Each year, The University of New Mexico selects a handful of professors to be honored with the highest faculty title the University bestows — distinguished professor. The 2026 distinguished professors are Robert Berrens, Melanie Moses, Michelle Ozbun, Tassy Parker, Alan Tomkinson and Mark Unruh. A significant amount of his research is in the field of non-market valuation, and he was an early pioneer in applying non-market valuation techniques to estimate the values of environmental goods and services. To this day, economists cite the works of Berrens as being foundational for conducting non-market valuation research. Ozbun is internationally recognized as a molecular virologist and cancer biologist with a translational program that spans from basic science research to efforts aimed at HPV infection prevention and improving clinical outcomes.