faculty research – Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

SMU Tower Center is in Paris talking Global Migration Trends

Event Date: June 24, 2019 Location: Collège de France.11 Place Marcelin Berthelot, 75231 Paris, France For More information: Bora Laci, 214-768-4716 or tower@smu.edu Immigration Policy in an Era of Globalization and Crisis (Paris, France) - SMU scholars will join other academics from various institutions in Paris, France to discuss "Immigration Policy in an Era of Globalization and Crisis," and the effects said policy has on nations around the globe. The event will be a multi-day affair (June 23 - June 25) held at the Collège de France in Paris, co-sponsored by the Tower Center for Political Studies and the Institut Convergences MIGRATIONS. READ MORE Or follow @SMUTowerCenter for live tweet of the conference.

By Katherine Nickles| 2019-06-24T06:52:04-07:00 June 24th, 2019|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Political Science, Tower Center|Comments Off

New power generation technology using waste heat from geothermal plants tested at SMU

Think GeoEnergy Originally Posted: June 13, 2019 A research project by the Geothermal Lab in SMU has sparked optimism for the use of PwrCor technology to generate additional power from ultra-low-grade heat typically discarded by geothermal facilities. Source GlobeNewswire The Geothermal Laboratory at Southern Methodist University (SMU) has just completed a research project that aims to use ultra-low-grade heat (150 °F to 250 °F) normally discarded by geothermal facilities to generate additional electricity. A central component of this project was the proprietary bottoming cycle technology of PwrCor, Inc., an advanced technology company that focuses on renewable energy solutions for Waste-to-Heat Power, Geothermal, and Solar markets. Based on the data compiled from 31 out of 73 US-based geothermal sites, an approximate 427 MWe can be generated [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2019-06-17T09:22:04-07:00 June 17th, 2019|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Earth Sciences, Faculty News|Comments Off

DNA From 31,000-Year-Old Human Teeth Reveals New Ethnic Group Living in Siberia During Last Ice Age

SMU Research Originally Posted: June 6, 2019 An international team of researchers, including SMU anthropologist David J. Meltzer, discovered a new group of ancient Siberians. The research was published June 5, 2019 as a story in Nature Two children’s milk teeth buried deep in a remote archaeological site in north eastern Siberia have revealed a previously unknown group of people lived there during the last Ice Age. The finding was part of a wider study, which also discovered 10,000 year-old human remains in another site in Siberia are genetically related to Native Americans – the first time such close genetic links have been discovered outside of the US. The international team of scientists, led by Professor Eske Willerslev who holds positions at St John’s College, University [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2019-06-06T08:45:55-07:00 June 6th, 2019|Anthropology, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News|Comments Off

Ravi Batra, Economics, Do tarriffs cause prices to go up? not necessarily

Maritime - Executive Originally Posted: May 28, 2019 BY RAVI BATRA: Ravi Batra is a professor of international economics at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. He is the author of The Myth of Free Trade. His latest book is End Unemployment Now: How to Eliminate Joblessness, Debt, and Poverty Despite Congress. President Trump recently raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese exports and threatened to impose import duties on all Chinese goods coming into the United States. Will American prices rise substantially as a result? This is a loaded question, because contrary to popular belief, tariffs don’t always raise prices. One alarming study from The Trade Partnership, a think tank, estimates that an average American family of four may have to pay an extra $767. [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2019-06-04T09:22:28-07:00 June 3rd, 2019|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Economics, Faculty News|Comments Off

Dallas Cowboys’ Legend and Video Gamers Help Fight Cancer

SMU Research Originally Posted: May 23, 2019 Gamer’s play contributes to SMU research The worlds of eSports, professional sports, philanthropy and cancer researching collided on Saturday for an online streaming event to raise funds for children with cancer, their families and Children’s Health in Dallas. Three-time Super Bowl winner and NFL Hall of Famer, Michael Irvin, and two-time Madden NFL champion, Drini Gjoka, joined to compete in a gaming tournament alongside patients and patient families at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. The tournament consisted of a live Madden NFL 19 streaming game via Twitch and ExtraLife. Stream viewers were asked to make contributions to Children’s Health in support of its Dallas emergency room renovation. At the same time, technology created by BALANCED Media | Technology helped Southern Methodist University (SMU) [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2019-05-23T06:54:32-07:00 May 31st, 2019|Biology, Chemistry, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News|Comments Off

