100 Notable alumni of
University of New Mexico
Updated:
The University of New Mexico is 310th in the world, 131st in North America, and 124th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from the University of New Mexico sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Eddie Guerrero
- Occupations
- professional wrestler
- Biography
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Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). A prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
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Holly Holm
- Occupations
- kickboxermixed martial arts fighterboxer
- Biography
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Holly Rene Holm is an American mixed martial artist. She previously competed in the women's Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is a former Women's Bantamweight Champion.
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Steve-O
- Enrolled in the University of New Mexico
- Studied in 1996-1997
- Occupations
- film actorstunt performertelevision directoractorscreenwriter
- Biography
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Stephen Gilchrist Glover, known professionally as Steve-O, is an American stunt performer, comedian, television personality, YouTuber, and podcast host. His career is mostly centered on his shocking and pain-inducing stunts in the reality comedy television series Jackass (2000–2001) and its related films Jackass: The Movie (2002), Jackass Number Two (2006), Jackass 3D (2010), and Jackass Forever (2022), as well as its spin-off series Wildboyz (2003–2006) and Dr. Steve-O (2007).
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Penny Marshall
- Occupations
- writerscreenwriterproducerfilm producerfilm actor
- Biography
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Carole Penny Marshall was an American actress, film director, and producer. She is best known for her role as Laverne DeFazio on the television sitcom Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983), receiving three nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for her portrayal.
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Gary Johnson
- Occupations
- businesspersonpolitician
- Biography
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Gary Earl Johnson is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He has been a member of the Libertarian Party since 2011 and was the party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections. He was also the Libertarian nominee in the 2018 U.S. Senate election in New Mexico.
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Adrienne Maloof
- Occupations
- reality television participantpresenterbusinesspersonfilm producer
- Biography
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Adrienne Maloof is an American businesswoman, television personality, shoe designer, and co-owner of the various business holdings of Maloof Companies, which include a stake in the Vegas Golden Knights (NHL), The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada; Maloof Productions, Maloof Music and the retired Maloof Money Cup skateboarding event.
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Rockmond Dunbar
- Occupations
- film actortelevision actorfilm directoractor
- Biography
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Rockmond Dunbar is an American actor, best known for his roles as Baines on the NBC series Earth 2, Kenny Chadway on Showtime family drama Soul Food, and Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin on the Fox crime drama Prison Break. He also played Sheriff Eli Roosevelt on the FX Drama series Sons of Anarchy, FBI Agent Dennis Abbott on The Mentalist, FBI Agent Abe Gaines in the Hulu series The Path, and Michael Grant on 9-1-1.
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Chris Henchy
- Occupations
- film produceractortelevision producerscreenwriterfilm director
- Biography
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Christopher Thomas Henchy is an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for being a creative collaborator with Will Ferrell, including co-creating the website Funny or Die and writing several Ferrell films, including Land of the Lost, The Other Guys and The Campaign.
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Brian Urlacher
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Brian Urlacher is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos, where he received consensus All-American honors as a senior, and was selected ninth overall by the Bears in the 2000 NFL draft.
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Hank Baskett
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Henry Randall Baskett III is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts.
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Deb Haaland
- Enrolled in the University of New Mexico
- 1988-1994 graduated with Bachelor of Arts in English studies
- Occupations
- businesspersonpoliticianbusiness executive
- Biography
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Debra Anne Haaland is an American politician who served as the 54th United States secretary of the interior from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021 and as chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017. Haaland, a Native American, is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe.
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Luc Longley
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Lucien James Longley AM is an Australian professional basketball coach and former player. He was the first Australian to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played for four teams over 10 seasons. He most notably played for the Chicago Bulls, with whom he won three championships from 1996 to 1998. Longley represented Australia as a player at three Olympic Games in 1988, 1992 and 2000; he has worked as an assistant coach for the Australian national basketball team.
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Danny Granger
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Danny Granger Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in 2005 after a two-year college stint at New Mexico. In 2009, Granger averaged 26 points per game on 45 percent shooting and was named an All-Star and the league's Most Improved Player. An injury to his left knee limited Granger to just five games during the 2012–13 season, and in February 2014, he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. He went on to play for the Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat before having short stints with the Phoenix Suns and Detroit Pistons in 2015.
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Donald Gibb
- Occupations
- film actorbasketball playertelevision actoractor
- Biography
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Donald Richard Gibb is an American actor, best known for his roles as the hulking, dimwitted fraternity brother Ogre in several installments of the Revenge of the Nerds film series, as Kumite fighter Ray Jackson in Bloodsport, and as Leslie "Dr. Death" Krunchner on the HBO sitcom 1st & Ten.
