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Dedman College Research Roundup

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Dedman College scientists continue to receive global recognition for their research. Check out some of the latest research articles from Dedman College faculty.

  • Long-term daily contact with Spanish missions triggered collapse of Native American populations in New Mexico. 

SWJM_oldboundary_8x11portrait-232x300“Scholars increasingly recognize the magnitude of human impacts on planet Earth, some are even ready to define a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene,” said anthropologist and fire expert Christopher I. Roos, an associate professor, Department of Anthropology, and a co-author on the research. READ MORE

  • The Moon used to spin on a different axis.

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“As the axis moved, so did the face of the Man in the Moon. He sort of turned his nose up at the Earth. These findings may open the door to further discoveries on the interior evolution of the Moon, as well as the origin of water on the Moon and early Earth,” said Matthew Siegler, adjunct faculty in the Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, and lead author of the study. READ MORE

  • SMU seismology team response to March 28, 2016 U.S. Geological Survey hazard forecasts. READ MORE
  • Nearby massive star explosion 30 million years ago equaled brightness of 100 million suns. 

Deep blue space background filled with nebulae and shining stars

  • The massive explosion was one of the closest to Earth in recent years, visible as a point of light in the night sky starting July 24, 2013, said Robert Kehoe, SMU physics professor, who leads SMU’s astrophysics team. READ MORE
  • Could Texas’ dirty coal power plants be replaced by geothermal systems?

geothermal-map“We all care about the earth,” said Maria Richards, SMU geothermal lab coordinator, in welcoming the attendees. “We are applying knowledge that is applying hope.”                         READ MORE

  • SMU physicists: CERN’s Large Hadron Collider is once again smashing protons, taking data. READ MORE
  • Study: Humans have been causing earthquakes in Texas since the 1920s. READ MORE

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Scientists from SMU’s Department of Physics are among the several thousand physicists worldwide who contribute on the LHC research.

 

  • Early armored dino from Texas lacked cousin’s club-tail weapon, but had a nose for danger.

Karen_Carr_Pawpawsaurus_campbelli--300x197Pawpawsaurus was an earlier version of armored dinosaurs but not as well equipped to fight off meat-eaters, according to a new study, said vertebrate paleontologist Louis Jacobs. READ MORE

 

  • Wildfire on warming planet requires adaptive capacity at local, national, int’l scales.

house-1024x768“We tend to treat modern fire problems as unique, and new to our planet,” said fire anthropologist Christopher Roos, lead author of the report. “As a result, we have missed the opportunity to recognize the successful properties of communities that have a high capacity to adapt to living in flammable landscapes — in some cases for centuries or millennia.“ READ MORE

  • Giant sinkholes near West Texas oil patch towns are growing — as new ones lurk.

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The two sinkholes — about a mile apart — appear to be expanding. Additionally, areas around the existing sinkholes are unstable, with large areas of subsidence detected via satellite radar remote sensing. READ MORE