Students compete once a year at the National Student Quiz Bowl Competition answering questions on topics such as crop science, entomology, plant pathology, soils and weed science.

Texas Tech University’s Agronomy Club held the top spot again at the Students of Agronomy, Soils and Environmental Sciences (SASES) National Meeting, held Nov. 1-5 in Pittsburgh.

For the third year in a row, the Red Raiders walked away as national Quiz Bowl champions.

The competition hosted more than 20 teams from across the nation, including Kansas State University, Iowa State University, University of Illinois, and Purdue University, officials said. Participants competed in oral and poster presentation events, as well as the Quiz Bowl.

Team members include:

• Justin Cave, a junior from Ackerly
• Ward McCown, a senior from Wolfforth
• Heath Reeves, a senior from Hale Center
• Galen Roberts, a senior from Brownfield

The Agronomy Club team is coached by Craig Bednarz, a professor of crop physiology in the plant and soil science department with joint appointment with Texas AgriLife Research. The annual competition, which began in the 1960s, is held in conjunction with the American Society of Agronomy International Annual Meeting.

SASES, an undergraduate student organization of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America, is composed of chapters located at colleges and universities that provide a curriculum in agronomy, crops, soils and environmental sciences.

A variety of programs and activities are offered on the local and national level for students to become professionally involved and to prepare for their future careers, officials said.

The Texas Tech University community is saddened by the terrible tragedy at Fort Hood today.

Our sympathy goes out to the loved ones, friends and colleagues of those killed and injured in today’s violence.

During these times of digital imagery, it is increasingly difficult to find printed work created by hand. However, there is a small group of dedicated craftsmen who refuse to let the age-old art of letterpress printing die.

The Landmark Gallery at the Texas Tech University School of Art will hold an exhibit reception for Contents Under Pressure: The Contemporary Letterpress Poster.

The reception runs from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday (Nov. 6). It is free and open to the public. This new exhibit features poster designs from some of the top letterpress artists from around the nation, and will remain on view until Dec. 19.

During these times of digital imagery, it is increasingly difficult to find printed work created by hand. However, there is a small group of dedicated craftsmen who refuse to let the age-old art of letterpress printing die. Contents Under Pressure focuses on these craftsmen as well as artists creating large- format posters using simple, bold images and unique, expressive typography to communicate contemporary messages.

The exhibit is curated by Dirk Fowler, associate professor of communication design, and includes works by Jules Remedios Faye of Stern & Faye Printers (Sedro-Wooley, Wash.); Bennett Holzworth (Lincoln, Neb.), Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. (Gordo, Ala.); Casey McGarr of Inky Lips Press (McKinney); and Brady Vest of HammerPress (Kansas City, Mo.).

The programs at Landmark Arts and the School of Art are made possible in part by grants from the Helen Jones Foundation and The CH Foundation. Additional support comes from the College of Visual & Performing Arts.

The Art Building is located at 2802 18th Street (near the corner of 18th Street and Flint Avenue, just east of the Architecture Building on the Texas Tech campus). Visitor parking is available in the small lot adjacent to the Art Building.

Parking also is available on the fourth floor of the Flint Avenue Parking Garage for $1.20 per hour. Parking is free on weekends. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. The galleries are closed on all university holidays.

Prosthetic vision is a medical breakthrough that opens up new possibilities for sight, providing independence to people with certain types of retinal disorders.

The College of Education will host a senior principal scientist from Second Sight Media Products as part of the Sowell Center Distinguished Lecture Series. Matt McMahon will speak about prosthetic vision 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Nov. 7.

Prosthetic vision is a medical breakthrough that opens up new possibilities for sight, providing independence to people with certain types of retinal disorders.

Matt McMahon is senior principal scientist at Second Sight Medical Products, a company founded in 1998 to create a retinal prosthesis providing sight to patients blinded from outer retinal degenerations, such as Retinitis Pigmentosa and Macular Degeneration. His background in vision science has included research in visual psychophysics, retinal imaging and retinal physiology.

