Research

Backed by a 2024 EPA Clean Ports Program grant, the DFW Clean Ports Project seeks to address air quality around key logistics hubs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

New computer model aims to enhance early intervention and prevention for young patients at risk for future medical conditions.

With two grants totaling $2.6M, SMU and CSU will be testing and validating existing advanced leak detection technologies that are not currently accepted for use on regulated pipelines.

SMU engineer and his research team have found a way to make lithium-sulfur batteries last longer, with higher energy, than existing renewable batteries.

SMU engineer received a National Science Foundation Planning Grant to revolutionize how weather warnings are issued in the U.S. and improve safety of communities.

A first-of-its-kind center, funded by a $2.97 million research grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, will help advance the City of Dallas’s Racial Equity Plan.

SMU researcher’s expertise in NASA satellite imagery contributed to international study.

Chemists created an imprintable screen with liquid crystals—potentially paving the way for new lasers, display screens, and microscopic tags.

Open-source SmartCADD tool improves process for identifying potential treatments for range of diseases.

Zhong Lu is the Shuler-Foscue Chair in the Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences.

A surprising finding about how the universe we live in seems to have been formed is again raising that question.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has named Nicolay V. Tsarevsky, associate professor of chemistry at SMU, an ACS Fellow.

SMU nanotechnology expert MinJun Kim and his research team have been awarded a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to design a nanosensor that can improve the accuracy of gene therapy, enabling more effective clinical trials with fewer side effects.

Students will travel to South America to study sustainable small-scale gold mining practices to prevent mercury contamination.

Alexander Chase and colleagues collect samples from Earth’s oceans using SMIRC, which could be the first step in uncovering compounds that lead to next-generation antibiotics.

An international team of researchers led by SMU paleontologist Louis L. Jacobs has found matching sets of Early Cretaceous dinosaur footprints on what are now two different continents.

A new report in the journal Chem by researchers at SMU and Dartmouth outlines a technical breakthrough that could enable three-dimensional projections of medical scans, suspending them inside an acrylic cube to create a hand-held reproduction of a patient's heart, brain, kidneys or other organs.

There’s an important dividing line in the history of recent Texas earthquakes – those occurring before and after 2017, when the establishment of the Texas Seismological Network (TexNet) introduced the ability to monitor seismic events to much lower magnitude.

For business owners that don’t regularly get repeat customers, such as real estate agents, does being transparent about past business make them more or less likely to make a sale that benefits both them and the buyer? Economists from SMU and the University of Miami found the answer to that depends.

SMU Cox Professor Jane Tan explored how Ukraine’s use of cryptocurrency for fundraising during the ongoing conflict with Russia offers valuable lessons.

Using video games to collect human feedback can overcome problems.

The Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub has been awarded a $500,000 Consortium Accelerator Award from the Biden-Harris Administration through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) to continue implementing its strategy focused on increasing semiconductor production in North Texas and southern Oklahoma.

David Blackwell, founder of the SMU Geothermal Laboratory and Professor Emeritus, passed away on July 16. Blackwell was the third holder of the William B. Hamilton Chair in Earth Sciences in Dedman College and was renowned for his studies of the thermal structure of the continental crust.

An SMU-led research team found these ground surface conditions help natural gas travel the farthest from a leaking pipeline.

An inexpensive, easy-to-use method has been patented to create solid-state nanopores (SSNs).

The findings further support the need to examine nature’s impact on food choices, especially since 68% of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas by 2050.

Earth Sciences and OIT group transforming campus ‘dark fiber’ into seismic sensors that detect vibrations

SMU nanotechnology expert MinJun Kim and his team have developed a faster, more precise way that could pave the way for innovative medical therapies and advancements to be created using gene therapy – a technique that utilizes harmless viruses to modify a person’s genes to treat or cure disease.

Industry leaders talk about curriculum development at Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub event hosted by SMU, Jarvis Christian University.

More than 100 law enforcement agents, nonprofit organizations, government officials, researchers, data scientists and others attended the inaugural SMU Human Trafficking Data Conference.

