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DALLAS (SMU) – Unlike the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse we had last year, ºÚÁÏÀÏ˾»úresearchers were anything but rare in major media outlets in 2024. From findings that could alter the history of early Americans to advances in AI and early disease detection, here are some of this year’s highlights:

Matching dinosaur footprints discovered thousands of miles apart demonstrate how animals moved 120 million years ago across a stretch of land that once connected modern day Brazil and Cameroon. South America and Africa formed a continent called Gondwana before they split apart. Paleontologist Louis Jacobs’ research on the theropod prints was covered by ,,, and among others.

Archaeologist David Meltzer weighed in on new discoveries that researchers claim could rewrite the history of early Americans — and the 4-ton sloths they lived with – in , , and the .     

 

Growing up in India’s Gujarat region, Jyoti Sharma experienced a devastating childhood earthquake that sparked a lifelong desire to develop an early warning system. Now a postdoctoral fellow, Sharma is working with geophysicist Stephen Arrowsmith to transform the University’s network of unused telecommunications and computer fiber into a sophisticated seismic monitoring system, reported.

 

 

Religious studies expert Jill DeTemple told that listening to the story behind another’s belief can help us remember that family members are complex. “Their ideas may come from a place we recognize, even if we don’t agree with them,” she said.

Vice Provost for Research Suku Nair told that the SMU-led Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub’s (TSTH) pitch to Taiwanese tech investors and partners is just one example of its regional, national and global significance. There was also a segment on about how the TSTH is seeking to strengthen and drive innovation in the existing semiconductor supply chain in North Texas and southern Oklahoma. And covered several congressional leaders coming to ºÚÁÏÀÏ˾»úin January to express their support of the TSTH. 

Psychology researcher Alicia Meuret told that her recent study showed doctors and therapists should focus on improving patients’ positive emotions. Treatments based on boosting joy, in addition to easing depressed patient’s negative symptoms, can be very effective, she said.

Mechanical engineer Donghai Wang and his team have found a way to make lithium-sulfur batteries last longer than existing renewable batteries by preventing an unwanted side effect – polysulfide dissolution – that shortens their lifespan. , , , and covered the research.

Civil and environmental engineer Khaled Abdelghany told that technology has been available for 10 years that might have prevented a deadly 2021 multi-car accident in Fort Worth.

 

Church historian Ted Campbell told  that the United Methodist Church has not had a significant rift like the current one since 1908. The recent conflict is largely over the United Methodist Church’s bans on same-sex marriage and clergy members in gay relationships.

 

Engineering expert Janille Smith-Colin shared four ways to empower tomorrow’s female engineers in an op-ed for .  also wrote about the grant that she and others received to create a Mobility Equity Research Center. 

 

Presidential history expert Lindsay Chervinsky told  that the 2024 election echoes the elections of 1888 and 1892, when Benjamin Harrison ran against Grover Cleveland. “In terms of lack of enthusiasm, that’s about as close as we get,” she said.

 

In a study on the shrinking amount of lake ice, hydrologist Xiao Yang assisted with interpreting key NASA satellite images. and  covered the research, which found that the quality and duration of that ice cover also controls key physical, chemical and biological processes within freshwater ecosystems. 

 

 

In essay, writing expert Jonathan Malesic discussed university students’ unwillingness to read books.

 

Political scientist Cal Jillson told the that redistricting made some state races much more competitive, such as the Collin County race in Texas House District 70. He also told  that Texas no longer holds the record as the lowest-voting state –  instead, the state now boasts 18 million registered voters, the highest number ever.

 

In op-ed, Simmons Dean Stephanie Knight and faculty member Amy Richardson discussed SMU’s partnership with Teach for America and how it addresses the teacher shortage.

 

Earth scientist Alexander Chase is using a new technique to search the ocean for unknown compounds that could lead to next-generation antibiotics. , , and covered his research.

 

Economist Michael Cox told that cutting interest rates will not keep inflation away. In fact, it will have the opposite effect, he predicts.