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Michelle Lujan Grisham
- Enrolled in the University of New Mexico
- 1977-1981 graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- business executivepoliticianlawyer
- Biography
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Michelle Lujan Grisham is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 32nd governor of New Mexico since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Lujan Grisham previously served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district from 2013 to 2019.
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Tony Snell
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Tony Rena Snell Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the New Mexico Lobos. He was drafted with the 20th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls.
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Robert Mercer
- Occupations
- computer scientistbankerhedge fund managerentrepreneur
- Biography
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Robert Leroy Mercer is an American hedge fund manager, computer scientist, and political donor. Mercer was an early artificial intelligence researcher and developer and is the former co-CEO of the hedge fund company Renaissance Technologies.
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Michael Cooper
- Occupations
- screenwriterbasketball playerbasketball coach
- Biography
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Michael Jerome Cooper is an American basketball coach and former player. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers during his entire career in the National Basketball Association, winning five NBA championships with the Lakers during their Showtime era. He was an eight-time selection to the NBA All-Defensive Team, including five times on the first team. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. In 2024, it was announced that Cooper would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Following his Hall of Fame induction, the Lakers retired his No. 21 jersey on January 13, 2025.
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Lang Ping
- Occupations
- beach volleyball playervolleyball playervolleyball coach
- Biography
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"Jenny" Lang Ping is a Chinese former volleyball player and coach. She is the former head coach of the Chinese women's national volleyball team and U.S. women's national volleyball team. As a player, Lang won the most valuable player award in women's volleyball at the 1984 Olympics.
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Martin Heinrich
- Enrolled in the University of New Mexico
- Studied in 2001-2002
- Occupations
- engineerpoliticianbusiness executive
- Biography
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Martin Trevor Heinrich is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Mexico, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Heinrich served as the U.S. representative from New Mexico's 1st congressional district from 2009 to 2013. He and fellow Senator Ben Ray Luján are the co-deans of New Mexico's congressional delegation.
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Ben Ray Luján
- Enrolled in the University of New Mexico
- Studied in 1990-1995
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Ben Ray Luján is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from New Mexico since 2021. He served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 3rd congressional district from 2009 to 2021 and as assistant speaker from 2019 to 2021. He served as a member of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission from 2005 to 2008, where he also served as chairman. He and Senator Martin Heinrich are the co-deans of New Mexico's congressional delegation.
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Victoria Price
- Occupations
- writerbiographer
- Biography
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Mary Victoria Price is an American public speaker and the author of the memoir, The Way of Being Lost: A Road Trip to My Truest Self and Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography. She currently spends much of her time traveling and speaking about the life of her father, Vincent Price, as well as discussing self-development topics.
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Daniel Abraham
- Occupations
- writerscience fiction writernovelistproducer
- Biography
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Daniel James Abraham, pen names M. L. N. Hanover and James S. A. Corey, is an American novelist, comic book writer, screenwriter, and television producer. He is best known as the author of The Long Price Quartet and The Dagger and the Coin fantasy series, and with Ty Franck, as the co-author of The Expanse science fiction series, written under the joint pseudonym James S. A. Corey. The series has been adapted into the television series The Expanse (2015–2022), with both Abraham and Franck serving as writers and producers on the show. He also contributed to Wild Cards anthology series shared universe.
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Josh Kerr
- Occupations
- athletics competitormiddle-distance runner
- Biography
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Josh Kerr is a British middle-distance runner who competes primarily in the 1500 metres. He won a gold medal in the event at the 2023 World Championships, a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships. Indoors he is the 2024 World Indoor champion in the 3000 metres. He holds the world best time in the short track 2 mile, the European record in the short track mile & 3000 m, and the British record in the outdoor 1500m and mile.
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Michael Blake
- Occupations
- screenwriterwriternovelistnon-fiction writer
- Biography
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Michael Lennox Blake was an American author, best known for the film adaptation of his novel Dances with Wolves, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
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Agnes Martin
- Occupations
- printmakerpainterdraftsperson
- Biography
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Agnes Bernice Martin RCA was an American abstract painter known for her minimalist style and abstract expressionism. Born in Canada, she moved to the United States in 1931, where she pursued higher education and became a U.S. citizen in 1950. Martin's artistic journey began in New York City, where she immersed herself in modern art and developed a deep interest in abstraction. Despite often being labeled a minimalist, she identified more with abstract expressionism. Her work has been defined as an "essay in discretion, inwardness and silence."
