During 2007–08 SMU received $19.45 million in external funding for research and sponsored projects aimed at solving local, national and global problems. Current research includes:
- Updated geothermal mapping of North America funded by search engine giant Google
- Particle physics through the Large Hadron Collider’s Atlas particle detector at the CERN laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland
- Triggering “smart” polymer particles to release insulin when they encounter dangerous levels of glucose in the bloodstream of diabetics
- Seismic wave propagation related to the verification of nuclear arms-control treaties
- Using spatial statistical modeling to analyze brain scan data from veterans to identify evidence of Gulf War Syndrome
- Identifying a group of chemical compounds that slow the degeneration of neurons, a condition that causes Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases
- Evaluating alternative instructional models for primary grade students whose first language is Spanish
- Developing a kindergarten curriculum designed to prevent early mathematics difficulties