research update

The Power Of Chemistry In Medicine And Materials

In his Dedman College chemistry laboratory, Brent Sumerlin conducts research that could solve problems in the very different realms of health care and engineering.

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From the Spring/Summer 2009 issue | Comments (0)

Trouble In Paradise: Domestic Violence In South Pacific Islands

Research by SMU cultural anthropologist Victoria Lockwood will take her to the remote tropical islands of Tubuai and Rurutu this summer.

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From the Spring/Summer 2009 issue | Comments (0)

Exploring The Biblical Landscape

The remains of Greek and Roman theatres, temples, bathhouses and roads in Israel have provided important clues to Mark Chancey about the transformation of Jewish culture during the 600-year Greco-Roman period (300 BCE to 300 CE).

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From the Fall/Winter 2008 issue | Comments (0)

The Search For Energy As Common As Hot Water

SMU’s geothermal energy team of faculty and graduate students is aiming to prevent the Northern Mariana Islands’ economic oblivion by helping to convert their volcanic heat into affordable, renewable energy.

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From the Fall/Winter 2008 issue | Comments (1)

How Much Is A Species Worth? Understanding The Economics Of Conservation

Understanding the market forces that drive environmental decisions is a vital yet missing piece of public policy on natural resource management, says Santanu Roy, SMU professor of economics and 2007-08 Ford Research Fellow.

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From the Spring/Summer 2008 issue | Comments (7)

Stopping The AIDS Scourge Through A Genetic Disorder

Robert Harrod, assistant professor of biological sciences, and his research team study Werner syndrome enzyme link to HIV inhibition.

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From the Spring/Summer 2008 issue | Comments (1)

Taking The Political Pulse With Real-time Response

Professor Rita Kirk and Assistant Professor Dan Schill developed the idea of giving voters a voice in network coverage through real-time response focus groups.

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From the Spring/Summer 2008 issue | Comments (0)

Countering Diabetes: From Central Arizona To South Dallas

Shawna, a pregnant Pima Indian, calls diabetes a scourge. "Diabetes is a sign that this life we're living isn't our life," she says. "The one our ancestors had was way better."

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From the Fall/Winter 2007 issue | Comments (1)

The Body Project: Learning To Love The Skin They're In

Popular culture's image of the 21st-century woman is tall, large-breasted, narrow-hipped and ultra-slender. Like cultural standards of beauty throughout history, today's "thin ideal" is unattainable for most women; for many, it also can be destructive.

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From the Fall/Winter 2007 issue | Comments (4)

Digging Archaeology - Taos Project Requires Hard Work, Soft Skills

For hundreds of years the beauty and mystery of Taos, New Mexico, have lured thousands of settlers and visitors, from the ancestors of the Taos and Picuris Indians and Spanish settlers to skiing enthusiasts and artists.

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From the Fall/Winter 2007 issue | Comments (9)

Crossing America’s Borders, Mixing Cultures

The United States still shines as a beacon to millions of citizens of other countries, many of whom continue to make their way to its borders. Currently the nation is experiencing the largest wave of immigration in its history: 12.4 percent of U.S. residents are immigrants; each year 1 million immigrants arrive legally and 300,000 to 500,000 arrive illegally.

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From the Spring/Summer 2007 issue | Comments (0)

Lords Of The Ring: SMU Scientists Help Explore Origins Of The Universe

At the border between Switzerland and France, the pristine Alps hide a world-shaking secret. In a 27-kilometer circling underground tunnel, scientists from SMU and other institutions are preparing for a subatomic demolition derby unprecedented in scale, scope and potential significance.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which will power up for the first time in November 2007, can fling high-energy protons at speeds approaching light itself until they crash into each other, releasing even smaller bits of matter. When the largest particle accelerator ever constructed becomes fully operational, physicists will be able to recreate and record conditions at the origin of the universe. Scientists from SMU and more than 140 institutions and 38 countries will be on hand for research and discovery.

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From the Spring/Summer 2007 issue | Comments (0)