Two Texas Tech professors are part of an international team that received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study effective mitigation strategies for antimicrobial resistance in cattle.

As part of the research team, Maykh Dass, the J.B. Hoskins Associate Professor of Marketing, and Guy Loneragan, a professor of food safety and public health, will identify and develop methods for better stewardship of antibiotics in food production. The interdisciplinary effort will result in a practical, effective plan to encourage voluntary compliance to manage antimicrobial resistance.

Seven Texas Tech researchers are part of the collaborative effort that detected gravitational waves in February 2016.

One hundred years after Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected these ripples for the first time. These waves, which are produced when two black holes collide, provide exclusive information about the nature of gravity.

Professor Benjamin Owen’s work aided in the development of one of the two algorithms used to detect the waves, and professor Alessandra Corsi played a key role in the sky searches for the electromagnetic signatures left by gravitational waves. Postdoctoral researchers Santiago Caride, Robert Coyne, Ra Inta, and Nipuni Palliyagura and undergraduate researcher Chance Norris also contributed to the discovery.

Researchers Study Tornadoes in Southeastern U.S.

Three atmospheric science faculty members are participating in VORTEX-SE, a national effort to study the unique characteristics of tornadoes in the Southeastern U.S.

After an outbreak of tornadoes in 2011, Congress mandated an investigation of tornadoes in the region. In addition to providing expertise, the researchers will bring three observational platforms to the study to help identify and sample the environmental features that influence storm development. Texas Tech is internationally known for its study of tornadoes and research to minimize the damage from severe winds. This is the third VORTEX project in which researchers have taken par

Texas Tech became one of only 13 universities chosen to participate in the Bourlag Higher Education for Agricultural Research and Development program in 2014. In just one year, the Texas Tech program’s enrollment rose from two scholars to nine.

The program, which was developed at Michigan State University, allows doctoral candidates from developing nations to study in the United States for three years. After this period, students return to their home countries to complete their studies and use their expertise to address challenges such as food scarcity.

An interdisciplinary team of Texas Tech professors is the only American team to receive a grant to develop engineering graduate programs in Ethiopia.

The team, which includes faculty from the Whitacre College of Engineering, the College of Education, the College of Architecture, and the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, will receive a 1 million euro grant funded by the German Agency for International Cooperation. This grant will provide resources for 200 master’s students and 20 doctoral students.

Carsten Westergaard, a professor of practice in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is partnering with Pentalum Technologies to study wind turbine wake.

The partnership, which is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, will use light detection and ranging (LiDAR) to measure the wake produced by wind turbines. Because wake reduces a wind farm’s energy output, this research will lead to improved efficiency.

A team of Texas Tech researchers from the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and the Department of Biology is helping farmers utilize unused land to benefit bee populations.

The project, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, is a three-year effort to identify methods of improving land to promote the health of pollinators.

Texas Tech and two partner universities received a $1 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development to start an international network to develop open-source spatial data.

The program will provide student mappers and their faculty mentors with opportunities to work with communities to obtain and develop publicly available spatial data to solve development issues.

Texas Tech is one of only two universities to host an international expert as part of the Society of Global Toxicology Scholar’s 2016 Global Senior Exchange Program.

Weiman Gao, associate chairman of the Department of Environmental Toxicology, is hosting Oladipo Ademuyiwa of the Federal University of Agriculture in Nigeria. As part of the program, Gao will travel to Nigeria to better understand toxicology studies in the region.

Jennifer Vanos, an assistant professor of atmospheric science, and researchers at Arizona State University published a paper highlighting the high temperatures of playground equipment surfaces in hot climates.

The study, funded by the National Science Foundation and the Salt River Project, used remote sensing to provide a thermal infrared spectrum and in-situ readings from hand-held infrared thermometers to determine the temperatures of different playground materials in full-sun and in shade. The findings indicate shade structures may reduce equipment’s surface temperatures, thereby making playgrounds safer.

Texas Tech opened the Bayer Plant Science building in October 2015, providing faculty and students with a state-of–the-art research facility.

Donations, including a large gift from Bayer CropScience, funded the $14 .3 million renovation which includes 21,000 square feet of laboratory and office space. The new laboratories include high-tech tools that will help researchers address issues such as food and fiber production.

Bayer CropScience also has opened a new global cotton business operations center on the campus. The facility includes state-of-the-art laboratories, research facilities and a greenhouse.

Two Texas Tech researchers are joining professors from Colombian universities to study the effects of recurrent violence in Colombia on youth’s brain function and development.

The researchers will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the brains of children diagnosed with PTSD or depression. The results of the project, which is funded by the Administrative Department for Science, Technology, and Innovation of Colombia, includes the development of a therapeutic application to help the youth affected by violence.