Category: SMU In The News

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What’s the effect of climate change on plants?

DALLAS (SMU) – Plants need CO2 to live. But we are emitting way too much for plants to absorb.

Bonnie Jacobs

Bonnie Jacobs, a professor of earth sciences at SMU (Southern Methodist University), made this point and others in a recent interview with “Healthy Living Healthy Planet Radio.” Jacobs, who is a noted expert in paleobotany, was asked to weigh in on what climate change might mean for plants in the near future.

By studying fossil plants, paleobotanists can not only better understand past climates, but they can also get a sense of what future climate change could look like.

Jacobs said the climate change we are seeing – precipitated by higher levels of greenhouse gases, especially CO2, emitted into our atmosphere from cars, power plants that burn fuels – will “definitely have a detrimental effect for some plants.”

In some parts of the world, that will be because drought will become more common as the temperature increases, making it harder for native plants to survive. In other parts of the world, it could be because rains become too heavy for plants to grow.

“Life finds ways to adapt.  And if a species cannot adapt, it will go extinct. This is kind of the natural way of the living world,” Jacobs notes. “The really big problem is that we have over 7.5 billion people on this planet right now, and we are living through a very drastic change because the change is happening so quickly with regard to climate.”

You can hear the interview here.

 

About SMU

SMU is the nationally ranked global research university in the dynamic city of Dallas. SMU’s alumni, faculty and nearly 12,000 students in seven degree-granting schools demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit as they lead change in their professions, communities and the world.

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Mind & Brain Researcher news SMU In The News Subfeature Videos

Is it possible to change your personality? Yes, if you’re willing to do the work involved

DALLAS (SMU) – Want to be more outgoing?  Or less uptight?

In an interview with Fox4ward’s Dan Godwin, SMU psychology professor Nathan Hudson said that it is possible for people to change aspects of their personality.  But it will require some work on your part.

You can view the video here or on Hudson’s website. Forbes and Psychology Today also did a piece on the research.

 

About SMU

SMU is the nationally ranked global research university in the dynamic city of Dallas. SMU’s alumni, faculty and nearly 12,000 students in seven degree-granting schools demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit as they lead change in their professions, community and the world.

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Earth & Climate Researcher news SMU In The News Subfeature

Historical data confirms recent increase in West Texas earthquakes

A new analysis of historical seismic data conducted by The University of Texas at Austin, SMU and other academies has found that earthquake activity in West Texas around Pecos has increased dramatically since 2009.

The study, published Nov. 4, 2019, in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, is important because it leverages old, unmined data to track seismic activity over nearly the past two decades – much further back than other studies— to show that activity has increased during the past decade in an area of the Permian Basin that is being heavily developed for oil and gas. Although researchers have generally thought that to be true, the statewide TexNet earthquake monitoring system has been gathering data since only 2017, making it impossible to definitely determine when the cluster of seismic activity around Pecos really began.

The researchers were able to extend the seismic record of the area by turning to the older TXAR system near Lajitas about 150 miles to the south. TXAR is an array of 10 seismographs installed in the 1990s by scientists at SMU (Southern Methodist University) to help track nuclear testing across the world, said lead author Cliff Frohlich, a senior research scientist emeritus at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG).

“Especially for these West Texas earthquakes, we would like to get some information about when they started,” Frohlich said. “I really saw this as a way to bridge the gap before TexNet.”

The TXAR system is some distance from Pecos, but Frohlich said the equipment is highly sensitive and that the area is remote and seismically very quiet, making the system perfect for picking up vibrations from explosions across the world or from earthquakes 150 miles away. Frohlich worked with Chris Hayward, director of SMU’s Geophysics Research Program, to create a method to derive the earthquake data from the international data TXAR collects and build an earthquake catalog for the Delaware Basin near Pecos from 2000 to 2017.

By analyzing data from 2000 to 2017, scientists were able to document more than 7,000 seismic events near Pecos that were determined by the team to be earthquakes. Data on these seismic events had to be manually reviewed to ensure they were in fact earthquakes and not a false detection. This was done by Frohlich and Julia Rosenblit, who was an SMU intern at the time.

