A research administrator and professor with Texas Tech University's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources has been named a Research Faculty Fellow with the university's Office of the Vice President for Research. David Weindorf will move to his new post on Mar. 1.

"This is a significant career move for Dr. Weindorf, and we wish him the best in this new position," said CASNR Interim Dean Steven Fraze.

In his new role, Weindorf will be working on special projects to expand the research enterprise of Texas Tech. His work will focus on bringing together colleges across campus and linking them with funding agencies both domestically and internationally. He will spend a quarter of his time with the VPR's office and remainder with Tech's Department of Plant and Soil Science.

Weindorf currently serves as CASNR's Associate Dean for Research and Tech's B.L. Allen Endowed Chair of Pedology in the Department of Plant and Soil Science.

Recent honors for Weindorf include being named a 2017 Fulbright Specialist by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. He spent approximately two weeks in January at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in West Bengal, India, where he shared his soil science expertise and conducted collaborative research and provided training to IIT [Indian Institute of Technology] scientists on advanced soil spectroscopy analysis.

In October, he was recognized as a fellow by the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) at a ceremony in Tampa. It is the highest honor the SSSA bestows. He also received the SSSA's Presidential Award for influencing soil science so greatly that the impact of his efforts will be enduring on the future of soil science. As a member of the SSSA, Weindorf has served as the 2016 Pedology section chair and as a past editor of Soil Horizons.

Weindorf, who earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Texas Tech, is an expert on the use of proximal sensors for pedological and environmental quality assessment, working overseas and particularly in Eastern Europe. His research focuses on the development and application of new technologies in field soil survey, land use management and planning, remote sensing, environmental quality assessment, compost science and international translational soil taxonomy.

A previous Fulbright Scholar, he has authored 132 peer-reviewed publications and most recently served as the executive producer of the nationally-acclaimed documentary film, Between Earth and Sky – Climate Change on the Last Frontier, which explores global climate change through soil science, using footage of the Alaskan wilderness and coastline to illustrate the growing effects of climate change on the arctic soils and ecosystems of Alaska.

CONTACT: Steven Fraze, Interim Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or steven.fraze@ttu.edu

0213NM18