The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources at New Mexico Tech has selected University of New Mexico professor emeritus Les McFadden for its 2025 Earth Science Achievement Award in Research and Education.

McFadden, a geoscientist and mentor whose career in New Mexico spans nearly four decades, will be honored Sept. 18 during the New Mexico Geological Society’s Fall Field Conference in Cuba.

His work on soils, climate, hydrology and desert geomorphology has earned more than 90 peer-reviewed publications and recognition from the Geological Society of America, including the Farouk El-Baz Award for Desert Research and the Kirk Bryan Award. McFadden also helped establish UNM’s Quaternary Studies Lab and mentored dozens of graduate students, many of whom now teach across New Mexic

See Full Page