Prosthetic vision is making an impact on the fields of medicine, neurology, rehabilitation, and education. Medical professionals, students, educators and leaders in adult rehabilitation are welcome to come and learn about a prosthesis.

The lecture series allows professionals working with the visually impaired, hearing impaired or deafblind to continue education in the field and stay current with emerging research, technology and teaching trends.

The lecture is hosted by the Virginia Murray Sowell Center for Research and Education in Visual Impairment.

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When the doors opened at Texas Tech University in 1925, only a few buildings stood on the vast amount of barren land. There were no paved roads, sidewalks, bike paths or beautifully manicured landscapes. Students walked to class along trampled cow paths, trying to avoid the occasional goat head. As for me, a playing field for the newly established Matador football team, I was merely an uncultivated field with undiscovered potential.

As I lay dormant that first year, the football team held its first game against McMurry College of Abilene, October 1925 at a make-shift field at the Lubbock Fair Grounds. Almost 5,000 people turned out to watch the exciting event. But even that field was not in pristine shape. Before the game a group of students used brooms to sweep away most of the stickers from the field so as not to injure the players.

A year later in 1926, I was still only a small area of land on the north end of campus next to College Avenue (now University Avenue). But my fate was soon determined. My soil was turned and a small wooden structure known as the Tech Stadium was built, establishing a lasting foundation for the future home of Red Raider Football.

Through the years, my façade would undergo many major reconstructions to accommodate the growing number of Red Raider fans, but my foundation has remained sound.

In 1936, Lubbock businesses helped to expand seating to 12,000 by enlarging the stadium to a horseshoe shape. It was dedicated on Sept. 26 during the Texas Tech-Texas Christian University game. This was also the first appearance of the Saddle Tramps, founded by Arch Lamb, and fans also saw the first version of the Masked Rider streak onto the field in a blaze of glory.

The class of 1938 donated the first neon Double T sign which was affixed to the east side of Jones Stadium. It was the largest neon sign in existence at the time.

The 1943 graduating class graciously donated an electric scoreboard to help light the way for future Red Raider wins.

In 1945, resigning President Clifford B. Jones established a living trust of $100,000 to go toward the building of a new stadium, just northwest of the old field. The Board of Directors of the college voted to name the new facility in honor of the former president and his wife Audrey.

Concrete, iron and steel replaced the wooden benches. The stadium cost $400,000 to build and seated 18,000. Administrators dedicated the stadium on Nov. 29, 1947 at the season-ender game between Texas Tech and Hardin Simmons in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 20,000.

Expansion projects continued during the next 10 years, adding another 7,000 seats.

The Southwest Conference (SWC) admitted Texas Tech as a member in 1956. The requirements for the prestigious honor included an even larger playing field. Texas Tech had until 1960 to expand the stadium’s seating minimum to 40,000.

The $2 million stadium construction and excavation began in 1959 with the addition of a press box and office-dressing room building. The second phase of construction proved to be an engineering feat of the times. The stadium stands were originally built in seven sections which contractors hoisted onto steel rollers and moved along railroad tracks more than 200 feet. The field was then excavated 28 feet. Workers installed 22 rows of seats, creating a bowl shape and increasing capacity to 41,500.

The newly renovated Jones Stadium was finished by the start of the 1960 season and officially dedicated during Texas Tech’s first SWC game against Baylor on Oct. 15.

Over the next 20 years Jones Stadium increased seating to 47,000, and in September of 1970, saw the original grass field replaced with artificial turf.

When Texas Tech moved to the Big 12 Conference in 1996, the stadium received yet another upgrade to increase seating. In 1999, Phase I of the west side renovations began.

In 2000, Jones Stadium was branded with a new name, Jones SBC Stadium, in recognition of a $30 million gift from SBC Communications. The dedication was made at Texas Tech’s first home game on Aug. 26, against New Mexico.

