2010 Dedman College News Archives

Ernie Jouriles named APS Fellow - SMU professor Ernie Jouriles has been recognized as a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science for sustained and outstanding distinguished contributions to psychological science. Jouriles, chair of the Psychology Department at Dedman College, becomes the second APS Fellow in that department, joining George Holden in the honor.
(12/21/2010)

New hope for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and Huntington's - SMU professor Ed Biehl, working with other scientists from SMU and UT Dallas, have developed novel compounds that show early promise in the treatment of Parkinson's, Alzhiemer's and Huntington's disease. (12/15/2010)

Minnesota mine could shed secrets of dark matter. - SMU professor Jodi Cooley and a team of scientists are conducting research deep underground in a Minnesota mine. Their quest is to prove the existence of dark matter. (11/29/2010)

Work continues on the Dedman College Strategic Plan - The Dedman College Strategic Planning Committee, comprised of representatives from throughout the college, continues its data gathering process towards a new strategic plan for the College of Humanities and Sciences. (11/5/2010)

Archaeological Sites Threatened by Rising Seas - Archaeologists Torben Rick from the Smithsonian Institution, Leslie Reeder of Southern Methodist University, and Jon Erlandson of the University of Oregon have issued a call to action for scientists to assess archaeological sites in coastal areas around the world that are at risk of being lost due to erosion if global warming induces rising sea levels as predicted. (10/28/2010)

Latino/Latina Religions students documenting church history - Students in a Latino/Latina Religions class are documenting the history of St. Mary's College for Women and Pre-GED school at St. Matthew's Cathedral, the Episcopal Cathedral in Dallas. Latino/Latina Religions is a Cultural Formations class taught by Jill DeTemple, assistant professor of Religious Studies in Dedman College. (10/27/2010)

Respected Seismologist Eugene Herrin dies - Dr. Eugene Herrin, the Schuler-Foscue Endowed Chair in the Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences passed away from a heart attack on Nov. 20, 2010. On Monday, November 29, 2010, at Noon, chimes will be played to celebrate the life of Dr. Herrin. (10/20/2010)

Erin Hedrick wins the 2010 Green Minute Video Contest - Erin Hedrick of Barrington, Ill., majoring in psychology and cinema-television at SMU, is the winner of the 2010 Green Minute Video Contest, promoting sustainability using the theme "Do One Thing."
(10/16/2010)

International Scholarship Deadline: Oct. 5 - The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is accepting applications through Oct. 5 for participation in Spring 2011 study abroad programs. For more information, see link below and contact the SMU Office of Fellowships and Awards. (10/5/2010)

Trampling animals can alter muddy Paleolithic sites - Archaeologist, Metin I. Eren, a graduate student in the Department of Anthropology at Dedman College, along with eight other researchers, have made a startling find suggesting that the impact of animals trampling in water-saturated areas can result in an alarming amount of disturbance to artifacts in the mud. (9/27/2010)

SMU hosts Dallas Regional Science & Engineering Fair Participants - Faculty and staff of the SMU Physics Department, led by DRSEF President and Physics Department faculty member Simon Dalley, recently hosted the 2010 Beal Bank Dallas Regional Science & Engineering Fair (DRSEF) competition winners for an awards banquet. One of the grand prize winners, Amy Chyao, went on to become World Champion at the 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair. (9/16/2010)

Human Rights Program gets new offices - The Human Rights Program at Dedman College, one of the fastest growing programs on the SMU campus, has moved into new offices in Clements Hall.
(9/8/2010)

Economics Data Mining Team ranked in nation's top three - The SAS Institute of North Carolina has just announced that SMU’s Data Mining team is one of the top three finishers in the nation for the 2010 SAS Data Mining Shootout, a data analysis competition co-sponsored by SAS, Dow Chemical and the Central Michigan University Research Corporation. This is the third year in a row that SMU’s Economics Department has fielded one of the top three Data Mining teams in the nation. (9/1/2010)

"Geothermal in the Oil Field" Symposium - The Geothermal Lab at Dedman College was one of the hosts of the Geothermal Symposium held in Casper WY, August 18-19, 2010. (8/24/2010)

Habitat for Humanity - Members of SMU Habitat for Humanity traveled to El Salvador in May 2010 to build two houses in a rural community of about 90 families. (8/22/2010)

David J. Weber memorial service scheduled - David Weber, SMU professor, distinguished historian, and the founding Director of the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies died Aug. 20, 2010 at the age of 69. A memorial service will be held on Monday, October 4 at 1:00 p.m. in the Umphrey Lee Ballroom.
(8/20/2010)

Health Care Experience - Through internships and volunteering, students are gaining experience in the practice of medicine. (7/21/2010)

Solving Big Bang - Mathematician Daniel Reynolds is using supercomputers to unravel the mysteries of the Big Bang. (7/9/2010)

A Glimpse At The Heart Of Dark Matter - The scientific world was all ears Dec. 17 when SMU Assistant Professor of Experimental Physics Jodi Cooley announced the highly anticipated research finding that scientists may have finally caught a glimpse of dark matter. (7/8/2010)

Dedman College anthropologist awarded Hogg Foundation grant - The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health in Austin has awarded SMU medical anthropologist, Nia Parson, a one-year $15,000 grant to examine the mental health care needs of abused Mexican immigrant women.
(6/15/2010)

Federal school lunches linked to childhood obesity - Dedman College economist Daniel L. Millimet authored a study with economists Rusty Tchernis, Georgia State University, and Muna S. Hussain, Kuwait University, indicating that children who eat school lunches that are part of the federal government's National School Lunch Program are more likely to become overweight.
(6/9/2010)

