As of September 1, 2005 SMU has joined the University of Virginia and the University of Michigan as the third university site in the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Lasers and Plasmas for Advanced Manufacturing.

"The NSF I/UCRC program develops long-term partnerships among industry, academe, and government.  The centers are catalyzed by a small investment from the NSF and are primarily supported by industry center members, with the NSF taking a supporting role in their development and evolution." ( www.nsf.gov )

Currently the following companies and agencies are members of SMU’s Center for Lasers and Plasmas (CLP): Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Halliburton Service Energy, General Motors,  and the Army Research Laboratory.

The center’s mission is to promote and apply university lead R&D work as well as to educate and train undergraduate and graduate students in the area of laser material processing.