Phase II of the total $84.9 million renovation to the west side was revealed in 2003. Texas Tech fans toured the state-of-the-art, Spanish Renaissance structure at the grand opening held during the Oct. 4 game against Texas A&M. The four-story building which rose above the existing arena included 54 luxury suites, a club level and press box. It added 10,000 seats to the stadium bringing the capacity to 55,000.

2006 proved to be a busy year for the stadium. The old Astroturf was replaced with new FieldTurf made to look like natural grass. The stadium also was given a new name after a merger between SBC and AT&T Communications. Jones AT&T Stadium became the first collegiate athletic facility to don the AT&T brand.

In a Daily Toreador article from that year, Texas Tech Athletic Director Gerald Myers said the new name adds to the prestige of the university, raising the stadium to a different level.

“It’s just an exciting time,” said Myers. “Our mission is to continue to build this stadium, increasing the seating capacity here, to build out the east side so it will be comparable to the west side, and to make this one of the outstanding stadiums.”

Even today, I continue to undergo change for the betterment of the Texas Tech community. In August of 2008, the Texas Tech Board of Regents approved a $25 million expansion of the east side. Construction began after the last game of the football season. The renovations, which mirror the Spanish Renaissance architecture of the west side, will add more than 500 club seats, 20 new suites and new office space.

“The growth of Texas Tech in the last eight years has been astounding,” said Mike Leach, Red Raider head coach. “I don’t know of any school that has had the opportunity to expand its stadium three times in that period. A lot of credit has to go to the football players and coaches and athletics and to the university administration for our progress.”

The 2008 football season was one for the record books for Texas Tech.

The highly publicized matchup between the Red Raiders and the Texas Longhorns boasted a record attendance of 56,333 during the November 1 game. The 39–33 victory marked the 500th win for the Red Raider football program and the first win over a number one-ranked team. The win pushed the Red Raiders into the number two spot in the BCS rankings.

For the first time in 20 years, the gridiron was used for something other than football, when Jones AT&T Stadium hosted “The Bob Dylan Show” on Aug. 8, 2009. Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson were the featured performers. Ironically, it was Nelson who last headlined a concert in the stadium in 1987.

2009 also marked 85 years of Red Raider football. The season opener was held on Sept. 5 against North Dakota. The Red Raiders trampled the Fighting Sioux 38-13.

On Oct. 24, new stadium seating debuted at the Texas Tech vs. Texas A&M game. The $6 million addition to the upper-level northeast and northwest corners added more than 6,000 in new seating, putting the total around 59,000. The development made Jones AT&T Stadium the seventh largest stadium in the Big 12 Conference.

“Jones AT&T stadium is a tough place to play,” said Chris Cook, assistant athletic director of media relations. “With the new seating, we’ve just added 6,000 more opportunities to make this an even harder place to play.”

The entire construction project is scheduled to be finished by the 2010 season.

“The completion of the east side will make Jones AT&T Stadium one of the most attractive football facilities in the country,” Myers said. “It will be a source of pride for students, alumni and fans.”

Many legendary greats have graced my turf from E.J. Holub, Donny Anderson and Gabe Rivera to Wes Welker and Zach Thomas, to Michael Crabtree and Graham Harrell. I take pride at each home game as the hooves of the Masked Rider gallop down the field and the Goin’ Band from Raiderland marches out playing to the crowd. I represent spirit, pride and tradition. I am Jones Stadium. I am Texas Tech.

Historical information from the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Lubbock Avalanche Journal, Daily Toreador and “The First Thirty Years-A History of Texas Technological College” by Ruth Horn Andrews. Images courtesy Artie Limmer and the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library.

Texas Tech posted a 108-point victory over its nearest competitor, Oklahoma State University. South Dakota State University, Kansas State University and Texas A&M University rounded out the top five teams at the competition.

The Red Raiders placed first in the beef judging, lamb judging, overall beef, total placing and total reasons divisions.

“The team won its fifth contest in a dominating fashion,” said Mark Miller, professor and San Antonio Livestock Show Distinguished Chair in Meat Science. “I am proud of the excellence and focus the team members are displaying at each contest.”