SMU broadened Dallas' world by pushing residents to expand outlook - Marshall Terry is E.A. Lilly Professor of English, emeritus, at SMU, and a Fellow of the Texas Institute of Letters. (6/1/2010)

National Academy of Education fellowship to Issac Mbiti - The National Academy of Education (NAEd) advances the highest quality education research and its use in policy formulation and practice. Founded in 1965, the Academy membership includes up to 200 U.S. members and up to 25 foreign associates who are elected on the basis of outstanding scholarship or contributions to education. (5/20/2010)

Economics Ph.D. Program Celebrates 50th Anniversary - Dedman College’s Economics Department, under the leadership of Tom Fomby, recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Economics Ph.D. Program. In recognition of the event, a presentation was shared and is now available for viewing. (5/19/2010)

Early Career Scientist - SMU physicist Nadolsky earns DOE Early Career Research Program Award (5/18/2010)

Class of 2010 Honored - SMU honors the class of 2010 (5/11/2010)

Bridging science and media - Students Kathryn Sharkey and Amy Andrus write about attending the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting from February 17-22 (5/10/2010)

Rare pterosaur unearthed in Texas hillside - Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences Postdoctoral fellow, Timothy Myers, has identified a 95 million-year-old flying reptile found in Texas. (4/30/2010)

Sense of threat links to trauma symptoms - Research in the Department of Psychology indicates that children's perception of threat can influence the development of trauma symptoms. (4/10/2010)

Exercise is beneficial to mental health - Dr. Jasper Smits, from Dedman's Department of Psychology, has co-authored a book addressing the benefits of exercise on depression and anxiety disorders. (4/10/2010)

World's fastest chip designed by SMU's physicists - Jingbo Ye, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at Dedman College, led development and design of the "world's fastest integrated circuit" for use in the large Haldron Collider. (4/9/2010)

Embrey Family Foundation reinforces commitment - The Human Rights Program at Dedman College has received additional funding from the Embrey Family Foundation to continue providing classes and educational experiences that are changing lives. (3/29/2010)

Foreign Language comes in handy - Leela Harpur, Dedman College student studying Spanish and Italian has been selected by the U.S. Department of State to serve as a 2010 summer intern in the Consular Section of the American Embassy in Rome. (3/29/2010)

SMU team studying plausible cause of earthquakes - A study of seismic activity near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport reveals that the operation of a saltwater injection disposal well in the area was a “plausible cause” for the series of small earthquakes. (3/11/2010)

Dedman Seismologist Brian Stump leads SMU team in earthquake study - A study of seismic activity near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport reveals that the operation of a saltwater injection disposal well in the area was a “plausible cause” for the series of small earthquakes. (3/10/2010)

Philosophy Professor named Maguire Teaching Fellow - Professor Soraya Gollop, Philosophy Department, has been named a 2010-2011 Maguire Teaching Fellow and will focus on creating a course on medical ethics. (3/4/2010)

Economics Professor headed to MIT - Prof. Isaac Mbiti, from the Dedman College Economics Department, was recently named Martin Luther King Visiting Professor at MIT. (3/3/2010)

Wetherington wins "Friend of Darwin" award - Ronald Wetherington, professor of anthropology in SMU's Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences and director of the University’s Center for Teaching Excellence, has been selected to receive a "Friend of Darwin" award from the National Center for Science Education. (2/18/2010)

Cattlerancher from birth - Georgia Lee Swickheimer, born into a Texas cattleranching family, made her way to SMU as a social science major before joining and eventually retiring from the U.S Marine Corp. (2/16/2010)

Professor Fred Olness to present at DESY - Germany's premier research center for particle physics, the DESY laboratory, has named Professor Fred Olness, from Dedman College's Physics Department, as the inaugural lecturer for the "Theorist of the Week" program.
(2/15/2010)

Looking for Dark Matter - Jodi Cooley, assistant professor of experimental particle physics in the Physics Department of Dedman College is a member of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment, conducting research in the Soudan Underground Laboratory in Minnesota. The team recently announced breakthrough findings in an article in the journal Science.
(2/12/2010)

Tower Center Launches Blog - Visit the new Tower Center blog for updates on center activity. (2/4/2010)

Godbey Lecture Series seen as an intellectual treasure - Named in honor of Jo Faye Godbey, this lecture series continues to deliver top quality lectures. (1/19/2010)

Rapper Reggie G. - Also known as Reginald Gray, Economics Teacher and SMU Alum. (1/19/2010)

The bus is leaving - Get on board! - In March 2010, students, faculty, and staff from SMU will journey back in time to reclaim memory and renew respect for those who struggled to secure civil rights often taken for granted today. (1/18/2010)

SMU campuses closed - Due to inclement weather conditions, all SMU campuses are closed for the remainder of the day (Friday, Feb. 12, 2010). Essential personnel should report as usual. (1/15/2010)

SMU Researcher wins top DOD award - Jason McKenna, Research Assistant Professor in SMU's Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences,received the Department of Defense's Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the DOD's highest award for civilian career employees. (1/4/2010)

AARO: First Year Students - Class of 2014, get ready for your new life as Mustangs. Orientation sessions begin June 29.

SMU Graduate named to USA Today All-USA College Academic Team - SMU graduate Warren Seay (’10) has been named a third-team member of the USA Today All-USA College Academic Team.

Successful Entrepreneurship Begins at Dedman - Johnny de la Valdene, began his entrepreneurial adventures while studying History at SMU. He started two companies as a freshman at Dedman College and has gone on to successfully start dozens of companies over the years.

Geothermal mapping reveals green energy source - New research by SMU's Geothermal Laboratory suggests that there might be a large, green energy source under the state of West Virginia. A detailed report will be presented a the 2010 Geothermal Resources Council annual meeting, which runs from Oct. 24-27 in Sacramento, CA.