Amidst rising depression rates on college campuses, SMU researchers discovered combining behavioral activation therapy with savoring enhanced students' mental health. This approach improved both positive and negative moods significantly.

An SMU-led research team has found that ancient rocks and fossils from long-extinct marine reptiles in Angola clearly show a key part of Earth’s past in one place – the splitting of South America and Africa and the subsequent formation of the South Atlantic Ocean.

Innovative project aims to bridge knowledge gaps and inspire future semiconductor professionals.

FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough and SMU Vice Provost for Research and Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Suku Nair announced their plans to exchange resources and information with components of the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub (TSTH), an economic and workforce development consortium led by SMU.

Interventions need to consider adolescents' exposure to interpersonal racial discrimination alongside other forms of violence when providing care.

A showcase of the cutting-edge research shaping the future.

Study finds autistic teens' anxiety levels remained consistent amid COVID-19 disruptions to education, whether in-person, remote or homeschooled.

The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the induction of MinJun Kim, Robert C. Womack Endowed Chair Professor in Engineering at SMU to its College of Fellows.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded SMU engineering professor Digvijay Boob a five-year CAREER grant to pioneer quicker, streamlined solutions that could speed up how AI learns from data to make predictions and decisions.

Leaders from the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub – a regional consortium charged with growing the regional economy and strengthening U.S. production of semiconductor chips and products – will be sharing their vision with more than 100 attendees from companies and academia in Taiwan, hoping to line up new opportunities for collaboration.

What exactly happens at the tiny scale at which individual atoms exist and interact? SMU chemist Elfi Kraka and her colleagues have been working on developing a computational tool aimed at providing answers to that mystery.

Could a family’s obsidian blade be a clue to the expedition’s trail?

Researchers from SMU and two other universities have received funding from the NSF to refine and streamline coordination between robotic 3D printers – a project aimed at improving the automated manufacturing of large industrial parts.

Study analyzes how, why young children use digital media.

SMU nanotechnology expert MinJun Kim helped a team of researchers at The University of Texas at Austin to develop a less expensive way to detect nuclease digestion.

The consortium behind the Tech Hub is charged with growing the regional economy and strengthening U.S. production of semiconductor chips and products.

The SMU-led Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub consortium met at Austin College to continue developing the group’s application for up to $75 million in federal funds.

A new study led by SMU medical and psychological anthropologist Neely Myers indicates that while young people diagnosed with early psychosis understand the importance of discontinuing use of substances like cannabis, many are ambivalent about stopping.

From studying a gene that is mutated in many human cancers to learning more about an age-old volcano on the Moon, SMU professors and students kept making international headlines in 2023. Here are some of the highlights.

More than 160 people from 41 institutions met at SMU on Dec. 13 to discuss key components of the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub economic development initiative, which seeks to strengthen and drive innovation in the existing semiconductor supply chain in 29 counties in North Texas and southern Oklahoma through regional collaboration and workforce development.

According to a new study co-authored by SMU researcher Stephanie Al Otaiba, educators can use reliable and early assessment data to inform literacy interventions for students at risk for developing reading difficulties.

J.-C. Chiao, the Mary and Richard Templeton Centennial Chair and professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in the SMU Lyle School of Engineering, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

SMU researchers did a detailed, computational study – utilizing the same technique widely-used by researchers to predict what head injuries might occur if there was a car or plane accident – to assess how likely tennis was to cause serious head injury.

A recent study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth sheds new light on the formation of the East Coast of the United States – a “passive margin,” in geologic terms – during the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea and the opening of the Atlantic Ocean around 230 million years ago.

Khaled Abdelghany, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at SMU (Southern Methodist University), has been awarded a three-year, $1.2 million grant by the Federal Highway Administration. The grant aims to develop a computer program that utilizes artificial intelligence to enhance the safety and efficiency of intersections for both vehicles and pedestrians.

SMU nanotechnology expert MinJun Kim and his team have been awarded a $1.8 million, R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research related to gene therapy – a technique that modifies a person’s genes to treat or cure disease. NIH R01 (Research Program) grants are extremely competitive, with fewer than 10 percent of applicants receiving one.

