Dedman College Research – Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

‘How do we protect them?’ Dallas leaders look to help immigrants and the economy

Dallas Morning News Originally Posted: August 14, 2018 We could mess up the so-called Texas miracle. Cutting off immigration, for instance, “would make it impossible” for the state to keep growing jobs at roughly double the national rate, Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius said last week. Keeping out immigrants would also take us out of the competition to attract top talent, another expert said, and that would undermine the appeal of the state’s workforce. For these reasons and more — partly humanitarian, partly pragmatic, said Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings — Dallas wants to become a more welcoming city for immigrants and refugees. That means recruiting newcomers and helping them integrate into the community, and navigate the legal and economic landscape. Last year, Dallas created an Office of Welcoming [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-08-15T07:32:09+00:00 August 15th, 2018|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, Political Science, Tower Center|Comments Off

Yellowstone Supervolcano Could Be an Energy Source. But Should It?

National Geographic Originally Posted: August 8, 2018 Yellowstone National Park could power the entire continental U.S. with clean energy. Maria Richards of SMU Geothermal Laboratory weighs in via National Geographic on why it remains untapped. The northwest corner of Wyoming is boiling. There, 10,000 hydrothermal features transform Yellowstone National Park into an alien world with searing waters and steaming vents—all fueled by a simmering supervolcano. While scientists agree that Yellowstone is not likely to erupt anytime soon, if and when it does, the event would be catastrophic. A massive magma chamber feeds this supervolcano, and an eruption would pack enough power to expel more than a thousand cubic kilometers of rock and ash at once. That would blanket most of the continental United States in debris and potentially plunge Earth into a volcanic [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-08-09T08:06:48+00:00 August 10th, 2018|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Earth Sciences, Faculty News|Comments Off

Brain disorder researcher awarded prestigious grants

SMU Magazine Originally Posted: July 28, 2018 Santosh D’Mello, professor of biological sciences in SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, was recently awarded two prestigious research grants totaling $2.5 million by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to study two fatal brain disorders. The first grant of $1.29 million will be used to study Huntington’s disease, an inherited brain degenerative disease. D’Mello’s team will investigate whether the abnormal loss of brain cells in patients with Huntington’s disease is due to the reduction in levels of a protein called FoxP1. The second award will fund research investigating the mechanisms underlying MeCP2 duplication syndrome, a rare inherited neurodevelopmental that occurs almost exclusively in men. “We hope our research will contribute to a better understanding of these devastating brain disorders so that effective [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-08-07T18:50:54+00:00 August 9th, 2018|Biology, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News|Comments Off

The Bookshelf: Five books with surprising insights into economic growth

George W. Bush Institute Originally Posted: August 6, 2018 by J.H. Cullum Clark As these five books illustrate, insights into economic growth sometimes show up in surprising places. Bruce Springsteen’s iconic song “Born to Run” topped the music charts and his book of the same title made the bestseller list, but most people don’t think of him as contributing to discussions of economic policy. Consider, though, that the story of economic growth is not just about numbers. It’s actually a story of people, creativity, near-misses, and improbable breakthroughs. And it teaches us that we can’t take growth for granted. Springsteen’s memoir Born to Run provides music fans with a highly readable account of the enormous commitment and sustained hard work at the heart of human [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-08-07T18:36:00+00:00 August 7th, 2018|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Economics, Faculty News|Comments Off

Watch: Big on Business – W. Holt Garner

SMU Video Originally Posted: July 10, 2018 “SMU makes my passion for accounting and biology easy to maneuver. SMU’s approach to interdisciplinary study has shaped me into a more critical thinker who can approach a problem from both business and scientific perspectives. And as I prepare for medical school, my dual degree plan gives me a competitive edge. I am able to pursue diverse internship opportunities, including those that focus on the business and clinical aspects of health care.” — W. Holt Garner, Accounting and Biology double major and Chemistry minor. https://youtu.be/eqww8B51c0E

