At 100 years old, Texas Tech has become a world-class, internationally recognized institution. While much has changed, our traditions, values, and focus on graduating students with the skills to contribute to society remain steadfast. In season three, we celebrate Texas Tech's progress by reflecting on the past, embracing the present, and preparing for the future. 

In this bonus episode, we revisit the story of CASFER, a new research facility on campus that garnered the largest National Science Foundation grant in Texas Tech history earlier this year. Its plans to create cheaper, cleaner, more sustainable fertilizer could be transformative for farmers. Level Up is going inside the research to discover more about CASFER through the eyes of a farmer who will feel its impact. 

Learn more about CASFER here: https://www.casfer.us/

See photos and discover more about Gerri Botte here: https://today.ttu.edu/fearless/

"It wasn’t just about writing papers anymore; it wasn’t just about graduating students. It was about taking that knowledge and creating intellectual property.” -John Schroeder, Director, National Wind Institute.

From colonizing to commercializing, a local beekeeper is buzzing about the production of West Texas honey. What started as a hobby for one Texas Tech alumnus became a passion for promoting the value of honeybees in the region. Plus, university researchers have honed in on a sector of Texas' economy that's growing... on the vine.

The South Plains is the largest cotton-producing region in the world. With more than three million acres dedicated to the crop, there's no question that it's the fiber of our life. And at Texas Tech, researchers are leveraging the area's emphasis on cotton to explore the plant's entire life cycle, from a more weather-tolerant seed to uncovering a new use for cotton waste.

Climate change. It's a subject that garners varying opinions. Is it real? What should we do about it? Who should we look to for answers? From atmospheric to social science, Texas Tech faculty are investigating all facets of our climate, including extreme weather patterns and their impacts on our health, and even how we process topics like climate change in the media.

Campus researchers are using their work to shape future generations in unexpected ways. For instance, recovering addicts and troubled youth benefit from animation skills learned in a Texas Tech Animation-Making Workshop research lab, and young adults with autism are learning to navigate parenting and relationships thanks to the Burkhart Center for Autism Education and Research. Finally, faculty in atmospheric and social sciences have joined forces to develop a smart home to teach all of us the power of conservation.

Many university researchers have spent their careers focused on clean energy, including using radar technology to make wind farms more efficient. And more than five decades after a tornado tore through Lubbock, Fearless looks at how that devastating storm impacted the work of two faculty in two different departments.

In this episode, we dive into how Texas Tech's Davis College faculty are taking their work beyond campus borders. How a girl from West Texas became the highest-ranking female in agriculture, using her discoveries to navigate important conversations about food safety. We'll also introduce you to Tate Corliss, whose involvement in Raider Red Meats began as a student more than ten years ago. Today, he's the program's director and leading one of the most significant distribution efforts on campus. Finally, born and raised in Texas, Dale Woerner understands that agriculture is the lifeblood of this region, so he's investigating how we keep the industry thriving despite a changing culture.

At Texas Tech, we talk a lot about research. But did you ever wonder how that research impacts you? What about how it affects our state, our nation, even the world? In season two of Fearless, we talk about the transformative research going on at Texas Tech and share stories of what motivates those doing the work.