Individually, Matt Bruton, a junior from Throckmorton, won the contest by 19 points. Team members Meagan Igo, a junior from Plainview, and Collin Corbin, a junior from Webster, finished third and fourth overall. The team also boasted eight of the top 10 individuals in the alternate division.

The team will compete in one more contest before the international competition Nov. 15 in Dakota City, Nebraska.

In addition to Bruton, Igo and Corbin, team members include:

• Sarah Calhoun, a junior from Weatherford
• Adam Copeland, a junior from Katy
• Tate Corliss, a senior from Estancia, N.M.
• Kelsey Fletcher, a junior from Universal City
• Josh Hasty, a senior from Cleburne
• Kelly Hutton, a junior from Castle Rock, Colo.
• Amber Krause, a junior from Florence
• Abby Long, a junior from Boerne
• Josh McCann, a junior from Newport, Va.
• Brandon O’Quinn, a junior from League City
• Henry Ruiz, a senior from Eagle Pass

The team is coached by Miller and Travis O’Quinn, a meat science graduate student.

The win at the American Royal follows a 150-point victory at the Eastern National Meat Judging Contest in Pennsylvania and victories at the National Western Stock Show, the Southwestern Livestock Exposition and the Houston Livestock Show last spring. The team will compete in one more contest before the international competition Nov. 15 in Dakota City, Nebraska.

Brian Horton, a senior political science, French and geography major; and Adam Testerman, a junior mass communications major, have won 36 debates and lost only four.

Following a tournament held last weekend at Colorado College, a pair from the Texas Tech University debate team holds the best record in the nation.

After winning the Springs Swing in Colorado Springs, Colo., Brian Horton, a senior political science, French and geography major from San Angelo, and Adam Testerman, a junior mass communications major from Springfield, Mo., have won 36 debates and lost only four.

The Springs Swing consists of two debate tournaments in a three-day span. Horton and Testerman were favorites to win both tournaments, but illness prevented them from completing the first tournament despite winning their first three debates.

At the second tournament, however, they returned to the field and won 10 consecutive debates to claim the victory, defeating teams from Lewis & Clark College, the University of Wyoming and the U.S. Air Force Academy before winning the final debate round against a team from William Jewell College.

“We’re continuing a very strong season of debate at Texas Tech,” said Joe Gantt, debate team coach and director of forensics. “I was proud of Brian and Adam for battling through the disappointment of illness in the first tournament to win the second tournament in such a dominating fashion.

Testerman was named the top individual speaker at the tournament, while Horton was right behind as the second place speaker.

Other Texas Tech varsity teams added strong performances for the entire program. Senior political science major Nicole Brown of San Angelo and senior mass communications major Paul Williamson of Crosby finished in the top 10 teams at the first tournament and in the top five teams at the second tournament.

Sophomore communication studies major Lauran Schaefer of Sonora and sophomore political science major Cameron Harris of Houston finished among the top ten teams at the first tournament.

Texas Tech also excelled at the junior varsity level of competition.

In the first tournament, the team sophomore English major Alexandria Newsom of Forsan and freshman communication studies major J.T. Seymore of Holliday “closed-out” the tournament with the Texas Tech team of freshman mechanical engineering major Matt Pippen of Monahans and sophomore political science major Sean Riegert of Houston.

A “close-out” occurs when the two finalist teams are from the same school; thus, the two Texas Tech teams tied for first place.

These teams were advanced to the varsity division for the second tournament, opening the door for the junior varsity team of junior political science major Jacob Jones of Hamilton and junior political science major Libbie Richards of Midland to win second place at the second tournament. It was Jones and Richards’ first weekend competing in collegiate debate.

“Nicole, Paul, Lauran and Cameron continue to make strides to establish themselves as top pairs, and all of our junior varsity debaters keep showing us at every tournament that it will not be long until they are winning at the varsity level,” Gantt said. “It is an exciting time to be part of Texas Tech debate.”

As a whole, Texas Tech was named the top debate squad at both of the tournaments.

