Professors at Texas Tech have released a new book published by CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group that discusses cutting-edge research and countermeasures in the field of biological and chemical threats, ranging from molecular biology to materials science.

“New Developments in Biological and Chemical Terrorism Countermeasures” is a compilation of a decade’s research through Texas Tech University’s Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. National Program for Countermeasures to Biological and Chemical Threats

The Zumwalt program is an effort spanning multiple disciplines and institutions. Since its inception in 1998, the center has resulted in more than 90 scientific publications and three patents, including the decontamination wipe FiberTect invented by Ramkumar through the Nonwovens and Advanced Materials Laboratory. The original book, “Advances in Biological and Chemical Terrorism Countermeasures,” published in 2008, also was a result of research from the program.

The field has changed significantly since the first book was published eight years ago, and the editors of “New Developments in Biological and Chemical Terrorism Countermeasures” and supporters of the Zumwalt program agreed a new textbook was needed.

“A new textbook was generated because our science had continued to evolve and flourish,” Kendall said. “This was a new dimension, new knowledge, a new synthesis of information as the program continued to unfold.”

Pointing to events such as the 2013 chemical attack in Syria, Ramkumar said it is important to provide tools to not only detect potential vulnerabilities, but to be able to protect those who are exposed to chemical or biological terrorism.

“One has to not only document but provide a tool to the future generations, because this is a very sensitive and diverse field,” Ramkumar said. “We need to give as much information as we can as the science evolves.”

Kendall said he hopes the textbook is seen as a tool for anyone making decisions to address chemical and biological terrorism.

“It’s not just for college students,” Ramkumar said. “It’s a tool for people in the field, from first responders all the way to policy makers.”

On Sept. 20, 1988, the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Lauro F. Cavazos as the fourth secretary of education in President Ronald Reagan’s Administration. A sixth-generation Texan and Kineño - a descendant of Mexican citizens who accepted work on Texas’s King Ranch in the 19th century - Cavazos was the first Hispanic appointed to a cabinet-level position.

The story of Cavazos’s journey leading up to his cabinet appointment is a portrait of a life devoted to the principles of education. In 1954, Cavazos married Peggy Ann Murdock; the couple had 10 children, all of whom were educated in public schools.

To enhance their children’s education, the Cavazos family traveled extensively, living out the principle that a holistic education includes exposure to others’ worldviews. During his service as Secretary of Education, Cavazos insisted that all children in America be educated to their fullest potential. A key tenet of Cavazos’s service was an emphasis on educating minority students—a passion Cavazos formed early on in his career, first as a faculty member at the Medical College of Virginia, then as a professor and dean at the Tufts University School of Medicine, and later as President of Texas Tech University.

Texas Tech alumna Becky Lynn Smith will be the first to admit that hers has been a sometimes circuitous journey to finding her life’s work. And, she believes that what she has learned along the way can save others some time and energy as they attempt to find their version of a happy life and success for themselves.

Smith, author of “Designing Your Ideal Life,” says that the missing piece of the puzzle in most people’s lives is finding the one thing they were meant to do in this life.

In the book, Smith writes that as a society, we have our priorities backward. We get so wrapped up in the day-to-day turmoil that we forget our true purpose in life is to make a difference in the lives of others. It often takes a life-changing event for us to realize we need to do something different.

And making that kind of change will no doubt require us to stop the momentum, take stock of ourselves, and figure out the way forward. It will also require that we tune out all of the naysayers around us.

Born in tiny Monahans, Texas, in the Permian Basin, Smith prospered during tumultuous times. She graduated third in her high school class, and then at the age of 30, enrolled at Texas Tech University, completing a four year MIS degree in just under three years, graduating with a 4.0 GPA and at the very top of the College of Business Administration.

Michelle Pantoya, the J.W. Wright Regents chair and professor in mechanical engineering at the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering, co-wrote “Engineering in Space: Adventures of an Astronaut Engineer” with Emily Hunt, a Texas Tech alumna and associate professor of mechanical engineering at West Texas A&M University

“Engineering in Space: Adventures of an Astronaut Engineer” is an exciting look into space through the eyes of engineer Al Sacco Jr., dean of the Whitacre College of Engineering. From lift-off to touch-down, engineering principles are integrated with a first-hand account of the beauty of space. This fascinating story uses rhyming and rhythm to creatively engage the reader on a journey through space.

“Engineering in Space” discusses engineering principles and a first-hand account of the beauty of space as recounted by Sacco, who was an astronaut.

The book further supports her mission to educate children on what engineering is and what engineers do.

Pantoya and Hunt's previous children’s books include “Designing Dandelions,” published with Texas Tech University Press, “Pride by Design” and “Engineering Elephants.”

“With a little inspiration and education, the next generation entering college as an engineering major will have a solid understanding for what engineers do,” Pantoya said. “They will understand engineers design technology and have a very deep understanding that technologies are anything designed to solve a problem. That technology is not just something that’s electronic, but extends to everything made by humans that surround us.”

A new Special Publication of the Museum of Texas Tech University takes a look at the history of natural science and the complex mosaic it creates not only about the life and work of naturalists, but also quite specific and unique perspectives about their investigations, collections, and personalities.

“United States Biological Survey: A Compendium of its History, Personalities, Impacts, and Conflicts” is edited by David J. Schmidly, former president of Texas Tech University and research professor at the University of New Mexico; William E. Tydeman, archivist at the Texas Tech Southwest Collection; and Alfred L. Gardner, research wildlife biologist, USGS-Patuxent Wildlife Center at the National Museum of Natural History.

The publication allows the reader to see how some of the thoughts, attitudes, and practices of today differ from those of the past. Here history plays a key role in unlocking the complexities of how science changes. It can even enlighten us about ideas that began 100 years ago and that are still percolating in scientific debates.

A sophisticated understanding of the past is one of the most powerful tools available to for shaping the future. The history of any enterprise is important to instill a sense of identity and purpose and remind people of “who we are.”

The publication is comprehensive and utilizes previously untapped sources. An archival-based written record provides a scientific laboratory for historical investigation of both past and present events. The various papers represent these perspectives that relate to the field of natural history and the discipline of mammalogy. Twentieth-century mammalogy is inextricably linked to the history of the United States Biological Survey and its key personnel. The history represented here is based on a wide use of primary sources and brings a large variety of archival material to remind us of Marc Bloch’s notion that “history is the science of man in time.”

The six articles in the compendium describe various aspects of the history and the men who made it regarding the growth of natural history and mammalogy at the end of the 19h and beginning of the 20th century. It is told thru the lens of the United States Biological Survey, the precursor of what today is the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the first public institution in the country devoted to natural history.