The Guildhall, SMU’s premier graduate-level video game development program, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this November. With a highly experienced faculty and specializations in all four cornerstones of game development, the program has helped hundreds of students achieve rewarding careers in the gaming industry.

NASA sensors scattered across land, sea, and space have collected hundreds of terabytes of Earth science data over the past four decades. Imagine if a digital assistant like Alexa or Siri, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), could quickly and easily sift through that data to answer scientific questions for researchers.

SMU has been designated the lead agency for a federally-funded economic development initiative to strengthen, build on and drive innovation in the existing semiconductor supply chain in 29 counties in North Texas and Oklahoma through regional collaboration and workforce development.

The quality of any artificial intelligence (AI) model relies on the data it is given. That is why researchers at SMU are creating large datasets to address bias and fairness issues found in facial recognition (FR) technology.

A recent study from SMU psychologist Sarah Kucker suggests shyness can influence a child’s performance in language assessments, depending on the level of social interaction required to complete the test.

It’s long been understood that human settlement contributes to conditions that make Pacific Islands more susceptible to wildfires, such as the devastating Aug. 8 event that destroyed the Maui community of Lahaina. But a new study from SMU fire scientist Christopher Roos published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution shows that climate is an undervalued part of the equation.

Janille Smith-Colin, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at SMU (Southern Methodist University) is part of a team that has just received a $6 million award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ComPASS program to improve health disparities in Dallas and Detroit.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has awarded $2 million to recruit Annika Wylie to SMU and fund five years of her research, which focuses on the p53 gene, a naturally occurring tumor suppressor.

SMU chemistry professor John Buynak and his team have received a $3.5 million, 5-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to design and synthesize new antibiotics to fight some of the deadliest and most clinically challenging infections of the 21st century – drug resistant strains of bacteria that cause tuberculosis and leprosy.

SMU biology professor Zhihao Wu has received a $1.8 million, 5-year Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) from the National Institutes of Health to determine if different quality control pathways in our bodies might be working together to repair damaged components in cells.

Dallas Love Field Airport is taking sustainability to new heights through an innovative partnership with JetWind Power Corporation to capture wind blasts from aircraft and convert them into environmentally friendly electricity. Students and researchers from SMU (Southern Methodist University) and Clarkson University were in on the early modeling for this new method for generating wind energy.

Microwave frequency data from lunar orbiter reveals deposit of cooled magma beneath a volcano that likely erupted 3.5 billion years ago

A team of paleontologists from the United States, the Netherlands and France found fossils of a 94-million-year-old mosasaur in Utah.

A team of scientists led by The University of Texas at Austin has filled a major gap in the state's fossil record -- describing the first known Jurassic vertebrate fossils in Texas.

Funded by DOJ grant, project provides law enforcement, researchers and policymakers with national data on victims, crimes and perpetrators. Video gaming, machine learning 'cleans' and augments the data.

SMU researchers working with an international group of astronomers have used early data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) and a powerful computer simulation to provide precise measurements of the “haloes” of invisible material, termed dark matter, that surround and permeate galaxies.

The Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security at SMU (Southern Methodist University) is launching a new Cyber Autonomy Range, supported by IBM Security Software through IBM SkillsBuild, designed to toughen autonomous systems against cyberattacks. The range will be a controlled and isolated technology environment that can simulate possible attacks on autonomous systems that take actions automatically based on received data. IBM is providing an in-kind contribution of software and support for the project valued at over $850,000.

Natural disasters can wreak havoc on a city, from hurricanes in Houston to winter storms in Dallas. Measuring resilience -- the length of time it will take a city to bounce back -- can help policymakers and others plan responses to future events and reveal potential vulnerabilities. An SMU research team measured Dallas’s resilience before, during, and after the February 2021 winter snowstorm and found Dallas recovered almost immediately after the snowstorm ended, indicating Dallas exhibits a great degree of resilience.