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Kim Stanley
- Occupations
- stage actorfilm actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Kim Stanley was an American actress who was primarily active in television and theatre but also had occasional film performances.
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Joel-Peter Witkin
- Enrolled in the University of New Mexico
- Graduated with Master of Fine Arts
- Occupations
- photographer
- Biography
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Joel-Peter Witkin is an American photographer who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His work often deals with themes such as death, corpses (and sometimes dismembered portions thereof), often featuring ornately decorated photographic models, including people with dwarfism, transgender and intersex persons, as well as people living with a range of physical features. Witkin is often praised for presenting these figures in poses which celebrate and honor their physiques in an elevated, artistic manner. Witkin's complex tableaux vivants often recall religious episodes or classical paintings.
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Joy Harjo
- Enrolled in the University of New Mexico
- In 1976 graduated with Bachelor of Arts in poetry
- Occupations
- screenwriterwritermusicianchildren's writerteacher
- Biography
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Joy Harjo is an American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold that honor. She was also only the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to have served three terms (after Robert Pinsky). Harjo is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation (Este Mvskokvlke) and belongs to Oce Vpofv (Hickory Ground). She is an important figure in the second wave of the literary Native American Renaissance of the late 20th century. She studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts, completed her undergraduate degree at University of New Mexico in 1976, and earned an MFA degree at the University of Iowa in its creative writing program.
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Lois Duncan
- Occupations
- children's writerscreenwriternovelistwriterjournalist
- Biography
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Lois Duncan Steinmetz, known as Lois Duncan, was an American writer, novelist, poet, and journalist. She is best known for her young-adult novels, and has been credited by historians as a pioneering figure in the development of young-adult fiction, particularly in the genres of horror, thriller, and suspense.
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Milton Rubenfeld
- Occupations
- aircraft pilotmilitary personnel
- Biography
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Milton Rubenfeld was an American pilot who flew for the Royal Air Force and U.S. Army during World War II, later becoming one of the five founding pilots of the Israeli Air Force in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It is widely believed that Rubenfeld, the other four volunteer pilots, and the other machalniks changed the course of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. He was injured and returned to the United States, and settled in New York state, where he married and owned a local business with his wife, Judy. Later, he moved his family to Sarasota, Florida, where he and his wife owned another successful business until he retired. He died in 2004. He was the father of actor/comedian Paul Reubens, who was known for creating and portraying the character Pee-wee Herman.
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Vincent Barrett Price
- Occupations
- poetwriter
- Biography
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Vincent Barrett Price is an American poet, human rights and environmental columnist, editor, reporter, publisher, and teacher. His most recent works include the poetry volumes Lucretius and the Logic of Venus, Polishing the Mountain, or Catching Balance Just in Time: Selected Poems 2008–2020, Innocence Regained: Christmas Poems, and Memoirs of the World in Ten Fragments, and the nonfiction book The Orphaned Land: New Mexico's Environment Since the Manhattan Project. He is the co-founder, with Benito Aragon, of the New Mexico Mercury, an online platform featuring news, commentary and analysis from a variety of experts and writers around New Mexico. Since January 2017, the Mercury Messenger has featured Price's online column of politics and the environment.
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Pete Domenici
- Enrolled in the University of New Mexico
- Studied in 1954
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1973 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served six terms in the Senate, making him the longest-tenured U.S. Senator in the state's history. To date, Domenici is the last Republican to be elected to the Senate from New Mexico. He was succeeded by Democratic U.S. Representative Tom Udall.
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Jose Garcia Villa
- Occupations
- poet
- Biography
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José García Villa was a Filipino poet, literary critic, short story writer, and painter. He was awarded the National Artist of the Philippines title for literature in 1973, as well as the Guggenheim Fellowship in creative writing by Conrad Aiken. He is known to have introduced the "reversed consonance rhyme scheme" in writing poetry, as well as the extensive use of punctuation marks—especially commas, which made him known as the Comma Poet. He used the pen name Doveglion (derived from "Dove, Eagle, Lion"), based on the characters he derived from his own works. These animals were also explored by another poet, E. E. Cummings, in "Doveglion, Adventures in Value", a poem dedicated to Villa.
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N. Scott Momaday
- Enrolled in the University of New Mexico
- In 1958 graduated with Bachelor of Arts in English
- Occupations
- poetscholar of Englishuniversity teachernovelistwriter
- Biography
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Navarre Scotte Momaday was a Kiowa and American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. His novel House Made of Dawn was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969, and is considered the first major work of the Native American Renaissance.
