Texas Tech Today » Texas Tech in the News

How to Better Understand Your Risk Tolerance

Patrick Gonzales — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:05:47 +0000

BOSTON—Somewhere along the way, your adviser or brokerage firm asked you to fill out what’s called a risk-tolerance questionnaire, presumably before you invested a dime in this or that bond, ETF, mutual fund or stock such as, say, Facebook.

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“Most risk-tolerance surveys contain questions that are not explicitly grounded in theory,” according to Sherman Hanna, a professor at Ohio State University and co-author (along with Michael Finke, a professor at Texas Tech University, and Michael Guillemette, a doctoral candidate at Texas Tech University) of a soon-to-be published book on the subject, “Portfolio Theory and Management.”

ABC Finds Illegal Antibiotics in Imported Shrimp

Patrick Gonzales — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:52:18 +0000

Traces of illegal antibiotics are lurking in America’s favorite seafood, according to a new report by ABC World News. The news outlet tested 30 imported shrimp samples from grocery stores across the country and found three were positive for antibiotics that are banned in the United States.

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ABC, which has ramped up its coverage of food issues, sent the shrimp samples to the Institute of Environmental and Human Health food lab at Texas Tech University for testing. In the three positive samples, lab technicians found banned antibiotics enrofloxacin, chloramphenicol, and nitrofuranzone, which is a known carcinogen.

Texas Tech Will Perform Mozart Opera in Honduras

Patrick Gonzales — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:17:53 +0000

More than a dozen Texas Tech University vocal performers and musicians will travel to Tegucigalpa to repeat Tech Music Theatre’s spring production of “Cosi fan tutte” on June 8-9 at the National Theater of Honduras. Mozart’s music for the opera will be performed at all three performances by the National Symphony Orchestra of Honduras.

Rainfall brings hope to West Texas cotton producers

Patrick Gonzales — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:24:19 +0000

What a difference a year makes. Or just a few timely rains.

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Glen Ritchie, assistant professor of crop physiology at Texas Tech University, with joint appointment with Texas AgriLife Research, Department of Plant and Soil Science, says the Texas South Plains is in a lot better shape than at this time in 2011.

Officer: Military could learn from civilian courts

Jorge Cruz — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:09:15 +0000

Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Miller knew that deserting his post was a serious crime. But, by then, he had a lot more on his mind and heart than his job.

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“It really doesn’t generally rise to the legal definition of insanity,” says Huffman, now dean emeritus of the law school at Texas Tech University. “So there’s no way to account for it in the guilt or innocence phase of the trial.”

Masonry Council Urges Action to Prevent Storm, Fire Deaths, Injuries; Calls on Texas Cities to Enact Stronger Building Standards

Jorge Cruz — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:09:19 +0000

Texas municipal officials can and should do more to prevent wild fire and windstorm-related deaths and injuries by strengthening local building standards, says the Texas Masonry Council.

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“Research at Texas Tech University and elsewhere has shown that only masonry or reinforced concrete walls can protect against lethal flying debris that might be encountered during a tornado with wind speeds up to 130mph,” said Mukaddes Darwish, PH.D., associate professor, Construction Engineering and Engineering Technology, at Texas Tech.

Following Science into the Eye of the Storm

Jorge Cruz — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:44:45 +0000

In an age where anyone with a cell phone can become an “I-reporter”, it is easy to capture and find impressive images of violent weather events. However, documenting and capturing meaningful data in the vortex of a tornado to learn more about these powerful storms is no easy task – and certainly is best left to trained professionals.

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Tornado field research is extremely difficult and can be dangerous, notes Dr. Tanya Brown, IBHS research engineer, who led a VORTEX2 (Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes EXperiment) team for Texas Tech University in 2009 and 2010. Dedication to science drives team members to strive for accuracy, but the motivation to act quickly in the field often comes from adrenaline generated when a “tornado is over your shoulder,” said Dr. Ian Giammanco, IBHS research scientist, who also led Texas Tech teams in both phases of VORTEX2.

Renewable energy expert: Answer blowin’ in wind

Jorge Cruz — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:38:30 +0000

As Luciano Castillo drove toward San Angelo through the forest of wind towers on U.S. 277, he called a colleague at Texas Tech University and said he finally was living his dream.

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“This is engaging the community, private sector and academia; this is what’s needed to fix the economy,” said Castillo, who is executive director and president of the National Wind Resource Center at Texas Tech.

New Deal, Frenship teachers win GREEN awards from Texas Tech

Jorge Cruz — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:50:44 +0000

A class project addressing water shortages faced by area farmers resulted in New Deal teacher Kara Craig receiving a $1,000 GREEN Award from Texas Tech.

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The program is sponsored by Tech’s International Center for Arid and Semiarid Land Studies with the purpose of encouraging teachers to create projects to heighten student awareness of environmental issues, Bell said.

Parents Important in Steering Kids Away from Sedentary Activities

Jorge Cruz — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:44:48 +0000

Parents can have a significant impact in steering young children away from too much time spent in sedentary pursuits. This new study, in the American Journal of Health Promotion, found this effect in Hispanic families, whose children are more likely to be sedentary than non-Hispanic white children and who are also especially vulnerable to becoming overweight or obese.

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“We found that family support is very important for reducing children’s sedentary behaviors,” said author Zhen Cong, Ph.D., an assistant professor of human development and family studies at Texas Tech University. The sedentary behaviors were mainly TV-watching, computer use and video-game playing, referred to as “screen time.”