Texas Tech competes in parliamentary debate, a format of debate which changes topics in every debate round. During the weekend, Texas Tech debaters addressed issues such as Internet regulation, immigration reform, U.S. policy in Africa, and protection of the Arctic Circle.

Texas Tech debate is housed in the Department of Communication Studies. The team next travels this weekend to a tournament held at the University of California at Berkeley. For more information on Texas Tech debate, please contact Director of Forensics Joe Gantt at (806) 742-1328.

(Left) Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) "Girl with Pearl Earring." (Right) Ellen Catherwood, "Girl with Piercings" 2006. Photos courtesy of International Guild of Realism.

The Museum of Texas Tech University is pleased to present “The New Reality: The Frontier of Realism in the 21st Century.” The exhibit opens Nov. 8, and continues through Jan. 3, 2010.

The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, is the first traveling museum show of this century to not only look at the state of realism painting around the world, but to also compare such artworks with their historical predecessors.

56 artists are represented with 25 paintings from the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Korea, Russia, France, Iceland, Romania, Norway and Finland in this juried show organized by the International Guild of Realism. The exhibition looks at such painting media as oil, acrylic, egg tempera, graphite and colored pencil to give viewers a snapshot of how realism artists are approaching their art form today.

Each artist was asked to identify one historical painting that can be used by museum visitors to compare and contrast today’s work with the pioneers of this art technique. The artists cited such predecessors as Ingres, DaVinci, Dürer, Vermeer, Harnett, Constable, Memling and Dali as starting points for their current work as they explored still life, landscape, figurative and even trompe l’oeil art forms. In some cases, the contrast between the old and the new is startling; in other cases, one can almost see the apprentice soaking up the Old Master’s techniques for modern visuals.

The showing is part of a national tour developed and managed by Smith Kramer Fine Art Services, an exhibition tour development company in Kansas City, MO.

Featured Expert

Katharine Hayhoe contributed to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which earned the Nobel Prize.

She is a research associate professor in the Department of Geosciences in the College of Arts and Sciences.

View her profile in our online Experts Guide.

Featured Expert

Andrew Farley is an associate professor of applied linguistics in the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures in the College of Arts and Sciences.

View his profile in our online Experts Guide.

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Husband-and-wife team Katharine Hayhoe and Andrew Farley separate climate change fact from fiction in their new book.

Two Texas Tech University researchers are tackling the global warming debate from a Christian perspective with a new book, “A Climate For Change: Global Warming Facts For Faith-Based Decisions.”

The book is written by husband-and-wife team Katharine Hayhoe, a research associate professor in the Department of Geosciences, and Andrew Farley, an associate professor of applied linguistics. It was published Oct. 29 by Hachette Book Group.

Hayhoe is a climate researcher who contributed to the Nobel-winning United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the recent study conducted by the White House. She said the idea for the book developed from questions the couple received from people trying to separate climate change fact from fiction.

“This book came from conversations with friends who wanted to know the truth about climate change from a fellow Christian – someone they could trust,” she said. “We realized we had an incredible opportunity to speak out on one of the most pressing issues facing our generation. Most Christians are not scientists, and it’s hard to say how many scientists are Christians. In our family, we have both.”

Understanding Scientific Evidence

The authors address common misconceptions about climate change, including global cooling theories and whether current warming trends are part of a natural cycle.

Hayhoe said many people have a tough time deciding if global warming is happening because the media is cluttered with competing and diametrically opposed viewpoints.

“The most important questions to start with are ‘is climate changing,’ and ‘are humans responsible,’ ” she said. “We have good answers to those questions: Yes and yes. We have overwhelming evidence that shows it’s already happening. It’s affecting our lives already whether we realize it or not. It’s not about blue or red or any kind of politics. It’s about thermometer readings and history. It’s about facts, figures and reality.”

“A Climate For Change: Global Warming Facts For Faith-Based Decisions,” was released Oct. 29 by Hachette Book Group.