Multiple events first started occurring in 2009, when 19 earthquakes of at least magnitude 1 were documented. The rate increased over time, with more than 1,600 earthquakes of magnitude 1 or greater in 2017. Most were so small that no one felt them.

The study shows a correlation between earthquake activity in the area and an increase in oil and gas activity but doesn’t make an effort to directly tie the two together as other studies have done.

“West Texas now has the highest seismicity rates in the state,” said Heather DeShon, study co-author and associate professor at SMU’s Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences. “What remained uncertain is when the earthquakes actually started. This study addresses that.”

This study is the latest in a comprehensive effort to determine what is causing an increase in seismic activity in Texas and how oil and gas operations can be managed to minimize that human-induced element. The state approved the TexNet system in 2015, which is operated in tandem with research efforts by the Center for Integrated Seismicity Research (CISR).

Co-author Peter Hennings, who leads CISR and is a Senior Research Scientist at the UT Bureau of Economic Geology said that fundamental research like this latest study is vital when trying to unravel such a complicated problem.

“The obvious next step is exactly what the University of Texas is doing – conducting these careful studies on the relationship between earthquakes and their human and natural causes to build an integrated understanding,” Hennings said.

SMU seismologists have also been the lead or co-authors of a series of studies on Texas earthquakes. For instance, UT Austin and SMU found that earthquakes triggered by human activity have been happening in Texas since 1925, and they have been widespread throughout the state ever since. In addition, SMU research showed that many of the Dallas-Fort Worth earthquakes were triggered by increases in pore pressure–the pressure of groundwater trapped within tiny spaces inside rocks in the subsurface.

The Bureau of Economic Geology and UTIG are units of the UT Jackson School of Geosciences. Scientists from SMU, Portland State University, the University of Oklahoma and the French institute IFREMER also worked on the study.

Several outlets covered the new research, including The Weather Channel, The Dallas Morning News, Texas Tribune, Midland Reporter-Telegram, and Dallas Observer. – The University of Texas at Austin

 

 

 

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Learning & Education Researcher news SMU In The News Technology

SMU engineering and education professors receive NSF grant to research teaching computer science and computational thinking through community gaming

DALLAS (SMU) – The Lyle School of Engineering, Guildhall and the Simmons School of Education & Human Development at SMU will use a $1,521,615 grant from the National Science Foundation to research teaching computer science and computational thinking through the popular video game, Minecraft. Research will span the fields of game design, human computer interaction, machine learning, curriculum design and education assessment by integrating STEM+C (computing) based curriculum directly into Minecraft. The project will help advance knowledge in game-based learning by building on techniques and experiences from commercial game design. The game and infrastructure produced through the research will serve as a vital computing resource for middle and high school educators.

The grant, which was featured in Dallas Innovates, was awarded to Corey Clark, deputy director of research at SMU Guildhall and an assistant professor of Computer Science at Lyle, Eric Larson, associate professor in Computer Science at Lyle and Leanne Ketterlin Geller, professor and Texas Instrument Endowed Chair in Education at Simmons. Research begins this month with funding extending through 2022. Their aim is to create a more stable, ethical, and inclusive data science workforce by broadening the interest in data science to a more diverse population of K-12 students.

“We’re presented with the challenge of finding creative ways to positively impact student outcomes in STEM and the value it can provide in the learning experience,” said Ketterlin Geller. “We struggle with K-12 student engagement in math and science so this project is an optimal way to help us generate new interest while meeting our education goals and seeing students succeed and excel in these fields.”

“A key initiative of STEM+C is to cultivate the skills for the next generation of data scientists, information scientists, and engineers. Video games provide a technique to engage the next generation of students in a fun and intuitive manner,” said Clark. “Games are developed around fundamental activities, or gameplay atoms, which reflect the experiential learning process through a trial and error in-game conveyance/feedback loop.”