SMU (Southern Methodist University), the University of North Texas, the University of Texas Arlington, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Dallas College and 25 other organizations in Texas and Oklahoma have been awarded $1 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines program.

Following a highly competitive application process, Southern Methodist University student Dephina Rivas is one of 15 individuals nationwide selected by the U.S. Department of State for the notable Foreign Affairs Information Technology Fellowship.

SMU geophysicist Zhong Lu is part of a team working on a new NASA program to make free satellite-based observations of Earth’s water, ecosystem and land surface available to anyone with an internet connection.

An estimated 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, making them 16 times more likely to die suddenly compared to the general population. SMU biology researcher Edward Glasscock has received a 5-year, $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for a study that he hopes will lead to the identification of biomarkers to help identify people at risk for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, known as SUDEP.

Evidence of an early savannah grass growing millions of years earlier than previously known may fundamentally change the understanding of life in the prehistoric world. A pair of studies funded by the National Science Foundation and published in the journal Science document the earliest evidence for locally abundant open-habitat grasses in eastern Africa and how those environments likely influenced early ape evolution.

While youth and teens struggling with psychosis benefit the most with early intervention care, 20 to 40 percent of them drop out of care programs, if they begin them at all. But a recent study shows that ethnoracially minoritized youth, especially, are less likely to utilize an early intervention program and are more likely to drop out once they begin. What’s to blame for the higher dropout rate for care programs among minoritized youth? The study pinpoints factors such as past experience with discrimination and fears that police will be involved. Family culture and language can also play a role.

A global treaty called the Minamata Convention requires gold-mining countries to regularly report the amount of toxic mercury that miners are using to find and extract gold, designed to help nations gauge success toward at least minimizing a practice that produces the world’s largest amount of manmade mercury pollution. But a study of baseline mercury emission estimates reported by 25 countries – many in developing African, South American and Asian nations – found that these estimates rarely provide enough information to tell whether changes in the rate from one year to the next were the result of actual change or data uncertainty.

Forget that expiration date on your salmon or yogurt. A graduate student at SMU (Southern Methodist University) has developed a miniature pH sensor that can tell when food has spoiled in real time.

SMU’s Research and Innovation Week will share the explorations of SMU students and faculty members as well as the contributions of other regional universities in a series of presentations, panels and poster sessions scheduled for March 20-25 on the SMU campus. All events are free and open to the public.

Internationally-known for his exquisite Black Masking Mardi Gras suits, Chief Shaka Zulu got his inspiration for this year’s suit from an unlikely source: fossils of ancient creatures found by SMU paleontologists Louis L. Jacobs and Michael J. Polcyn and others.

Devin Matthews, an assistant professor of chemistry at SMU, has been awarded the 2023 James H. Wilkinson Prize for Numerical Software. The award is given by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) every four years to recognize researchers in the early stages of their careers who have created an outstanding piece of numerical software, or to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to an existing piece of numerical software.

Lifelong study of stable isotopes revealed keys to the Earth and beyond

More than 122 chemists from 14 countries will attend the 28th Austin Symposium on Molecular Structure and Dynamics at Dallas at SMU (Southern Methodist University) from Feb. 17-20, 2023. The conference theme of this year's symposium is “Spectroscopy Meets Theory.”

Model of SMU researchers published by the National Bureau of Economic Research could have predicted breakup of the Soviet Union and global separatism

A new study has found fossilized evidence that a rainforest growing around a volcanic lake in Ethiopia’s Mush Valley 21.73 million years ago was dominated by a single species of tree.

Research from SMU's BAST Lab and Applied Research Associates, Inc. advances microbiotics for use in targeted drug delivery

People with attachment anxiety more likely to create false memories when they can see the person talking

With wings spanning nearly 16 feet, a new species of pterosaurs has been identified from the Atlantic coast of Angola. An international team, including two vertebrate paleontologists from SMU, named the new genus and species Epapatelo otyikokolo. This flying reptile of the dinosaur age was found in the same region of Angola as fossils from large marine animals currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Goal is to develop algorithms that improve complex energy systems