Three outstanding faculty members from Texas Tech's Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources have been selected for induction into the university’s Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Fellows Program.

“The HSI Fellows Program is a great experience for our faculty and an important honor,” said Darren Hudson, Davis College Interim associate Dean for Research and the Larry Combest Endowed Chair for Agricultural Competitiveness.

“This program allows faculty from varied backgrounds to contribute to our mission as a Hispanic Service Institution and to mentor young graduate students and develop the next generation of scientists and leaders,” he said.

According to the HSI website, the HSI Fellows program is a one-year cohort-style commitment. Participants meet monthly for up to two hours per meeting with optional activities in between meetings. In addition, each fellow is matched with a graduate student to help mentor for the duration of their fellowship. HSI fellows from Davis College include:

• Nathan Gill is an assistant professor in the Department of Natural Resources Management. His research broadly focuses on what a future with more wildfire means for ecosystem functioning and land management, and the effects of invasive plant species on fire, and the effects of fire on invasive plants, as well as the interactions between fire and other ecological disturbances. His doctorate in geography is from Clark University-Worcester, Massachusetts.
• Conrad Lyford is a professor in the Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics. He focuses on developing solutions in the often-interrelated fields of agribusiness, health and development. Lyford has worked on several topics including behavioral economics, quality, health, development and marketing. He received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant in 2014. His doctorate in agricultural economics is from Michigan State University,
• Carlos Portillo-Quintero is an associate professor within the Department of Natural Resources Management. His research centers on state-of-the-art applications that aim to understand the hidden dynamics of socioeconomic change that drive tropical biodiversity loss. He was named a Kavli Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (2022). His doctorate in earth and atmospheric sciences is from the University of Alberta.

CONTACT: Darren Hudson, Interim Associate Dean for Research, Professor, Larry Combest Endowed Chair for Agricultural Competitiveness and Director of International Center for Agricultural Competitiveness, Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-0546 or darren.hudson@ttu.edu

1023NM23