The Dallas Morning News: HMS, Australia team up to solve a global health challenge

SMU News Originally Posted: May 15, 2019 Southern Methodist University (SMU) has teamed up with Texas-based HMS, the Digital Health CRC (Cooperative Research Centre) and Stanford University to tackle some of the world’s most significant health challenges using ‘big data.’ Dallas Morning News’ business reporter Melissa Repko covered the news on the collaboration, which was announced on Tuesday. There are two key health care challenges that the coalition is looking to address: the global opioid epidemic and the high rates of avoidable hospital readmissions. The first research project conducted by Stanford University students will tackle the opioid crisis. The second project–led by Daniel Heitjan, Director of the PhD Program in Biostatistics at SMU and UT Southwestern–will focus on preventable hospital readmissions, which is when patients unexpectedly return to a hospital within [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2019-05-23T06:40:34-07:00 May 22nd, 2019|Biology, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Events, Faculty News, Statistical Science|Comments Off

Does Tony Horwitz’s New Book Get Texas Right?

Texas Monthly Originally Posted: May 2019 Andrew R. Graybill is the chair of the History Department at Southern Methodist University and the author of The Red and the White: A Family Saga of the American West. Several years ago Tony Horwitz was tasked by his wife to “ruthlessly cull” the books he had amassed as a college student during the Carter administration. Sifting through boxes stashed at their house on Martha’s Vineyard, Horwitz came across The Cotton Kingdom, an 1861 book by the New York journalist Frederick Law Olmsted—better known today as the landscape architect who co-designed Manhattan’s Central Park. The book was the culmination of several trips Olmsted had made to the American South, including Texas, in the 1850s. (His account of his rambles [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2019-05-14T10:22:30-07:00 May 15th, 2019|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History|Comments Off

‘Teaching Joy’ Is A New Approach In The Battle Against Anhedonia

KERA Originally Posted: May 9, 2019 People who find themselves unable to experience delight or satisfaction may be suffering from something called anhedonia, a symptom of depression that strips people of their ability to feel joy. Professors at Southern Methodist University are part of a five-year study aiming to develop a more effective treatment. Alicia Meuret has described her team's novel approach as training people "to develop psychological muscle memory, to learn again how to experience joy and identify that experience when it occurs." She and Thomas Ritz answered our questions about anhedonia and about the study, which will measure the effectiveness of their treatment in over 160 people suffering from the condition. Anhedonia is the deficit in positive affect — the loss of enjoyment in and desire for pleasurable activities. In essence, it's the [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2019-05-13T10:40:56-07:00 May 14th, 2019|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, Psychology|Comments Off

Why artificial intelligence’s evolution could have outsize impact on D-FW jobs

Dallas Morning News Originally Posted: May 11, 2019 Today's computing power and technological advancements originally spooked technologists and futurists, who preached doom and gloom for the future of the American workforce. The Brookings Institution, in a recent report, paints a more nuanced picture of the stresses artificial intelligence will place on society, and it identifies Dallas-Fort Worth as one of the metro areas with a moderately high risk of overall disruption. Dallas' J.H. Cullum Clark strongly disagrees that artificial intelligence is guaranteed to negatively impact the economy. With a history degree from Yale and a Ph.D. in economics, Clark leads the George W. Bush Institute's work on domestic economic policy. READ MORE

By Katherine Nickles| 2019-05-13T05:57:37-07:00 May 13th, 2019|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Economics, Faculty News|Comments Off

There’s a push for classes on the Bible in public schools. And there’s also a pushback

CNN Originally Posted: May 7, 2019 Mark Chancey, an SMU professor of religious studies, was quoted in this article. (CNN) -- Legislators across the country have reignited the fight for, and debate over so-called "Bible literacy classes" -- elective courses in public schools about Scriptures' impact. Alabama, Florida, Missouri, North Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia are among the states that have seen Bible literacy bills so far in 2019. Several of those efforts have fallen along the wayside. While advocates for such classes believe students ought to be able to learn about the Bible's influence on world history, culture and language, opponents tout separation of church and state and their concerns that teachers might possibly stray into proselytizing. READ MORE

By Katherine Nickles| 2019-05-09T10:13:10-07:00 May 9th, 2019|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, Religious Studies|Comments Off