Texas Tech offers Ph.D. in wind science

LUBBOCK, Texas—The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved Texas Tech University’s proposed Doctor of Philosophy in Wind Science and Engineering, creating a multidisciplinary program spanning disciplines from engineering and architecture to atmospheric science and economics.

"Wind is an environment that will always be with us," said Kishor Mehta, Ph.D., P.W. Horn professor of civil engineering, National Academy of Engineering member, and visionary behind the new program. "There are problems related to wind that have yet to be tackled. At the same time, wind is a resource with unrealized potential. This Ph.D. integrates the science of windstorm damages and developing wind energy systems so that our graduates come out with a stronger understanding of how those sciences interrelate."

The degree will incorporate research and teaching through Texas Tech’s colleges of Engineering, Architecture, and Arts and Sciences and will be administered by the Graduate School.

The Wind Science and Engineering Research Center is already host to a National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT), using facilities such as its wind tunnel, wind cannon, 200-meter tower, high-resolution storm instrumentation equipment, and nearby wind farms to integrate research opportunities with its educational offerings.