Dr. David A. Waits

David A. Waits, Ph.D.

Raised on a farm and ranch, David A. Waits, Ph.D. developed a passion for agriculture at an early age. After a short stint in college, Dr. Waits returned to southwestern Kansas and was a farmer for ten years. He then attended Oklahoma State University where he earned both a B.S. in Economics in 1986, and an M.S. in Geography in 1988. Later, he attended Texas Tech University where he was awarded the Elo J. and Olga Urbanovsky Fellowship from 1988-1991; he earned his doctorate from TTU in Land Use Planning, Management and Design in 1991.

Following his academic career, Dr. Waits served as the Agriculture Program Manager at a NASA commercialization center where he began developing a precision agriculture data management system using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing technology. He later returned to OSU as a faculty member for five years where he instructed students in GIS and Remote Sensing.

In 1994, Dr. Waits founded Site-Specific Technology (SST) Software, an Oklahoma-based precision farming solutions company. His experience as a farmer coupled with his education paved the way for SST Software's creation and direction applying geo-techniques to agricultural operations helping to revolutionize the farming industry. In 2018 SST Software was sold to a public company – London-based Reed Business Information known globally for their data and analytics solutions including LexisNexis.

Here at Texas Tech alone, Dr. Waits' philanthropic activities have been numerous, including contributions to the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources. However, it is his expertise in precision agriculture that has earned him numerous awards and leadership roles by his peers.

Today, Dr. Waits resides in Stillwater OK where he served as President of the OSU Research Foundation from 2013 to 2018. He serves on several boards including the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in OKC, OSU's Cowboy Technologies, and the OSU Research Foundation.