The McDonald-Mehta Lecture Series is named after and funded with the endowment of Dr. Kishor C. Mehta and Dr. James R. McDonald, founding faculty members of the former Wind Science and Engineering Research Center (WiSE), now National Wind Institute (NWI), at Texas Tech. The lecture series invites nationally-known scientists and experts in wind-related industries to speak about ongoing research around the world.

Dr. McDonald is a former Professor and Chairman of the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas Tech. He specialized in research related to tornado hazards, windborne debris, and the design of buildings and structures to resist extreme windstorms. He has conducted more than 30 years worth of on-site damage documentation and more than a dozen on-site damage documentation studies with the late Dr. Ted Fujita.

Dr. Mehta is a P. W. Horn Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the former Director of WiSE. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineers, and currently serves as Director of Hazard Mitigation and Structural Engineering in the Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation at the National Science Foundation.

All McDonald-Mehta Lectures will take place on the TTU Lubbock campus in the Experimental Sciences building, Room 120. Start time is 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. with a reception to follow.

2017

November 1, 2017 - Dr. James Wilczak, Research Meteorologist, NOAA/Earth Systems Research Laboratory/Physical Science Division, presented on the topic of "Advances in Weather Forecasting for Wind Energy."

September 22, 2017 - Dr. Kevin M. Simmons, Corrigan Chair and Professor of Economics, Austin College at Sherman, Texas, presented on the topic of "Fatality and Damage Predictions from Potential Tornado Outbreaks."

 

2016

April 19, 2016 - Dr. Sanjay Arwade, University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Lecture title: "Extreme Events and the Reliability of Offshore Wind Energy Structures."

 

February 17, 2017 - Dr. Ellen Rathje , University of Texas. Lecture title: "DesignSafe Cyberinfrastructure: A Cloud-Based Environment for Research in Natural Hazards Engineering."

2016

March 09, 2016 - Dr. Andrew Whittaker , University at Buffalo.  Lecture title: " Seismic Isolation of Structures, Components, and Systems in Safety-Related Nuclear Facilities." (Note: This lecture was cancelled due to poor weather. It has been rescheduled for Fall 2016.)

(Above) - Dr. Whittaker from the University of Buffalo.

 

March 02, 2016 - Dr. Jonathon Naughton, University of Wyoming. Lecture title: " "Wind Plant Stimulation and Validation." 

 

(Above) Dr. Jonathan Naughton from the University of Wyoming.

February 12, 2016 - Dr. Joseph E. Minor , Horn Professor Emeritus and co-founder of NWI (formerly WiSE). Lecture title: " "Discoveries made while researching..."

(Above) Dr. Joseph E. Minor Horn Professor Emeritus and co-founder of NWI (formerly WISE).

2015

November 18, 2015 - Dr. John W. van de Lindt, George T. Abell Distinguished Professor in Infrastructure, Department of Civil Engineering, Colorado State University. Lecture title: "Wood Building Design for Performance and Resilience to Natural Hazards." **Rescheduled from Spring 2015.**

(Above) Dr. John van de Lindt from Colorado State University.

 

 

 

(Above) Dr. Daan Liang, Interim Director NWI standing with Dr. John van de Lindt and Dr. Kishor Mehta,

co-founder of the McDonald-Mehta Lecture Series.

 

November 11, 2015 - Dr. Julie K. Lundquist, Assistant Professor, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Fellow, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, University of Colorado-Boulder, Scientist, National Wind Technology Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Lecture title: Downwind Impacts of Wind Energy: Measurements and Simulations of Wakes.

 

(Above) Dr. Julie Lundquist from the University of Colorado-Boulder stands by Dr. Kishor Mehta, one of the co-founders of the McDonald-Mehta Lecture Series.

 

April 06, 2015 - Dr. John W. van de Lindt, George T. Abell Distinguished Professor in Infrastructure, Department of Civil Engineering, Colorado State University. Lecture title: "Wood Building Design for Performance and Resilience to Natural Hazards." ** POSTPONED.**

 

April 22, 2015 - Mr. Brian S. Smith, Director, Wind Technology Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Lecture title: "National Wind Technology Center: 35 Years of Innovation Leading the Way to a Clean Energy Future."

(Above) - Mr. Brian Smith from NREL.

2014 

October 29, 2014 - Dr. Jason Jonkman from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Lecture title: Design and Modeling Challenges for Floating Offshore Wind Turbines.

(Above) - Dr. Jason Jonkman (NREL), an invited speaker of part of the 2014 McDonald-Mehta Lecture Series, receives his plaque from NWI's Dr. Andy Swift.

(Above) - Dr. Jason Jonkman from NREL stands with (L-R) NWI's Dr. Andy Swift and Dr. Delong Zuo.

 

October 22, 2014 - Dr. Andrew Kennedy from the University of Notre Dame. Lecture title: Waves, Surge, and Building Damage during Tropical Cyclones

 

(Above) - Dr. Andrew Kennedy talks during his lecture as part of the 2014 McDonald-Mehta Lecture Series at TTU-NWI.

 

 

(Above) - Dr. Andrew Kennedy, Univ. of Notre Dame, receives his plaque from NWI's Interim Director Dr. Daan Liang.

 

April 30, 2014 – Dr. Forrest Masters, Associate Professor of Civil and Coastal Engineering, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment, University of Florida

 

(Above) (L-R) Dr. Jim McDonald with NWI, Dr. Forrest Masters from the University of Florida and Dr. John Schroeder with NWI.

 

(Above) Dr. Forrest Masters presents his lecture as part of the 2014 McDonald-Mehta Lecture Series.

 

March 12, 2014 – Nick Johansen, Systems Engineer, Commercial Operations Technical Division, Iberdrola Renewables, LLC.

(Above) Nick Johansen from Iberdrola Renewables receives his award plaque from

Dr. Ernst Kiesling, Research Professor with NWI.

 

(Above) Nick Johansen with Dr. Delong Zuo, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Faculty Affiliate of NWI.

 

MMLS Archive 2009-2013 (Under Construction)

For further information, please contact Dr. Delong Zuo who is the MMLS Coordinator at (806) 834-6535 or email: delong.zuo@ttu.edu .

McDonald-Mehta Lecture Series Spring 2017

McDonald-Mehta Lecture Series Fall 2016

McDonald-Mehta Lecture Series Spring 2016

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The National Wind Institute would like to announce the first speaker in the prestigious McDonald-Mehta Lecture Series for Fall 2018. Dr. Qingshan Yang , Professor and Dean of the School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University in Chongqing, China will be presenting "WIND LOAD STANDARD FOR ROOF STRUCTURES IN CHINA" February 19, 2018, 1:00 p.m., Experimental Sciences Building, Rm. 120