Research

SMU and George Washington University have created a magnetic tweezer system that could one day make it possible for doctors to do remote, non-invasive, highly precise medical procedures on their patients using a microrobot.

SMU nanotechnology expert MinJun Kim is working with Applied Research Associates, Inc. to create tiny robots that could offer a less invasive way to treat vitreous hemorrhage.

Leanne Ketterlin-Geller’s grant represents the highest single total dollar amount in SMU's history, aiming to help students prepare for their future by learning fractions.

SMU nanotechnology expert MinJun Kim has been named a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors.

One gene affects multiple organs increasing death risk.

Here are some of SMU research's highlights from 2024.

A new $100,000 grant awarded to SMU will assist in their development of a fast, portable tool for point-of-care medical diagnoses.

SMU mechanical engineering graduate student has figured out a way to enhance the sensitivity of nanopores for early detection of diseases.

Practicing on avatars in mixed reality, teachers use unique SMU lab to learn how to navigate complex classroom conversations.

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 $2.97M U.S. DOT grant funds a first-of-its-kind center, which will help advance 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.

SMU Lyle’s new center explores digital twin technology’s impact on manufacturing—what it is, how it works, and its benefits.

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

SMU nanotechnology expert's research team aims 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.

SMU and Dartmouth researchers make a breakthrough that could enable 3D medical scan projections suspended in acrylic cubes for hand-held organ models.

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 one-time-sale businesses like real estate, does transparency of past business help future sales? It depends, a study found.

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.

SMU nanotechnology expert’s team won an extremely competitive NIH R01 grant for gene therapy research.

The Texoma Tech Hub has been awarded a $500,000 Consortium Accelerator Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA).

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's MinJun Kim and team developed a faster, precise method to aid gene therapy for treating and curing diseases.

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 found that ancient Angolan rocks and marine fossils show the South Atlantic Ocean's formation as South America and Africa split.

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

FBI and SMU announced plans to exchange resources and information with the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub.

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.

SMU engineering professor receives a five-year NSF grant to try to speed up how AI learns from data to make predictions and decisions.

Texoma Tech Hub leaders will be speaking to Taiwanese tech investors and partners, who are interested in possibly investing in the U.S. semiconductor industry.

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.

The unique center at SMU Lyle combines research innovation and industry partnerships to explore how digital twins, AI, virtual reality, and more will shape the future of manufacturing.

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 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.

Study analyzes how, why young children use digital media.

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.

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.

A Federal Highway Administration awarded to SMU aims to develop a computer program that utilizes artificial intelligence to enhance the safety and efficiency of intersections for both vehicles and pedestrians.

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 and SMU engineer received a patent for a digital assistant that can easily and quickly sort through terabytes of Earth science data, so researchers can answer scientific questions.

SMU leads a federally-funded initiative to boost the semiconductor supply chain in 29 North Texas and Oklahoma counties through 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.

SMU engineer, Feonix Mobility and other universities receive award from NIH’s ComPASS program to address 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 secured a $3.5M NIH grant to develop new antibiotics for drug-resistant tuberculosis and leprosy.

Biology professor trying to determine if different quality control pathways in our bodies might be working together to repair damaged components in cells.

Dallas Love Field Airport partnered with JetWind Power Corporation to capture wind blasts from aircraft and convert them into environmentally friendly electricity. Students and researchers from SMU and Clarkson University assisted with the early modeling for this new method.

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 and global astronomers seeking to use DESI data and simulations to measure dark matter halos surrounding and permeating galaxies.

SMU’s Deason Institute launches a Cyber Autonomy Range with IBM to strengthen autonomous systems against cyberattacks, backed by $850K in software and support.

SMU measured Dallas’s resilience before, during, and after the February 2021 winter snowstorm and found Dallas recovered quickly.

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.

SMU biology researcher receives an NIH grant to identify biomarkers that could help people at risk for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.

Evidence of savannah grass growing much earlier than previously known reshapes our prehistoric life understanding and how grasses in Africa likely influenced early ape evolution.

A 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.

A study finds mercury reports under the Minamata Convention lack data to track progress in reducing gold mining's role in global mercury pollution.

An SMU graduate student 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.

SMU chemistry professor Devin Matthews wins SIAM’s 2023 Wilkinson Prize, awarded every four years for outstanding numerical software contributions.

Robert Gregory has been named an AAAS fellow for his contributions to geology, such as his work on earth's dynamic systems.

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