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Xochitl Torres Small
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Xochitl Liana Torres Small is an American attorney and politician who was the 15th United States deputy secretary of agriculture from 2023 to 2025, acting as "chief operating officer" for the department. She was nominated by President Joe Biden in February 2023, and was confirmed by the senate on July 11.
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Mikki Padilla
- Occupations
- film actormodeltelevision actoractor
- Biography
-
Mikki Padilla is an American actress, model, writer and author. She has since filmed several projects, commercials, and her book, Been There, Done That... now doing MORE! was released in March 2013. She was the co-host and dealer of the GSN game show Catch 21.
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John Lewis
- Occupations
- music educatorfilm score composercomposerrecord produceruniversity teacher
- Biography
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John Aaron Lewis was an American jazz pianist, composer and arranger, best known as the founder and musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet.
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Mel Daniels
- Occupations
- basketball playerbasketball coach
- Biography
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Melvin Joe Daniels was an American professional basketball player. He played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Minnesota Muskies, Indiana Pacers, and Memphis Sounds, and in the National Basketball Association for the New York Nets. Daniels was a two-time ABA Most Valuable Player, three-time ABA Champion and a seven-time ABA All-Star. Daniels was the All-time ABA rebounding leader, and in 1997 was named a unanimous selection to the ABA All-Time Team. Daniels was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
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Cameron Bairstow
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Cameron David Bairstow is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of New Mexico before being drafted 49th overall in the 2014 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls. He spent two seasons with the Bulls before playing five of next six years in the National Basketball League (NBL).
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Leslie Marmon Silko
- Occupations
- writerpoetnovelistessayist
- Biography
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Leslie Marmon Silko is an American writer. A woman of Laguna Pueblo descent, she is one of the key figures in the First Wave of what literary critic Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissance.
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Glover Quin
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Glover Freeman Quin Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos, and was selected by the Houston Texans in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL draft. Quinn stayed in Houston for four seasons. He then also played for the Detroit Lions for six seasons.
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Rocky Long
- Occupations
- American football playerAmerican football coachhead coachCanadian football player
- Biography
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Roderick John Long Jr. is an American college football coach and former player currently working as a defensive analyst at Fort Lewis College. He was previously the defensive coordinator at Syracuse and New Mexico. He was a head coach at New Mexico and then San Diego State. He played professionally with BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Detroit Wheels of World Football League (WFL).
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Mitch Garver
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Mitchell Lynn Garver is an American professional baseball catcher and designated hitter for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers.
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Rudolfo Anaya
- Occupations
- children's writerauthoruniversity teachernovelistwriter
- Biography
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Rudolfo Anaya was an American author. Noted for his 1972 novel Bless Me, Ultima, Anaya was considered one of the founders of the canon of contemporary Chicano and New Mexican literature. The themes and cultural references of the novel, which were uncommon at the time of its publication, had a lasting impression on fellow Latino writers. It was subsequently adapted into a film and an opera.
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Jack Dongarra
- Occupations
- university teachermathematiciancomputer scientistengineer
- Biography
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Jack Joseph Dongarra FRS is an American computer scientist and mathematician. He is a University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Computer Science in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of Tennessee. He holds the position of a Distinguished Research Staff member in the Computer Science and Mathematics Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Turing Fellowship in the School of Mathematics at the University of Manchester, and is an adjunct professor and teacher in the Computer Science Department at Rice University. He served as a faculty fellow at the Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study (2014–2018). Dongarra is the founding director of the Innovative Computing Laboratory at the University of Tennessee. He was the recipient of the Turing Award in 2021.
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Jerry McNerney
- Enrolled in the University of New Mexico
- In 1973 graduated with Bachelor of Science
- In 1975 graduated with Master of Science
- In 1981 graduated with Doctor of Philosophy
- Occupations
- engineerpoliticianbusiness executive
- Biography
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Gerald Mark McNerney is an American businessman and politician who has served a member of the California State Senate since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, he represents the 5th district, taking in most of San Joaquin County and northern parts of Alameda County county. He previously served as the U.S. representative for California's 9th congressional district 2007 until 2023. His district, numbered as the 11th district until 2013, was based in Stockton and included most of San Joaquin County, East Contra Costa County, and southern Sacramento County. McNerney holds a Ph.D in mathematics. McNerney did not run for reelection in 2022.
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Cissy King
- Occupations
- singerdancertelevision actor
- Biography
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Cissy King is an American-born singer and dancer best known as a featured performer on The Lawrence Welk Show television program.
