New Mexico Tech Announces Hydrologic Center, Dedicates Deju University House 

Sept. 23, 2022

Hantush-Deju National Center for Hydrologic Innovation launched

deju house
The Raul and Shari Deju University House, on the New Mexico Tech campus, was officially dedicated Sept. 23, 2022.

SOCORRO, N.M. – Improving our understanding of water resources and the management of those resources is the aim of a new national hydrologic innovation center at New Mexico Tech. The university launched the Hantush-Deju National Center for Hydrologic Innovation at an afternoon ceremony Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, at the Raul and Shari Deju University House, a new facility on campus that was officially opened at a morning dedication ceremony.

Ribbon-cutting at Deju University House
Participating in the ribbon-cutting for the Deju University House on Sept. 23, 2022, are, left to right, Gerald M. Hoehne, capital projects director at the New Mexico Higher Education Department; Dr. Raul Deju; New Mexico Tech President Stephen G. Wells; and New Mexico Lt. Gov. Howie Morales.

Named for alumnus and philanthropist Dr. Raul Deju, and his wife, Shari Deju, the Deju University House is a 5,200-square-foot facility located on the north side of campus that has the capacity to host alumni events, meetings, and training sessions.

Regents with President Wells and Dr. Raul Deju
Dr. Raul Deju, third from left, is honored by a proclamation of "Deju Day" Sept. 23, 2022, in New Mexico. Joining in the celebration are, from left. Regent David Lepre Sr., Regent Yolanda King, New Mexico Tech President Stephen G. Wells, Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, and Regent Jerry A. Armijo.

The Hantush-Deju National Center for Hydrologic Innovation, which will be located within New Mexico Tech’s Research and Development Division, is named after Dr. Raul Deju, a business leader and author who is one of the earliest graduates of the New Mexico Tech hydrology program. Dr. Deju was a student of the program’s founder, the late, internationally renowned hydrologist Dr. Mahdi Hantush. 

Raul Deju
Dr. Raul Deju poses with the quilt his wife, Shari, made for the Deju University House Sept. 23, 2022. Each of the quilt squares represents a student, faculty, or staff member at New Mexico Tech.

“I am excited about bringing this new center, the Hantush-Deju National Hydrologic Innovation Center, to life and excited that New Mexico Tech will lead the next chapter in the development of water systems with the objective of creating a process for the optimal usage of our Earth’s water resources,” Dr. Deju said. “Truly, an enormous transformative step for the entire world.”

Jonnie Woody
New Mexico Tech student Jonnie Woody describes how the Bright Star Scholarship, funded by Dr. Raul and Shari Deju, is helping her learn instrumentation and water analysis. Woody, a member of the Navajo Nation, spoke at a brief ceremony at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Sept. 23, 2022. 

New Mexico Tech President Stephen G. Wells thanked Dr. Deju and his wife, Shari, for their generous support for the university house, the site of the two ceremonies, as well as for the vision and drive behind the hydrology innovation center.

Brandon Dennis
Brandon Dennis, a Socorro native and graduate student in computer science, details how the Bright Star Scholarship, funded by Dr. Raul and Shari Deju, has allowed him to now pursue a master's degree after graduating last spring. Dennis spoke at a brief ceremony at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Sept. 23, 2022. 

“The hydrology center will be a new organization at Tech charged with conducting research intended to develop innovative tools and answer fundamental questions pertaining to hydrology that are relevant not only to New Mexico, but throughout the world,” he said.

Dr. Braimah Apambire
Dr. Braimah Apambire, a senior director at the Desert Research Institute, tells the attendees at the Hantush-Deju National Hydrology Innovation Center kickoff Sept. 23, 2022, that the center can make many contributions to international water safety, improving health, sanitation, and hygiene in developing countries as well as in the United States.

Key speakers at the day’s ceremonies included New Mexico Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (NM-1), Dr. John Wilson, professor emeritus of hydrology at New Mexico Tech; Dr. Braimah Apambire, senior assistant to the president for global sustainability and director of the Center for International Water and Sustainability at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada; and Dr. Daniel Stephens, interim director of the Hantush-Deju National Center for Hydrologic Innovation.

Dr. Dan Stephens
Dr. Daniel Stephens, interim director of the Hantush-Deju National Hydrologic Innovation Center kickoff Sept. 23, 2022, says he sees the center growing in time to achieve innovation through collaboration. Dr. Stephens announced an advisory committee and said he expects a new director will be on board early in 2023. 

More information about the Deju University House is available online at: https://www.nmt.edu/leadership/dejuhouse.php

More information about the Hantush-Deju National Center for Hydrologic Innovation is available online at:
https://www.nmt.edu/research/deju/

Ethan Williams
Hydrology graduate student Ethan Williams displays his poster, "Quantifying groundwater to surface water exchanges in the Belen reach of the MRGCD" at the Deju University House Sept. 23, 2022.
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury
Hydrology graduate students watch U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, center, speak at the Hantush-Deju National Hydrology Innovation Center kickoff Sept. 23, 2022.