 

The historic Texas film, “The Blood of Jesus,” archived at the G. William Jones Film and Video Collection in Hamon Arts Library, was recently screened as part of the “It Came From Texas” film festival. Film expert Rick Worland described the historic significance of the film after the screening. and covered the story.

 

In a video, religious studies and reflective expert Jill DeTemple told civil discourse is possible at the holiday table, with a few careful steps.

 

Many of the beloved traditions that Americans associate with Christmas began as New Year’s traditions, cultural historian Alexis McCrossen explained to , , and others. McCrossen also told why we got in the habit of changing our clocks every year for Daylight Saving Time.  

  

covered a new $100,000 grant awarded to engineering professors J.-C. Chiao and Ali Beskok that will assist in their development of a fast, portable tool for point-of-care medical diagnoses. 

 

Mark Chancey, an expert on the use of the Bible in public schools, told that a broad religious literacy is essential in a religiously diverse democracy, but one religious view should not be promoted over another. He also discussed new Texas education guidelines for using the Bible in schools in a op-ed and in the .

 

Physics researcher Joel Meyers told, and that new research shows it may be time to update physics concepts. 

 

reported that more than 100 law enforcement agents, nonprofit organizations, researchers and others attended the inaugural ºÚÁÏÀÏ˾»úHuman Trafficking Data Conference. 

 

Simmons education researchers Alexandra Pavlokis and Meredith Richards developed a 16-page graphic novel to help educators better understand students experiencing homelessness. , the and featured the story about their novel, Uprooted, a creative way to explain their research to a wide audience.

 

Musicology Chair Peter Kupfer was featured in a story that examined why couples are increasingly selecting other music than Richard Wagner’s “Bridal Chorus” for their wedding processional.  

 

In , clinical assistant therapist Farnoosh Nouri offered tips for how to bring quiet into a busy, possibly stressful holiday.

 

After the July 19 global IT shut down, cybersecurity expert Mitch Thornton told that a robust and well-tested disaster recovery plan is key to protecting an organization’s assets and operations in the event of a crisis. And as reported, Thornton and fellow cybersecurity expert Eric Larson warned that gone are the days when the telltale signs of a “phishing” scam were fairly easy to spot. Hackers are increasingly using generative AI to write more convincing emails and bogus advertisements, they said. 

Discovery of an obsidian blade in Texas may provide fresh insights into a mid-16th-century Spanish expedition seeking a legendary "city of gold," research from anthropologist Matthew Boulanger suggests. , , , and others covered the news.  

There’s a significant link between wastewater injection and oil well blowouts in the Permian Basin. That was the key finding from a study led by ºÚÁÏÀÏ˾»úgeophysics professor Zhong Lu, which was featured in the , , and .

In a Q&A, electrical and computer engineering expert Jennifer Dworak told that bringing high-tech manufacturing back to the United States is game-changing.

 

covered engineering expert MinJun Kim’s research on a new cost-effective and user-friendly method to create solid-state nanopores.

 

Shriya Siddhartha, who won the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship for leaders in STEM, was featured on for fulfilling her grandmother’s dream to attend medical school.

Civil and environmental engineering researchers Kathleen Smits, Navodi Jayarathne and others found that when natural gas leaks from a subsurface pipeline, certain surface conditions can impact the speed and distance of the leaked gas more than others,  and  reported.  

 

Psychology personality researcher Michael Chmielewski told  that researchers should beware of data gathered on online platforms such as Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.

 

covered OREM engineer Digvijay Boob being awarded a five-year CAREER grant to pioneer quicker, streamlined solutions that could speed up how AI learns from data to make predictions and decisions.

 

and wrote about a study done by ºÚÁÏÀÏ˾»úresearchers that found workforce challenges are impacting outcomes for young children enrolled in Fort Worth’s early education programs. 

 

New research by marketing expert Maria Langlois found that experiencing nature, such as taking a walk, encourages healthier food choices. covered her research.

 

North Texas leads the country in the number of colocation data centers, Cox economist Michael Davis wrote In op-ed. On a separate topic, Davis also wrote an op-ed for stating that millennials are hitting their stride thanks to technology and economics.