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Robert Creeley
- Occupations
- writeruniversity teacherpoet
- Biography
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Robert White Creeley was an American poet and author of more than 60 books. He is associated with the Black Mountain poets, although his verse aesthetic diverged from that school. Creeley was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn.
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Jennifer Carroll
- Occupations
- politicianmilitary officer
- Biography
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Jennifer Sandra Carroll is an American Republican politician and retired naval officer who served as the 18th lieutenant governor of Florida from January 4, 2011 to March 12, 2013. Carroll is the first black person, woman and Trinidadian-American elected to the office. Carroll previously served as a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives. She is the bestselling author of an autobiography entitled When You Get There.
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Benjamin Radford
- Occupations
- journalistauthorpodcaster
- Biography
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Benjamin Radford is an American writer, investigator, and skeptic. He has authored, coauthored or contributed to over twenty books and written over a thousand articles and columns on a wide variety of topics including urban legends, unexplained mysteries, the paranormal, critical thinking, mass hysteria, and media literacy. His book, Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment, was published in the summer of 2014 and is a scientific investigation of famous legends and folklore in the state of New Mexico. In 2016 Radford published Bad Clowns, a 2017 IPPY bronze award winner, and he is regarded as an expert on the bad clowns phenomenon.
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N. Ahmed
- Occupations
- engineer
- Biography
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Nasir Ahmed is an Indian-American electrical engineer and computer scientist. He is Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of New Mexico (UNM). He is best known for inventing the discrete cosine transform (DCT) in the early 1970s. The DCT is the most widely used data compression transformation, the basis for most digital media standards (image, video and audio) and commonly used in digital signal processing. He also described the discrete sine transform (DST), which is related to the DCT.
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Walter Jon Williams
- Enrolled in the University of New Mexico
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- role-playing game designernovelistcomics writerwriterscience fiction writer
- Biography
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Walter Jon Williams is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, in particular, Privateers and Gentlemen (1981–1984), a series of historical novels set during the Age of Sail.
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Alex Kirk
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Alex Ryan Kirk is an American professional basketball player for Ryukyu Golden Kings of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the University of New Mexico.
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Rebecca Roanhorse
- Occupations
- novelistshort story writerlawyerwriterjurist
- Biography
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Rebecca Roanhorse is an American science fiction and fantasy writer from New Mexico. She has written short stories and science fiction novels featuring Navajo characters. Her work has received Hugo and Nebula awards, among others.
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E. J. Peaker
- Occupations
- actorfilm actor
- Biography
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Edra Jean Peaker is an American actress. Peaker is best known for her appearances in the movie Hello, Dolly! and in the TV musical series That's Life.
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Halim El-Dabh
- Occupations
- university teachercomposerpianistethnomusicologist
- Biography
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Halim Abdul Messieh El-Dabh was an Egyptian-American composer, musician, ethnomusicologist, and educator, who had a career spanning six decades. He is particularly known as an early pioneer of electronic music. In 1944 he composed one of the earliest known works of tape music, or musique concrète. From the late 1950s to early 1960s he produced influential work at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center.
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Anne Hillerman
- Years
- 1949-.. (age 76)
- Occupations
- novelist
- Biography
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Anne Hillerman is an American journalist from New Mexico, and a New York Times best-selling author. The daughter of novelist Tony Hillerman, she has continued her father's series of Joe Leaphorn-Jim Chee novels following his death, adding officer Bernadette Manuelito as a full partner in solving the crimes.
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Bruce King
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Bruce King was an American businessman and politician who for three non-consecutive four-year terms was the governor of New Mexico. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the longest-serving governor in New Mexico history, with 12 years of service.
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Shirley M. Hufstedler
- Occupations
- judgeuniversity teacherlawyer
- Biography
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Shirley Ann Mount Hufstedler was an American attorney and judge who served as the first United States Secretary of Education from 1979 to 1981. She previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1968 to 1979.
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Courtney Frerichs
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
-
Courtney Frerichs is an American middle-distance runner and steeplechase specialist from Nixa, Missouri, She is a three-time silver medalist in the 3000 meters steeplechase capturing silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the 2017 World Championships in London and at the 2018 World (Continental) Cup in Ostrava. In 2021, she became the first American woman to run under nine-minutes in a women’s 3000-meters steeplechase event with a time of 8:57.77; establishing an American and Area record. She is a two-time Olympian making the US team in 2016 and 2020. In both of her Olympic Trials she finished second to US National Champion, Emma Coburn.
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Michael A. Nielsen
- Years
- 1974-.. (age 51)
- Occupations
- academictheoretical physicistphysicistprogrammer
- Biography
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Michael Aaron Nielsen is an Australian-American quantum physicist, science writer, and computer programming researcher living in San Francisco.
