Recent WT College of Engineering Research Headlines

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

Aug. 6, 2025

WT Engineering Students Provide Hands-On Aid to Thai Farmers Through Study Abroad

West Texas A&M University engineering students helped create efficient irrigation systems and teach rural farmers how to incorporate technology into their operations during a recent Study Abroad trip to Thailand.

Twelve students spent two weeks in Krabi and Chiang Mai, Thailand, implementing projects they had worked on throughout the spring semester and experiencing Thai culture firsthand.

The team’s four projects were designing and implementing a smart irrigation system for a greenhouse; upgrading the irrigation system of a tree nursery from a flood spray to precision drip irrigation; designing a solar system to power the cooling requirements of an on-site seed bank; and creating a simple fluid dynamics chart to estimate the pump requirements of mountainous farms.

For more, click here.

May 21, 2025

WT’s Second Powell Fellow Named; Will Continue Research into Cyst Treatment

West Texas A&M University engineering professor is the University’s second Twanna M. Powell Fellow, receiving $50,000 to further his research into materials that may help advance treatment options for cysts and seromas in humans and some animals.

Dr. Vinu Unnikrishnan, associate professor of civil engineering in the College of Engineering , was announced as a Powell Fellow during the first of the University’s May 16 commencement ceremonies.

For more, click here.

May 21, 2025

WT’s Hunt Named to National Engineering Research Board

Dr. Emily Hunt, dean of West Texas A&M University’s College of Engineering, has been elected to the board of the national Engineering Research Council.

Hunt will serve on ERC’s executive board alongside representatives from such universities as the University of Colorado–Boulder, Pennsylvania State University–Harrisburg, Michigan State University and others.

“For regional universities like WT, engineering research isn’t about prestige—it’s about purpose,” Hunt said. “Our research is focused on addressing the unique needs of rural communities—particularly in critical areas like water sustainability, energy access, and resilient infrastructure. These are not abstract challenges for us; they are daily realities that affect families, farmers, and entire communities across the Texas Panhandle and beyond.”

For more, click here.

March 18, 2025

Pantex and West Texas A&M University Forge Future of Research with New Facility

Pantex has sprouted roots in Canyon, Texas, with the launch of the Palo Duro Research Facility. The research facility is located on the campus of West Texas A&M University, approximately 50 miles southwest of the Pantex Plant.

For more, click here.

Nov. 13, 2024

WT College of Engineering Scores Federal Grant to Expand Research Possibilities

Professors from West Texas A&M University’s College of Engineering will use a recently awarded federal grant to catalyze new industrial and governmental partnerships.

The $350,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity program will enable WT to find ways to increase its visibility, attract new collaborators and enrich the educational and professional experience, said Dr. Fatemeh “Azi” Tabei, lead researcher and assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science.

“The initiative supports three primary goals: improving institutional processes for partnership development, establishing a partnership training program, and diversifying and expanding the network of external partners,” Tabei said. “And it will allow us to concentrate on key technology sectors, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, semiconductors and new materials.”

For more, click here.

Oct. 30, 2024

WT Researchers Investigating New Ways of Growing Strawberries Following USDA Grant

West Texas A&M University researchers are leading a study on how to make strawberry production more feasible across Texas and the south-central United States after winning a federal grant.

The WT team—led by Dr. Nathan Howell, WT’s Bell Professor of Engineering—won the $37,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative.

Almost all strawberries are grown in areas of California and Florida where temperatures remain moderate throughout long portions of the year, Howell said. In Texas, strawberries have traditionally been grown in a shorter season, when temperatures don’t generally rise above 80 degrees Fahrenheit or below freezing. They traditionally are grown in rows in raised soil beds, covered in plastic and watered and fertilized through drip lines.

For more, click here.

July 29, 2024

WT Adds New Equipment to Further Science Education in Engineering, Environment

West Texas A&M University researchers have acquired an essential new instrument that will enhance science education on campus and across the region.

Thanks to a $75,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, WT has purchased a state-of-the-art cold-stage instrument, which is used to study the solidification of liquids.

“We want to use the instrument for hands-on laboratory activities demonstrating how liquids transition into solids,” said Dr. Sanjoy Bhattacharia, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering. “This process is essential to understand both material processing and ice formation in clouds.”

For more, click here.

July 22, 2024

Researchers Win Grant for AI-Inclusive Plan to Boost Hispanic Students in STEM

A team of West Texas A&M University researchers recently won a $500,000 federal grant for a project designed to incorporate both family support and artificial intelligence in a plan to increase collegiate STEM success in Hispanic students.

“Our project addresses a pressing issue: Hispanic students, including many women and first-generation college students, often find it especially challenging to succeed in STEM fields—science, technology, engineering, and math,” said Dr. Azi Tabei, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science in WT’s College of Engineering. “Despite numerous programs aimed at supporting these students, they continue to face significant obstacles that can hinder their progress and prevent them from completing their degrees.”

For more, click here.

July 17, 2024

WT Engineering Students Provide Rainwater Storage During Study Abroad Trip to Kenya

Eight students from West Texas A&M University’s College of Engineering recently traveled to Kenya to help provide quality water for a girls’ school.

The students and faculty members Dr. Nathan Howell, the Bell Helicopter Professor of Engineering, and Dr. Fisseha Alemayehu, associate professor of mechanical engineering, worked at the Plateau Girls’ Boarding School outside of Eldoret, Kenya. The Study Abroad trip was in cooperation with Christian Relief Fund of Amarillo and Hope Water Africa in Eldoret.

The students represented each of the majors in the College — civil, mechanical, environmental and electrical. Working together, they gained a better understanding of water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as designing and implementing an engineering solution to the Kenya school’s struggles with maintaining a high-quality source of water.

For more, click here.

June 6, 2024

WT Researcher Part of Team Investigating Sensors to Track Neurological Disease

A team of researchers, including a West Texas A&M University engineering professor, recently won a $10,000 award to further study the potential of wearable sensors that can track the progression of degenerative neurological diseases.

The team, which won the top award for the 2024 Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, is led by Dr. Ngozi Mbue of Texas Woman’s University–Houston and includes Dr. Azi Tabei, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science in WT’s College of Engineering.

The sensors would track such risk factors as physical activity and sleep quality as well as the progression of such neurodegenerative diseases as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. They could also measure such biological markers as sweat and muscle rigidity.

For more, click here.

About West Texas A&M University

A Regional Research University, West Texas A&M University is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. A Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The University also is home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WT—