The New Mexico Senate confirmed two new members of the New Mexico Tech Board of Regents Friday.

Adrian Salustri will serve a two-year term as a student regent and Srinivas Mukkamala, Ph.D., will serve a six-year term on the board. Both regents will join the Board at its next meeting, April 28 at the Raul and Shari Deju University House.

Student Regent Adrian Salustri

“On behalf of faculty, staff, and students at NMT, we give our warmest congratulations to Dr. Mukkamala and Mr. Salustri on their appointment to the NMT Board of Regents,” said President Stephen G. Wells. “We are honored to have one of our distinguished alumni serve as a regent for our university. Dr. Mukkamala symbolizes the resilience, intellect, and innovation that exemplifies New Mexico Tech graduates. I look forward to working with him moving NMT forward over the next several years.

“Through our new Regent Adrian Salustri’s contributions and leadership, I look forward to gaining critical insights into the evolving needs, challenges and aspirations of New Mexico Tech students,” President Wells said. “Adrian’s passion to improve the quality of student life on our campus is inspirational, and I look forward to collaboration with him on behalf of all of our university’s students.”

Student Regent Salustri, a junior originally from Willimantic, Connecticut, is pursuing an electrical engineering degree and plans to attend graduate school at NMT. Salustri studied material science and engineering at the University of Connecticut from 2017 to 2018 and mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington in spring semester 2020 before transferring to NMT in spring 2021.

In addition to his studies, Salustri works as an undergraduate researcher in the NMT Visual Light Communications Lab under Assistant Professor Sihua Shao for a project designing a communications system for search and rescue applications.

Salustri said he’s looking forward to elevating students’ concerns in his new role.

Regent Srinivas Mukkamala

“I want to be a regent because there are many problems students face, like lack of mental health care, excessive student debt, and degrading quality of instruction that are not salient to high-level decision-makers,” he said. “Students need a dedicated representative to keep these items on the agenda and facilitate creative solutions.”

Regent Mukkamala is the chief product officer for Ivanti Inc., a South Jordan, Utah-based software company. He is responsible for product management and engineering for all Ivanti products. Mukkamala is a cyber security expert and technology leader who holds a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in computer science from NMT, where he founded RiskSense, a risk-based vulnerability management company acquired by Ivanti in August 2021. He lives in Albuquerque.

Mukkamala said he is grateful for the opportunity to serve his alma mater.

“Along with the cultural diversity, I plan to share my learnings as a student, faculty, researcher, inventor, creator, and entrepreneur to the broader NMT ecosystem,” he said. “This is a great opportunity for me to serve on a board that touches and makes a difference in a student’s life.”

Regent Jerry Armijo was pleased to welcome the two new regents to the Board.

“Regent Mukkamala possesses strong ties to New Mexico Tech and brings to the board a broad array of skills and talents, none more important than his unwavering loyalty and commitment to the future well being of our university. Student Regent Salustri will undoubtedly during his tenure serve as a strong advocate for all Tech students and we look forward to his valuable insight and guidance as we strive to enhance the student experience.”

New Mexico Tech report