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Kenny Thomas
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Kenneth Cornelius Thomas is an American retired professional basketball player who played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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Hugh Greenwood
- Occupations
- basketball playerAustralian rules football player
- Biography
-
Hugh Greenwood is an Australian former sportsman who played Australian rules football and basketball. Greenwood was a promising under-16 footballer, but opted to attempt a career in basketball in 2008, moving to the United States in 2011 to play college basketball for the University of New Mexico. He returned to Australia in 2015 and joined the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League, but abruptly switched codes to sign with the Adelaide Football Club of the Australian Football League (AFL) as a category B rookie in September 2015. He moved to the Gold Coast Suns in 2019 and then North Melbourne Football Club in 2022. He retired from the AFL in August 2024 after 121 senior games across the Crows, Suns and Kangaroos.
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Melinda M. Snodgrass
- Occupations
- managerscience fiction writerscreenwriterjuristwriter
- Biography
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Melinda M. Snodgrass is an American science fiction writer for print and television. In February 2021 Melinda was the Screenwriting Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the 39th annual Life, the Universe, & Everything professional science fiction and fantasy arts symposium.
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Kevin Meyer
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Kevin Gerald Meyer is an American politician who served as the 14th lieutenant governor of Alaska from 2018 to 2022. He was a Republican member of the Alaska Senate from January 20, 2009 to December 3, 2018, representing District M. He was president of the Alaska Senate, leading a caucus of 14 Republicans and 1 Democrat from 2015 to 2017. Meyer served in the Alaska Legislature continuously from 2003 to 2018, in both the Alaska House of Representatives and Senate, previously representing the district when it was District O. He works as an investment recovery coordinator for ConocoPhillips.
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Diane Dimond
- Occupations
- writerjournalistbiographer
- Biography
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Diane Dimond is an American investigative journalist, author, syndicated columnist, and TV commentator.
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Antoine Predock
- Occupations
- architectinterior designerdesignerlandscape architect
- Biography
-
Antoine Samuel Predock was an American architect based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was the principal of Antoine Predock Architect PC, the studio he founded in 1967.
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Gerald Curtis
- Occupations
- political scientistprofessor
- Biography
-
Gerald L. Curtis is an American academic and political scientist interested in comparative politics, Japanese politics, and U.S.-Japan relations.
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Weini Kelati
- Occupations
- long-distance runnerathletics competitor
- Biography
-
Weini Kelati Frezghi is an American middle and long distance runner. Born in Eritrea, she claimed asylum in the United States in July 2014 and subsequently achieved multiple victories in state and national level competitions while attending Heritage High School in Leesburg, Virginia. While competing for the University of New Mexico, Kelati won the 2019 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
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James Oberg
- Occupations
- engineerjournalistauthor
- Biography
-
James Edward Oberg is an American space journalist and historian, regarded as an expert on the Russian and Chinese space programs. He had a 22-year career as a space engineer in NASA specializing in orbital rendezvous. Oberg is an author of ten books and more than a thousand articles on space flight. He has provided multiple explanations of UFO phenomena for media outlets. He is also a consultant in spaceflight operations and safety.
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Luis González
- Years
- 1995-.. (age 30)
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Luis Fernando González is a Mexican professional baseball outfielder for the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. He played college baseball at the University of New Mexico. He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the third round of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft, and made his MLB debut with them in 2020. He has also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants.
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Kelly Graves
- Occupations
- basketball coachbasketball player
- Biography
-
Kelly Lee Graves is the current head women's basketball coach at the University of Oregon. Previously, Graves was the head women's basketball coach at St. Mary's from 1997 to 2000, as well as Gonzaga University from 2000 to 2014. He was formerly an assistant coach for the Portland Pilots (1994–1997) and St. Mary Gaels, where he later got his first head coaching stint with the Gaels from 1997 to 2000. From the 2004–05 season to the 2013–14 season, he guided Gonzaga to ten consecutive West Coast Conference regular season titles. The 2007 team went 13–1 in conference play, and later won the WCC conference tournament. The school also received its first ever NCAA tournament appearance. He was named WCC co-coach of the year for his accomplishments. In 2005, 2010, and 2011, Gonzaga went undefeated in WCC regular season play.
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Jerry Apodaca
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Jerry Apodaca was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 24th governor of New Mexico from 1975 to 1979 and chair of the president's council on physical fitness and sports from 1978 to 1980.