Christianity and the Climate

Farley, who recently authored the new book, “The Naked Gospel: The Truth You May Never Hear in Church,” serves as a nondenominational pastor at a church in Lubbock, Texas, where he said many don’t believe in global warming.

“Together, we have talked to people who are asking whether or not climate change is real,” he said. “They want to know if it’s a genuine crisis that requires our attention or if the whole thing is just a lot of smoke and mirrors. They also want to know what the Bible says, if anything, about a Christian response.”

He said that as Christians and good neighbors, the faith community should give the topic of climate change fair consideration. Given the effects the documented rise in global temperatures is already having on our world, it is important to take action now before it is too late to prevent more severe impacts.

“Love God, love your neighbors and remember the poor,” Farley said. “This was the unwavering mandate of the early church more than 2,000 years ago. And this is our solidly biblical motivation for caring about climate change today and how it already affects real people. Today it’s our global neighbors, even though they may be strangers to us, who are feeling the greatest effects of climate change and who will continue to feel those changes in the future. The poor and disadvantaged are the most vulnerable because they don’t have the resources – luxuries like heating and air conditioning – that will help us to adapt.”

Today’s Changes, Tomorrow’s Rewards

Making small changes now can lessen the impact on future climate change, Hayhoe said.

“In terms of the future, there is an enormous difference between the amount of change and the impacts that we expect if we continue to depend on our current sources of energy as we have in the past, as compared to what our future holds if we transition to new clean home-grown sources of energy such as wind turbines that cover the High Plains of Texas.”

The book offers common sense ways each person can lower his or her carbon footprint including:

• Change manual thermostats for new programmable units. This conserves energy, and can save almost $200 a year on electric bills.
• Replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs. If every U.S. household replaced just one traditional bulb with a fluorescent bulb, the energy saved would be equivalent to taking nearly 1 million cars off the road.
• Turn off computers and televisions at night. If every home and business would set computers to automatically turn off, it would save $4 billion worth of energy each year – enough to power all of Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The study will include research on golden algae, a harmful invasive species that have caused major fish kills in five of the state’s major river systems.

Researchers at Texas Tech University are working to discover the secrets of one of the state’s most perplexing water problems: the influence of climate change on Texas surface waters.

A new three-year project, funded by $634,000 from the U.S. Geological Survey, will bring together a team of experts to learn how to model, study and predict the influence of the changes.

Officials indicated that $148,000 of the grant will go directly to the Texas Water Science Center field station at Texas Tech. The entire project is one of only 18 selected for Geological Survey funding from nearly 200 proposals this year.

“This is a first for a project of this nature to be conducted in Texas, and I’m excited about potential benefits this project may offer to conservation and management of aquatic natural resources in the state,” said Reynaldo Patino, a professor with Texas Tech’s Department of Natural Resources Management with a joint appointment at the Geological Survey.

Patino and fellow scientists, Katharine Hayhoe from the university’s geosciences department, Chris Taylor from Texas Tech’s natural resources management department, and William Asquith from the Geological Survey’s Texas Water Science Center, have identified four specific objectives.

They include:

• Assemble an electronic database of observed historical water temperatures and other relevant water quality information for a number of the state’s reservoirs with significant fisheries resource status.
• Combine historical data with projected changes in air temperatures as reflected in leading extant climate simulation models.
• Assess impact of predicted changes in water temperature on the physical and chemical environments of the state’s aquatic biotic resources.
• And, ultimately, conduct a retrospective analysis of relationships that may exist between historical changes in water quality, and the spread of golden algae throughout the region.

Golden algae are a harmful invasive species that have recently caused considerable damage to the state’s aquatic resources, as well as those of a number of other states in the region. First appearing in Texas in 1985 in the Pecos River, golden algae (or Prymnesium parvum) have since surfaced in many river systems throughout Texas.

Although it can exist in waters without being harmful, the algae have caused major fish kills in five of the state’s major river systems. When this algae has explosive increases in its population, called blooms, it secretes toxic chemicals into the water. These toxins kill fish and other gill-breathing animals.

Photographs by Norman Martin.