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-08-07T18:37:18+00:00 August 7th, 2018|Biology, Chemistry, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Undergraduate News|Comments Off

Watch: Big on Research – Roxana Farokhnia

YouTube Originally Posted: July 10, 2018 “SMU was the school for me because I wanted a personalized experience in college, where my professors would know me and care about where I want to go in life. My work in the Vogel-Wise Lab allows me as a pre-health student to not only participate in cutting-edge research on finding ways to help cancer patients who don’t respond to chemotherapy, but also develop my own project and create meaningful connections with professors.” — Roxana Farokhnia, Biology and Health and Society double major on the Pre-Health track. WATCH https://youtu.be/zas3BGb3Uu0

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-08-06T10:23:39+00:00 August 6th, 2018|Biology, Chemistry, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Undergraduate News|Comments Off

Listen: Indigenous people hunted bison using fire – and clever manipulation of the landscape

CBC Radio Originally Posted: July 27, 2018 For centuries, the Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains hunted the bison that once roamed across much of the continent in enormous numbers. But hunting these huge animals takes an enormous amount of skill and planning. New research has shown that First Nations people actively altered their landscape — including with the strategic use of fire — to manage and control large herds of bison. Funnelling bison into 'drivelines' A bison hunt required an enormous amount of planning. These early hunters built cairns out of rock to force the bison onto narrow paths, or "drivelines," allowing the hunters to more easily move in for the kill. Archeological evidence suggests that some of the drivelines were as much as a kilometre long. This hunting strategy, which involved actively manipulating [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-08-01T10:27:48+00:00 August 3rd, 2018|Anthropology, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News|Comments Off

Cal Jillson, Political Science, Polls Show Senate Race Between Cruz, O’Rourke Tightening

WBAP Originally Posted: August 2, 2018 (WBAP/KLIF) – A new Texas Lyceum poll puts the senate race between Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke within the margin of error. SMU Political Science Professor Dr. Cal Jillson has said this race has been a bit surprising. “Beto O’Rourke is performing very well in this race. He’s generated a lot more excitement and raised a lot more money than anybody expected him to,” Jillson said. “But, he’s running in a red state.” The new poll has Cruz up by only two points. A new Quinnipiac poll released this week has Cruz up by six. Jillson believes more money will soon be pouring into the race. “Not just the contributions that go to the two candidates but big money [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-08-02T11:00:59+00:00 August 2nd, 2018|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, Political Science|Comments Off

SMU Study Explores How Native Americans Managed Land With Strategic Fires

KERA Originally Posted: August 1, 2018 Christopher Roos is an archaeologist at Southern Methodist University and lead author of a new study that looks into how that use of fire affected the ecosystem. LISTEN Interview Highlights On how the land was managed by Native Americans One of the primary uses of fire on the landscape was to refresh the prairie. Bison was one of their prime prey and the center point for their economy, in terms of food, clothing, shelter and tools. Bison prefer to graze recently burned patches of prairie — it's tastier, it's more nutritious. And so they manipulated the location of bison herds by selectively burning patches of prairie, and one of the things they did for most of the last millennium is burn patches of prairie to [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-08-02T08:51:19+00:00 August 2nd, 2018|Anthropology, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News|Comments Off

Cullum Clark, Economics, some Dallas shops and eateries are going cashless

D Magazine Originally Posted: July 30, 2018 About two months ago, I walked into a Van Leeuwen ice cream store in Los Angeles. After ordering, I was befuddled to see my dollars bills rejected. “We only accept debit or credit card here,” the man behind the pastel yellow bar patiently explained. The experience threw me into a mini-existential crisis. Because this ice cream man only respected the value of something as intangible and digital as credit, I had to cough up some plastic to earn my scoop of dairy? Should I also be investing in Bitcoin, I panicked? Of course, I calmed down at the first taste of ice cream. My first encounter with a cash-free retailer was not my last. Stores and restaurants across [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-07-31T08:25:33+00:00 August 2nd, 2018|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Economics, Faculty News|Comments Off