regents will make the final decision after the Department of Energy releases the final bid request.
