May 16, 2013
Texas Tech University leads the nation in wind research. The department was born 43
years ago, after an F5 tornado killed 26 people and destroyed portions of downtown
Lubbock. Faculty representing the university’s civil engineering department and atmospheric
sciences group began to think what could be done to minimize the effects of severe
wind events such as tornadoes and hurricanes on lives and structures.
The National Wind Institute (NWI), as it is now known, combines the former Wind Science
and Engineering (WiSE) research center, which created the first doctorate in wind
science and engineering, with the Texas Wind Energy Institute (TWEI), creator of the
only Bachelor of Science degree in wind energy. NWI strengthens the university’s interdisciplinary
approach to all things wind.
Through WiSE, scientists and engineers have collected one of the country’s largest
repositories of wind data and helped develop the Enhanced Fujita Scale, implemented
in 2007 by the National Weather Service.
John Schroeder, professor of atmospheric sciences and director of NWI, brings extensive experience
in wind flow characterization and atmospheric measurements, including directing Texas
Tech’s hurricane research program and West Texas Mesonet. Schroeder can be reached
at (806) 834-5678 or john.schroeder@ttu.edu.
Christopher Weiss, associate professor of atmospheric science, has researched the genesis and low-level
wind structure of tornadoes for the past 13 years. He also maintains a research interest
in the processes responsible for the generation of the parent thunderstorms. He can
speak to the current scientific understanding regarding why tornadoes form and intensify,
as well as how the structure of the tornado relates to the observed damage seen at
the ground. He can be reached at (806) 834-4712 or chris.weiss@ttu.edu.
Daan Liang, assistant professor of construction engineering technology at Texas Tech, has studied
with various probability models how the construction of buildings affects their vulnerability
against severe windstorms. Recently, his research is focused on the advancement of
remote sensing technology in documenting and assessing wind damages to residential
structures. Liang can be reached at (806) 742-3538 or daan.liang@ttu.edu.
Ernst Kiesling, professor of civil engineering and executive director of the National Storm Shelter
Association, can speak on the construction and use of residential and community shelters.
Kiesling has more than 35 years of experience in the field documenting storm damage,
writing performance standards for safe rooms, and verifying compliance of safe rooms
with those standards. He can be reached at (806) 742-3476 or ernst.kiesling@ttu.edu.
Larry Tanner, research associate in civil engineering, has years of field experience studying
tornado damage and debris. Tanner’s research of approximately 400 manufactured homes
damaged by a 2005 tornado that killed 22 people in Evansville, Ind., prompted new
standards for mobile home installation in the region. Tanner can be reached at (806)
742-3476 ext. 336 or larry.tanner@ttu.edu.
Darryl James, professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and WISE associate, and his
team spent more than a year and a half building a tornado simulator at Reese Center.
The device, known as VorTECH, simulates tornadic winds in the mid-EF3 range or less,
in an effort to understand how tornadoes do their damage. James can be reached at
(806) 742-3563 or darryl.james@ttu.edu. And watch VorTECH at work at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_yLLAus75o.
Bradley Ewing, professor of operations management in the Rawls College of Business, has studied
the economic impact of hurricanes and tornadoes for more than 12 years. He can speak
to the impact of hurricanes and tornadoes in cities like Oklahoma City; Corpus Christi;
Wilmington, N.C.; Miami; and Nashville, Tenn. Ewing can be reached at (806) 834-3939
or bradley.ewing@ttu.edu.