Skip navigation.
New Mexico State University
Engineering Physics
College of Engineering

Advisors

Dr. Heinz Nakotte
Dr. Hearn
Associate Professor

Dr. Thomas Hearn

Dr. Hearn has been with the Department of Physics of New Mexico State University since 1990. He served as an academic advisor for NMSU Physics Undergraduates from 1995 to 2006 and as the Physics Department Head from August 2006 to July 2008. He served on the Engineering Physics ABET accreditation committee from 2002 to 2009 and was instrumental in establishing accreditation.

Contact Information
Office: Gardiner Hall
Phone: 575-646-5076
E-mail: thearn@nmsu.edu

Dr. Hearn is known mainly for seismic tomography using regional seismic phases such as Pn and Pg and exploring the Earth's seismic anisotropy using tomographic methods. He has also developed amplitude tomography techniques to investigate the Earth’s attenuation structure. He has also led broadband seismic field deployments in Quebec (1996) and Tibet (1998–1999; 2007-2009). Collaborations include Los Alamos National Laboratory and agencies and universities in China, Canada, Italy, Germany, and the U.S. He is an active reviewer for geophysical journals, the National Science Foundation and the National Nuclear Security Agency’s Nuclear Monitoring program.

 


Dr. Heinz Nakotte
Dr. Nakotte
Chair- EP Program, Professor

Dr. Heinz Nakotte

Dr. Nakotte is the Chair of the Engineering Physics Program, EP Advisor and leader of the Magnetism Group at NMSU. He studies the magnetic and related properties in a large variety of materials, such as correlated-electron systems, permanent magnets, superconductors and nanostructured magnets. The majority of his research is done in single crystals, which allows for an in-depth study of the magnetic anisotropy. In particular, he has been studying how magnetic properties will be modified when the material under investigation is exposed to extreme external conditions, such as very low temperatures, very high pressures and/or very high magnetic fields.

Contact Information
Office: Gardiner Hall
Phone: 575-646-2459
E-mail: hnakotte@nmsu.edu

Dr. Nakotte was able to establish that the often complex configuration of the magnetic moments in actinide compounds can be related to the bonding anisotropy, and that the giant magnetoresistance phenomena in these materials arise form modifications to their Fermi surface. Most of Dr. Nakotte's research utilizes neutron-scattering and high magnetic field techniques, which allow gaining insight into the mechanisms that are responsible for magnetic and related phenomena in magnetic materials.

 


Dr. Pate
Dr. Stephen Pate
Professor

Dr. Stephen Pate

Dr. Pate's research activities center on the exploration of the structure of matter in terms of quarks and gluons. Despite the tremendous successes of the quark/gluon model in explaining a wide range of experimental results, there are still a number of outstanding questions. The details of the composition of such common particles as the proton and neutron (which make up well over 99% of the mass of our everyday world) are not yet understood. Some seemingly simple aspects, such as the "spin" of the proton and neutron, are still under investigation.

Contact Information
Office: Gardiner Hall
Phone: 575-646-2135
E-mail: pate@nmsu.edu