 

Economist Cullum Clark told that closing schools and declining enrollment in Plano are the result of a painful reality – sharp drops in birth rates and ageing communities.

 

Presidential history expert Lindsay Chervinsky told the that history is not on the side of Robert F. Kennedy’s bid to be included in the presidential debates. The only three-way debate in U.S. history took place in 1992 between Ross Perot, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Since then, requirements to participate have become stricter.

 

A flurry of earthquakes in West Texas is related to wastewater disposal created by oil and gas extraction, seismology expert Heather DeShon told The wastewater is injected deep into the Earth’s surface and reactivates ancient faults, she said. Seismologist Brian Stump also discussed the earthquakes with in Houston,, and the

 

 

While Dallas was a prime viewing spot for the total solar eclipse on April 8, ºÚÁÏÀÏ˾»úwas in prime time – from a 105-year-old ºÚÁÏÀÏ˾»úgraduate who told about witnessing his 13^th total solar eclipse to journalism student Taylor Good who described the eclipse for the Theoretical physicist Joel Meyers gave a preview of what to expect the day of. And in, art historian Adam Herring said prominent Aztec warriors held all-night vigils after an eclipse, while Melissa Barden Dowling said early Romans were terrified. Economist Cullum Clark told that Dallas shouldn’t expect a significant economic impact for such a short event. and stories also included the work of atmospheric researcher Jacob Clarke as he tracked changes in the atmosphere during the total eclipse. 

 

Do not use your dog’s name for your online password, cybersecurity expert George Finney told Store your passwords in a password vault and use two-factor authentication for every account, he said.

 

Presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky told that the scope and severity of former Trump administration officials speaking out against him is unprecedented.

 

Meadows composing professor Xi Wang was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to study the music and culture of Tibet. reported the story.

 

Even very hateful and offensive speech is protected by the First Amendment, expert Tom Leatherbury told . However, a state university can establish reasonable time, place and manner restrictions, he said.

 

Law professor Christina Sautter explained to why mergers and acquisitions are an economic indicator.

  

Economist Pia Orrenius told that the roadworkers killed in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge were immigrants often slotted into jobs characterized by more injuries. Without immigrants, cities and companies would see bottlenecks to growth, she said.

 

Research in northwest Alaska revealed a new picture of the mid-Cretaceous climate and dinosaur life, Tony Fiorillo told. Fiorillo is a senior fellow in the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man.

 

and featured a new study from psychologist Sarah Kucker and colleagues revealing that passive video use among toddlers can negatively affect language development, but their caregiver’s motivations for exposing them to digital media could also lessen the impact.

 

and featured a deep learning model created by computer science professor Mehak Gupta that can predict the risk of obesity for young children using only routinely collected electronic health record data. 

 

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, reported. Researchers Scott Douglas and Khaled Abdelghany will employ cutting-edge road-based remote sensing technology to track emissions, using devices similar to satellite weather sensors. 

 

Chemist Elfi Kraka and her colleagues have developed a machine learning model to help study stardust and atomic reactions. covered the story.

 

The land under DFW Airport was once the shoreline of an inland sea and is rich in dinosaur fossils. As the airport prepares to build another terminal, paleontologist Dale Winkler told he expects more dinosaur fossils to be discovered.

 

John Cena’s “streaker” routine at the Oscars was a mini-meditation on gender-gap at fashion’s highest level, Rhonda Garelick wrote in

When urban farming comes to mind, ºÚÁÏÀÏ˾»úfaculty members Doric Earle and Owen Lynch hope you'll think of entrepreneurship next. As co-founders of the nonprofit Restorative Farms, they are working to establish a sustainable and profitable AgriSystem model in South Dallas. covered the news. 

featured Guildhall professor Steve Stringer in a Q&A. He often talks with parents and high schoolers about careers in game development. It all starts with math, he said.

Global theology expert Robert Hunt and his student Drew Dickens co-authored op-ed on how the new ChatGPT online technology could impact higher education.

