At A Glance

Thank you and Farewell

2023 - 2024 McNair Scholars

Conferences, Conventions, and More!

Summer Workshops and Research

Drink Your Water!

Ice, Ice... Germany!

Buff Branding Schedule

Dates To Remember

8/14: New Student Orientation

8/18: Buff Branding

8/21: First Class Day

The faculty and staff members below have bid farewell

to West Texas A&M University.


We are appreciative of their contributions

and wish them well at their next adventure.

2023-24 McNair Scholars

Congratulations to the 2023-2024

McNair Scholars from the

Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences!


The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate

Achievement Program (the McNair Scholars Program)

was created in 1999, and is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

This program is designed to prepare undergraduate students for doctoral studies,

through the involvement of research and other scholarly activities.

View The Article Here
Learn More About the McNair Scholar Program

Conferences, Conventions and More!

Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Conference


Megan Eckhardt, M.S. Animal Science,

and Analise Porras, Jr. Animal Science,

travelled to Chicago, IL

to attend and represent WT at the

Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) First Conference.

While at the conference,

Megan and Analise attended food industry sessions

and crossed paths with many WT Alum

on the Expo floor. Lastly, as the Student Representative of the Muscle Foods Division, Megan assisted with division updates

and hosted the Muscle Foods Trivia,

where Analise placed third!

67th Annual

Southwest Meat Association Convention


Dr. Loni Lucherk, Dr. Gordon W. Davis Chair in

Meat Judging and Assistant Professor of Animal Science and Meats Team Coach,

and 12 students attended the

67th annual Southwest Meat Association (SMA) Convention. This year SMA had a record number

of scholarship applicants

and WT had a record number of recipients! 

Every single WT student honored took time from work and internships to attend the convention

and banquet to be recognized. 


Will Boyd, M.S. Animal Science,

worked hard throughout the week

and served as the WT-SMA

Convention Intern. 

Additionally, Dr. Lucherk spoke and provided

a WTAMU update to all of SMA.

She shared about current events, research, competitive teams, and much more!

Scholarship Recipients

Cole Petit, Sr. Animal Science

Daniel Raab, So. Animal Science

Ryan Heitschmidt, Jr. Animal Science

Bryce Hutson, Jr. Agricultural

Media and Communication

Jacob McMillan, Sr. Animal Science

Analise Porras, Jr. Animal Science

Shannon Anderson, Sr. Agricultural Education

Mikayla Hudnall, Jr. Animal Science

Ambri Harrigal, M.S. Animal Science

Megan Eckhardt, M.S. Animal Science

Summer Workshops and Research

Dr. Nabarun Ghosh, Professor of Biology,

presented research and conducted workshops at several places this summer!

Drink Your Water!

Dr. Erik Crosman, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science, was featured on MyHighPlains.com talking about the extreme heats that have been occurring in the Texas Panhandle/Amarillo area recently.

Dr. Crosman has been conducting research the last three years about the extreme heats that can be found in the Palo Duro Canyon State Park. He shared that many individuals are unaware

that down in the canyon can be about 10-15 degrees hotter than Amarillo.


With little to no shade in the canyon and temperatures of 115 degrees, heat illness risks rise.

Dr. Crosman does not recommend for people to go hiking once the temperature is over 95 degrees.

If you are still going hiking during the heat wave, Dr. Crosman recommends bringing "tons of water"

to help keep your hydrated!


The first year this research was conducted,

several undergraduate students were involved in the data collection process.

Earlier this year, Dr. Crosman had an article published

in the flagship journal of the American Meteorological Society over this study.


Students Involved

Adriana Rademacher, M.S.

Environmental Science

Andrew Alarcon, B.S. Mechanical Engineering '22

Brittany Rooney, Sr. Environmental Science

Cecilia Rizcallah, B.S. Environmental Science '21

Cristian Campos, Sr. Environmental Science

Daniel Crawford, B.S. Environmental Science/Geology '23

Glen Schneider, B.S. Biology '22

Jed McInroe, M.S. Environmental Science '22

Mari Ferrel, B.S. Environmental Science '22

Monica Ghosh, B.S. Biology, '21

Stephanie Simonsen, M.S.

Environmental Science

Suzan Chassande-Baroz, B.S.

Environmental Science

Tiffany Rooney, B.S. Environmental Science '22

Learn More Here
View the Article Here

Ice, Ice.... Germany!

Seventeen internationally recognized scientists met at an atmospheric ice nucleation

research workshop in Karlsruhe, Germany during 7/17-18.

Dr. Naruki Hiranuma, Associate Professor of Environmental Science,

was invited to participate in leading the discussion session on

"what needs to be measured and how?" as well as discuss the application

of their scientific knowledge to the projection of climate futures and extreme weather events!

A Moment with Mrs. Bachman

Dr. Pond's Ponder

My mother always reminded me that "Actions speak louder than words."

There is no question that if you observe a person's actions

you will never be fooled by their words.

Let's have our actions speak for us this week!

Socialize With Us!

Instagram            Facebook            YouTube            Web

To Contact:

806-651-2585

buffbrief@wtamu.edu