TTU Department of Plant and Soil Science

Career Opportunity: Event Coordinator Manager / Tasting Room On-Duty Manager

Bull Lion Ranch & Vineyards in Hico, Texas, is looking for an Event Coordinator Manager / Tasting Room On-Duty Manager to join our family-owned winery and ranch team.

What we're looking for:
• A passion for wine and hospitality
• Point of Sale (POS) experience
• Wine Club experience is a plus
• Strong organization and communication skills
• Availability on Sundays and occasional Saturdays
• A willingness to jump in and help at the vineyard or winery when needed
• This is a part-time position, but for the right person, the opportunity can grow as big as your ambition.

Why Bull Lion?
Because where else can you help create amazing events, pour award-winning wines, and be part of a family winemaking tradition that started in Italy nearly 200 years ago? At Bull Lion, every day is a little different...and that's exactly how we like it.

Know someone who'd be a great fit? Share this post and help us find our next Bull Lion family member!

For compensation, benefits, and details, contact Bull Lion Ranch & Vineyards directly:
📧 [email protected]
📞1-254-977-4322

Bull Lion Ranch & Vineyard

The Department of Plant and Soil Science is hiring three positions, including one full-time role and two postdoctoral research appointments.

Join a collaborative, research-driven department committed to advancing plant and soil science through discovery, innovation, and student success.

More details below:
Field Technician II - New Deal Farm: https://tinyurl.com/y9enh2p4
Post-Doctoral Research Associate Digital & Data Science: https://tinyurl.com/2s36zcnt
Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Environmental Soil Chemistry: https://tinyurl.com/4dcmsjcn

This project is to burn grapevine cuttings collected from vineyard pruning operations in order to produce bio-char for experimental use in vineyard research applications. The bio-char will be evaluated for potential benefits in vineyard soil management and related research studies.

www.grapesandwine.ttu.edu

Luis Rafael Herrera-Estrella, a pioneering plant geneticist at Texas Tech University, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, one of the highest distinctions in global science.

At Davis College, Herrera-Estrella serves as President’s Distinguished Professor of Plant Genomics in the Department of Plant & Soil Science and leads the Institute of Genomics for Crop Abiotic Stress Tolerance [IGCAST]. His research there focuses on how plants adapt to extremes of heat, cold, drought and saline water; pressures that are intensifying as the climate shifts.

Join us in congratulating Dr. Herrera-Estrella on this prestigious honor! 👏

Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/4tany94y

We are excited to announce that the 2026 Hill Country Wine Industry Scholarship Application is now available! Applications may be submitted through the form link on their website and will be accepted through November 1, 2026:

https://texashillcountrywineries.org/

Degao Liu, an assistant professor in the university’s Institute of Genomics for Crop Abiotic Stress Tolerance, is embarking on an ambitious effort to rewrite how scientists improve crops, aiming to bypass some of the most persistent bottlenecks in modern plant biotechnology.

Read more about the project here: https://tinyurl.com/49s3fxk7

We are proud to celebrate Melissa Herrera Miller, recipient of a 2026 Wine Society of Texas Scholarship Award.

Melissa is currently pursuing the Winemaking Certification Program at Texas Tech University while advancing viticulture research in the Texas Hill Country. She recently established experiential grapevine plots in Jonestown, Texas, to evaluate site suitability and growing conditions for a future winery venture.

In addition to her studies, Melissa serves as an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of Texas, combining education, research, and industry innovation to support the future of Texas wine.

Congratulations, Melissa, on this well-deserved recognition!

See other 2026 recipients:
https://www.winesocietyoftexas.org/scholarship-2026

https://www.depts.ttu.edu/pss/VandE/index.php

Swing by Bayer Plant Science 122 on Monday if you are in need of a little finals stress relief.

Sage Merriman will be here, and she will be offering lots of puppy love to anyone who needs it!

The plant sale was a success!

Belsterling Scholars and advisors attended the Dallas Garden Club meeting to connect with representatives from the Belsterling Foundation.

We are proud to recognize our Belsterling Scholarship recipients, Jonah Trevino and Srijana Panta, pictured with Dr. Thayne Montague and foundation representatives.

Left to right: Dr. Thayne Montague, Jonah Trevino, Ann Frances Jury (Belsterling Foundation President), Srijana Panta, Charlie Lee (TAMU), Daniel Killin (TAMU), and Dr. Amit Dhingra (TAMU).