Research will integrate curriculum that aligns with education standards such as Common Core Standards in Mathematics (CCSS-M), Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS-2013), Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA-2017), and California Computer Science Content Standards (CACS-CS 2019) into the successful loops found in Minecraft. These loops contain game mechanics that have shown to engage a large demographic of players across age, gender, race, and socio-economic factors. The project will integrate feedback from educational stakeholders, including teachers and students. Key outcomes from engaging in gameplay that are assessed include changes in students’ interest, attitudes, beliefs, and self-efficacy in STEM+C, engagement in collaborative open-ended solution making, and achievement in related computing and mathematics concepts. – Molly Phillips, Lyle School of Engineering

 

About the Lyle School of Engineering

SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering, founded in 1925, is one of the oldest engineering schools in the Southwest. The school offers eight undergraduate and 29 graduate programs, including master’s and doctoral degrees, through the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Computer Science; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Engineering Management, Information and Systems; and Mechanical Engineering. Lyle students participate in programs in the unique Deason Innovation Gym, providing the tools and space to work on immersion design projects and competitions to accelerate leadership development and the framework for innovation; the Hart Center for Engineering Leadership, helping students develop nontechnical skills to prepare them for leadership in diverse technical fields; the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education, developing new methodologies for incorporating engineering education into K-12 schools; the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, combining the innovative forces of Lyle and the Cox School of Business to integrate their expertise, resources and guidance to develop technology prototypes and create viable business plans; and the Hunter and Stephanie Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity, combining technological innovation with business expertise to address global poverty.

About Guildhall

Since its genesis, SMU Guildhall has set the bar in game development education. Recognized as one of the best game design graduate programs in the world, SMU Guildhall works collaboratively across disciplines and industries to train the next generation of game developers. It’s long held a seat in the Top 10 rankings for game development programs across the world by the Princeton Review, sitting at Number 1 for the past two years. In addition to its Team Game Production curriculum, the Guildhall has been commended for the high quality of its faculty of industry veterans and professionals as well as its career services achievements. The program has graduated over 800 alumni, who now work at more than 270 video game studios and tech companies around the world. The program’s achievements can also be seen in its high-caliber game successes including record breaking downloads, awards, and contest wins. SMU Guildhall offers both a Master of Interactive Technology in Digital Game Development degree and a Professional Certificate of Interactive Technology in Digital Game Development, and it is the only program to offer specializations in all four cornerstones of game development — Art, Design, Production, and Programming. For more information, visit guildhall.smu.edu.

About Simmons School of Education & Human Development

The Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development at SMU reflects the University’s vision of serving the most important educational needs of our city, region and nation, graduating students for successful careers in a variety of fields and providing educational opportunities beyond traditional degree programs. Recognized as a unique and transformative leader in education research, practice and policy, the School is committed to rigorous, research-driven programs that promote evidence-based, effective practices in education and human development.

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SMU In The News

Dallas Innovates: MacFarlane to lead SMU’s Hart Institute for Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

DALLAS (SMU) – Duncan L. MacFarlane MBA ’98, an expert in engineering entrepreneurship and a pioneer in the field of photonics, has been appointed the first executive director of the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at SMU. The Institute combines the innovative forces of SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering and Cox School of Business. The two schools integrate their expertise, resources and guidance to develop technology prototypes and create viable business plans.

“Naming Duncan to this position is a natural extension of his vast expertise in product innovation and engineering entrepreneurship. He is actively engaged in Dallas, the region and the SMU community in efforts to nurture ground-breaking ideas and turn them into reality,” said Lyle Dean Marc P. Christensen.

“The resources provided through this institute greatly enhance SMU’s ability to cultivate and support engineering entrepreneurs in North Texas and beyond,” said MacFarlane, who also holds the Bobby B. Lyle Centennial Chair in Engineering Entrepreneurship, serves as associate dean for Engineering Entrepreneurship and is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Lyle. “I am delighted with this opportunity.”

