The official biography below was current at the time of the award. Awardees may choose to provide their latest biographical information on their profile page.

During his 30 years at New Mexico State University, Dr. Kuehn mentored 49 undergraduate minority students. Eleven of Dr. Kuehn's mentees earned master's degrees in science, eight earned doctoral degrees, nineteen earned medical doctor degrees, and eleven entered the technical workforce. One of Dr. Kuehn's mentees became the first Native American woman to receive a doctorate in chemistry in the United States. In 1992, Dr. Kuehn established a bridge program to facilitate the transfer of Native American students from five New Mexico community colleges to four-year academic programs. Since the inception of this bridge program, 64 percent (72) of the American Indian participants successfully transferred into baccalaureate degree programs in science. Graduates of the bridge program include two American Indian Ph.D. recipients, seven master's degree recipients, and 23 baccalaureate degree recipients.