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Richard J. Berry
- Occupations
- businesspersonpoliticianeconomist
- Biography
-
Richard James Berry is an American entrepreneur and politician who served as the 29th mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is also a former two term member of the New Mexico House of Representatives.
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Oniel Fisher
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
-
Oniel David Fisher is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a right-back and midfielder for the Jamaica national team.
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Erika Sánchez
- Years
- 1984-.. (age 41)
- Occupations
- poetwriter
- Biography
-
Erika L. Sánchez is an American poet and writer. She is the author of poetry collection Lessons on Expulsion, a young adult novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, a 2017 finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, and Crying in the Bathroom: A Memoir. She was a professor at DePaul University.
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Maggie Toulouse Oliver
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Maggie Toulouse Oliver is an American politician from the state of New Mexico. She is the 26th Secretary of State of New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to serving as Secretary of State, Toulouse Oliver was the county clerk for Bernalillo County. On April 24, 2019, Toulouse Oliver declared her candidacy for the 2020 U.S. Senate election, but she later withdrew.
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Aaron Herrera
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
-
Aaron Joseph Herrera is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club D.C. United. Born in the United States, he plays for the Guatemala national team.
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Davar Ardalan
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
-
Iran Davar Ardalan is a tech entrepreneur, journalist, and author based in Washington, D.C. Known as Davar Ardalan, she is the founder of TulipAI, former Executive Producer of Audio at National Geographic, and has served as co-chair of the Cultural Heritage and AI track at ITU's AI for Good. Prior to this, she was deputy director of the White House Presidential Innovation Fellowship Program in Washington, D.C. She was also a long-time journalist at NPR News, where she helped shape the news shows Weekend Edition and Morning Edition, and was responsible for decisions that required elaborate coordination such as live broadcasts from Baghdad, Kabul, and New Orleans. Ardalan is an advocate for cross-platform storytelling. At NPR, her real-time storytelling campaigns cultivated thought leaders across platforms and reached millions on Twitter and Facebook.
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Martin Chávez
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Martin Joseph "Marty" Chávez is an American politician, businessman, and attorney who served as a member of the New Mexico Senate from 1987 to 1993 and as the 26th and 28th mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He served as the Executive Director of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA. and Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Center for Green Schools at U.S. Green Building Council. In 2012, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for the Congressional seat being vacated by Martin Heinrich, who retired from the House to run for Senate.
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Darington Hobson
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
-
Darington O'Neal Hobson is an American professional basketball player for Botafogo of the Novo Basquete Brasil. He played college basketball for the New Mexico Lobos.
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Jun Ye
- Enrolled in the University of New Mexico
- Graduated with Master of Science in physics
- Occupations
- university teacherresearcheracademicphysicist
- Biography
-
Jun Ye is a Chinese-American physicist at JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the University of Colorado Boulder, working primarily in the field of atomic, molecular, and optical physics.
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Wafaa Bilal
- Occupations
- video installation artistconceptual artistvideo artistartist
- Biography
-
Dr. Wafaa Bilal is an Iraqi American artist, a former professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and currently an art professor at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. He is a Creative Capital Award winner in 2021 for his project In a Grain of Wheat: Cultivating Hybrid Futures in Ancient Seed DNA and named one of Foreign Policy magazine's Leading 100 Global Thinkers in 2016 for his work as an advocate. Bilal's work, Canto III, was included as part of the Iranian pavilion at the 2015 Venice Biennale. Bilal's current work 168:01 brings awareness to cultural destruction and promotes the collective healing process through education and audience participation. He is best known for his work, Domestic Tension, a performance piece in which he lived in a gallery for a month and was shot by paintballs remotely by internet users watching from a webcam and for his book, Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life, and Resistance under the Gun, based on that performance, which details the horrors of living in a conflict zone and growing up under Saddam Hussein's regime. He holds a BFA from the University of New Mexico, an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and was conferred an honorary Ph.D. from DePauw University.
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Simon J. Ortiz
- Occupations
- writerchildren's writer
- Biography
-
Simon J. Ortiz is a Native American writer, poet, and enrolled member of the Pueblo of Acoma. Ortiz is one of the key figures in the second wave of what has been called the Native American Renaissance.