Artificial intelligence can improve many things, but also worsen others – such as enabling harder-to-detect cyber threats. discussed this issue with Mitch Thornton from the Darwin Deason Institute for Cybersecurity. He also gave tips for how consumers could protect their private information after the AT&T data breach. 

Infrastructure desert expert Barbara Minsker’s research was featured on an and KRLD podcast, “Texas Wants to Know: What is Redlining and How Has It Impacted the Black Community?”

 

Paleontologists Diana Vineyard, Louis Jacobs and Michael Polcyn found that ancient rocks and fossils from Angola reptiles provide evidence of the splitting of South America and Africa and the formation of the South Atlantic Ocean. covered the story.

 

 

ºÚÁÏÀÏ˾»únanotechnology 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, reported , , and .

  

After analyzing several years of property crime and organized retail theft data, Cox statistics expert Michael Braun told the that Black people were arrested and charged with retail theft more than twice as often as their White peers. Hispanic people were charged more than 20 percent more often than White people. Ambiguity in the law gives police officers a lot of discretion before the case reaches the prosecutor’s desk, he said.

 

Engineer John Easton explained to why Texas water infrastructure is struggling to keep up. And he was interviewed by about buildings there found to have Legionella in the water.  

 

Economist Santanu Roy was featured in about a study that looked into whether being transparent about past business makes one-time businesses, such as real estate agents, more or less likely to make a sale that benefits both them and the buyer.  

 

Does a college education pay off? In an op-ed, economic expert Cullum Clark said, yes, it does.

 

Economics professor Klaus Desmet’s research on ideological polarization was featured in a op-ed.   

 

covered paleontologist Michael Polcyn’s research on new insights into the evolutions and paleoecology of mosasaurs. 

 

An international team of physicists, including physics professor Fredrick Olness, has for the first time achieved a major breakthrough in nuclear physics by unifying two distinct ways of describing atomic nuclei, reported. 

 

In a study with Dartmouth, chemist Alex Lippert described a new synthetic molecular switch that can trigger shape changes in liquid crystals, enabling them to reflect different colors. The liquid crystals could be used for liquid crystal lasers, display screens that could be easily printed and erased and microscopic tags that could be added to bank notes to deter counterfeiters. and covered the research. Lippert also collaborated with Dartmouth on another study about erasable 3D images, and reported.

 

 

ran an op-ed by anthropology professor Neely Myers explaining why it’s so critical that young psychosis patients get effective early intervention.

 

recognized engineering professors Khaled Abdelghany and Corey Clark as two of the 75 most innovative leaders in artificial intelligence in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Christopher Roos wrote an op-ed in the about why we need a new Smokey Bear that embraces good fire.

 

Some U.S. states still allow, or haven't officially banned, corporal punishment in public schools. George Holden, who has studied parenting, corporal punishment and family violence-related topics, told that's a problem.

 

Computer science major Trevor Gicheru was featured in for the app he created to assist in making study aids from classroom lectures.

 

Elizabeth Stringer spoke with about the future of gaming and her journey from working in major studios to becoming an integral part of the ºÚÁÏÀÏ˾»úGuildhall program.

 

Transportation expert Khaled Abdelghany told he expects the number of young people choosing not to own a car in Dallas to increase. Working remotely and ordering goods online is leading to a significant change in the fabric of the transportation system, he said.

 

Mechanical engineering Ph.D. candidate Kamruzzaman Joty has found a new way to detect and analyze biomolecules, potentially making it easier to detect proteins that are present in low concentrations. That could pave the way for new methods of early disease detection, covered , and .

 

reported about a new approach for using powerful language AI models to automatically generate narrative content for turn-based role-playing video games (RPGs). Corey Clark and Steph Buongiorno created this PANGeA - Procedural Artificial Narrative using Generative AI. 

 

covered the Austin Symposium on Molecular Structure and Dynamics hosted this year by SMU. The conference, organized by chemistry chair Elfi Kraka, brought 121 chemists from 14 countries to campus.

 

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