“An alumnus of the SMU Cox Executive MBA program, Duncan’s inherent innovative spirit helped launch the joint M.S. in Engineering Entrepreneurship degree in concert with the Lyle and Cox Schools in 2017,” said Matthew B. Myers, Dean of the Cox School of Business. “We look forward to a deeper collaboration between the two schools in taking the engineering entrepreneurship program and campus-based technology start-ups to new heights.”

MacFarlane’s specific research areas include breakthrough advances in quantum informatics, photonics, communications systems and instrumentation. His work in photonic filters is used widely by optical component and system engineers in industry. MacFarlane pioneered the manufacture of micro-optics using ink jet techniques and invented a novel 3-dimensional volumetric display applied in aerospace. He has written more than 100 technical papers, holds 18 U.S. patents and has secured more than $8.5 million in research funding.

Prior to joining SMU, MacFarlane spent almost three decades at The University of Texas at Dallas in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, where he served as program director of Telecommunications Engineering and associate dean for Interdisciplinary Programs. MacFarlane started three new departments, including Materials Science and Engineering, Bioengineering, and Systems Engineering and Management, as well as six new degree programs. MacFarlane received the UT Dallas Diversity Ambassador Award in 2012 and the Jonsson School Award for Teaching Excellence in 2014.

MacFarlane’s industry experience includes roles at Schafer Associates, Texas Instruments and JDS Uniphase. He was an original member of Celion Networks, a telecommunications system startup backed by Sequoia, a venture capital firm. He was also a co-founder of MRRA, a company dedicated to improving medical imaging through supporting instrumentation.

At Lyle, MacFarlane teaches undergraduate and graduate-level Electrical and Computer Engineering courses, as well as Engineering Entrepreneurship. He is the director of the Photonics Devices and Systems Laboratory and co-director of the Quantum Informatics Research Group. As the Bobby B. Lyle Centennial Chair in Engineering Entrepreneurship, MacFarlane serves as program director for the Master of Science in Engineering Entrepreneurship (MSEN).

MacFarlane is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas and a Fellow of the Optical Society of America. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and has been elected to the honor societies Eta Kappa Nu, Sigma Xi and Beta Gamma Sigma. MacFarlane earned his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Brown University in 1984 and 1985, respectively; a Ph.D. from Portland State University in 1989; and an MBA from SMU in 1998.

Read Dallas Innovates’ article on MacFarlane here. – Molly Phillips and Anna Martinez

 

About SMU

SMU is the nationally ranked global research university in the dynamic city of Dallas. SMU’s alumni, faculty and nearly 12,000 students in seven degree-granting schools demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit as they lead change in their professions, community and the world.

 

About the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering

SMU’s Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering, founded in 1925, is one of the oldest engineering schools in the Southwest. The school offers eight undergraduate and 29 graduate programs, including master’s and doctoral degrees, through the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Computer Science and Engineering; Electrical Engineering; Engineering Management, Information, and Systems; and Mechanical Engineering. Lyle students participate in programs in the unique Deason Innovation Gym, providing the tools and space to work on immersion design projects and competitions to accelerate leadership development and the framework for innovation; the Hart Center for Engineering Leadership, helping students develop nontechnical skills to prepare them for leadership in diverse technical fields; the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education, developing new methodologies for incorporating engineering education into K-12 schools; and the Hunter and Stephanie Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity, combining technological innovation with business expertise to address global poverty.

 

About the Cox School of Business

The SMU Cox School of Business, established in 1920, is committed to influencing the way the world conducts business via prolific research that provokes innovation, change and global thought leadership. Cox faculty members strive to connect ground-breaking research to the classroom as well as the marketplace. Cox faculty are widely published in the world’s most prestigious management journals. The Cox School of Business offers a full range of business education degree programs including BBA, multiple MBA programs, and other Master of Science degree programs, as well as non-degree Executive Education programs. Consistently ranked among the world’s leading business schools, SMU Cox maintains an active alumni network and is accredited by AACSB.