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Henry A. Crumpton
- Enrolled in the University of New Mexico
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts in political science
- Occupations
- intelligence officernon-fiction writerchief executive officer
- Biography
-
Henry "Hank" A. Crumpton is a retired Central Intelligence Agency operations officer, who served as deputy director of the Counterterrorism Center and as head of the CIA's National Resources Division, which focuses on operations in the United States. In the early days of the invasion of Afghanistan, Crumpton led CTC Special Operations paramilitary forces in pursuit of the Taliban and al-Qaeda following the September 11 attacks. Crumpton also planned a larger incursion alongside others like Greg Vogle and Chris Wood. He was later appointed by President George W. Bush as Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the Department of State with the rank of Ambassador-at-large on August 2, 2005. He is an author and co-founder, chairman, and CEO of the business intelligence and political risk firm Crumpton Global LLC.
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Shohini Ghose
- Occupations
- professorphysicistastrophysicist
- Biography
-
Shohini Ghose is a quantum physicist and Professor of Physics and Computer Science at Wilfrid Laurier University. She has served as the president of the Canadian Association of Physicists, co-editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal of Physics, and the Director of the Laurier Centre for Women in Science. She was named a 2014 TED Fellow and a 2018 TED Senior Fellow. In 2019 she appeared on the Star TV show TED Talks India Nayi Baat hosted by Shah Rukh Khan. In 2017 she was elected to the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. Her book Clues to the Cosmos was released in India in December 2019. In 2020, she was selected as an NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering.
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Thomas Madden
- Occupations
- historianuniversity teacher
- Biography
-
Thomas Francis Madden is an American historian, a former chair of the history department at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, and director of Saint Louis University's Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.
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Ola Mildred Rexroat
- Occupations
- aircraft pilot
- Biography
-
Ola Mildred Rexroat was the only Native American woman to serve in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).
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Diane Denish
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Diane Daniels Denish is an American politician, who was the 28th lieutenant governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011 under Governor Bill Richardson. Denish was the first woman to hold that post.
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Leon Silver
- Occupations
- geologistuniversity teacher
- Biography
-
Leon Theodore "Lee" Silver was an American geologist who was professor of geology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He was an instructor to the Apollo 13, 15, 16, and 17 astronaut crews. Working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), he taught astronauts how to perform field geology, essentially creating lunar field geology as a new discipline. His training is credited with a significant improvement in the J-Mission Apollo flights' scientific returns. After the Apollo program, he became a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1974. He retired in 1996 as the W. M. Keck Foundation Professor for Resource Geology, emeritus, at Caltech.
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Fred Begay
- Years
- 1932-2013 (aged 81)
- Occupations
- nuclear physicist
- Biography
-
Fred Begay, also Fred Young or Clever Fox, was a Navajo/Ute nuclear physicist. Begay was born in Towaoc, Colorado on the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation. His work was in the alternative use of laser, electron and ion beams to heat thermonuclear plasmas for use as alternative energy sources.
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William I. Robinson
- Years
- 1959-.. (age 66)
- Occupations
- university teachersociologist
- Biography
-
William I. Robinson is an American professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His work focuses on political economy, globalization, Latin America and historical materialism. He is a member of the International Parliamentary and Civil Society Mission to Investigate the Political Transition in Iraq.
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Jhurell Pressley
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
-
Jhurell Pressley is a former American football running back. He played college football at New Mexico and was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He has also been a member of the Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants, Arizona Hotshots, and DC Defenders.
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Jordan Pacheco
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Jordan Patrick Pacheco is an American former professional baseball infielder and catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds.
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Thomas L. Brown II
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
-
Thomas Lee Brown II was a United States Navy officer and the first Navy officer to command Special Operations Command South, based in Homestead Joint Air Reserve Base, Florida.
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Daniel Herrera
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Daniel Ray Herrera is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets.
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Michael McGarrity
- Years
- 1939-.. (age 86)
- Occupations
- novelist
- Biography
-
Michael McGarrity is a New Mexican author and former law enforcement officer. He has written a dozen crime novels set in New Mexico and the American West trilogy, historical novels also set in New Mexico consisting of Hard Country, Backlands and The Last Ranch. As deputy sheriff of Santa Fe County he founded their sex crimes unit.
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Niko Hansen
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
-
Nikolaj Hansen is a Danish footballer who plays as a winger or forward for USL Championship club San Antonio FC. He previously appeared at the semi-professional level for Seattle Sounders FC U-23 and professionally with Columbus Crew SC, Houston Dynamo, and Minnesota United.
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Kathy Lueders
- Years
- 20th Century
- Occupations
- engineer
- Biography
-
Kathryn Lueders is an American engineer and business manager. Lueders has led NASA's human spaceflight program as the Associate Administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate. She became the first woman to head human spaceflight. She was the program manager for NASA's Commercial Crew Program and oversaw the return of human spaceflight capabilities to NASA. She currently works at SpaceX as Starbase General Manager.
