SMU

SMU Names Inaugural Vice Provost of Research, Chief Innovation Officer as It Pursues R1 Status

by | Nov 18, 2022
The appointment of Suku Nair, a leader in computer science and engineering who's been teaching and researching at SMU for more than 30 years, is part of a plan for SMU to achieve Carnegie Classification “R1” status, awarded to those universities with the highest levels of research.
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SMU professor Harsha Gangammanavar is leading a multidisciplinary team to develop algorithms that improve complex energy systems—like the management of the energy grid under intermittent renewable power.
DOE Awards SMU-Led Research Team $2M Grant for Algorithms Improving Complex Energy Systems
by | Nov 14, 2022
SMU researchers aim to help address problems in the broad area of computational mathematics for sustainability—such as the management of the energy grid under intermittent renewable power. The research is aimed at developing new algorithms for materials design, bioengineering, and power grid applications.

Researchers will use SMU's high-performance computing system—enhanced with an NVIDIA DGX SuperPODTM—as well as the supercomputing resources at Argonne National Laboratory.
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‘It’s a Different World Out There’: Investors Share Their Insights on the Changing Funding Landscape
by | Nov 14, 2022
At the recent Venture Dallas conference, a panel of leading investors talked market trends and shared insights to help those on both sides of the cap table. Here are key takeaways—from tips for fundraising founders to what startups need to offer to what makes Dallas an exciting place to invest. “As an entrepreneur, just hustle. Don't take ‘No’ for an answer. You're going to get a lot of ‘No’s,’ so just keep at it," said Pialy Aditya, chief strategy officer at Republic.
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The Last Word: Marine Veteran Victor Acosta on SMU’s Catalyst Transition Program
by | Nov 10, 2022
Acosta served as a Marine amphibious assault vehicle operator in posts from Somalia to Haiti to Jordan before coming home to the U.S.—and seeking his place in the civilian workforce. “I gained a life experience that enabled me to see the world differently,” he said in a statement about his Marine service.
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The Last Word: John Howard on How SMU’s New Lab Is Working to Reduce Bias in AI

by | Sep 28, 2022
The goal of SMU's Intelligent Systems and Bias Examination Lab (ISaBEL) is to quantify and minimize bias in artificial intelligence systems. It will explore how AI systems—like facial recognition algorithms—perform on a wide range of diverse people. The Lab will investigate ways that bias can be reduced in these systems through cutting-edge research, standards, and other peer-reviewed studies.
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The Last Word: Woods Capital’s Jonas Woods on Converting Offices Into Apartments
Writing in Texas Monthly, Glenn Hunter takes a look at how office buildings across the state are turning into luxury multifamily homes for tower dwellers, in yet another evolving trend in the future of office.
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DI People: American Airlines, StackPath, Infolob, and More Make Leadership Moves
by | Aug 26, 2022
In this week’s roundup of hires, promotions, and accolades in North Texas, you’ll also find news from the cities of Dallas and Plano, the North Texas Commission, TPG, ParkHub, Vistra, CyrusOne, Van’s Kitchen, ROBOAMP, and more.
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Check Out the Emerging Tech Trends This Dell Technologies Leader Is Tracking
by | Aug 10, 2022
Rakesh Apte, Dell's director of product management and innovation strategy, lays out the emerging trends driving the future of innovation in the technology space that companies big and small should have their eyes on.
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#DSW22 Schedule: Your Definitive Guide to Dallas Startup Week’s 100+ Events

by | Aug 8, 2022
Dallas Startup Week—The DEC Network’s annual flagship event, sponsored by Capital One—had its kickoff party Sunday at The Star in Frisco. You'll find 100+ events and sessions running Monday through Thursday, August 8-11, both online and in person at SMU’s Cox School of Business. Here you'll find Dallas Innovates' handy, one-sheet guide to each day of DSW.
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From SaaS to Coding to Social Impact, See What Awaits You at Dallas Startup Week
by | Aug 2, 2022
Dallas Startup Week is only days away. In addition to three big summits, the DEC Network's flagship week-long event will offer sessions on 21 different "tracks." From social impact to startup funding to esports and emerging tech, here's a look at what the week holds in store.
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See What’s in Store at Dallas Startup Week’s Corporate Startup Innovation Summit
by | Jul 27, 2022
The DEC Network’s flagship event—Dallas Startup Week—will be held August 7 through August 11 both virtually and in person at SMU's Cox School of Business.

Bringing together the local ecosystem’s “breadth and diversity” of corporations and startups, the Corporate Startup Innovation summit will feature Jim Adler, founding managing director of Toyota Ventures, and Steven Levy, editor at large at Wired—plus a deep dive in the funding landscape, an accelerator pitch competition, and more.
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SMU Research Team’s Tiny Sensor May Go to Mars—and Help Spaceships Land Safely
A team led by Volkan Ötügen, director of the SMU MicroSensor Laboratory, has developed a velocity-measuring "optical microresonator" that could help spaceships land safely on Mars and other planets. It's only 2 millimeters long—about the width of two sharp pencil points.

"Every gram of a device makes a huge difference in how much fuel I will have to have on a spacecraft and how many other items I can include as payload on that spacecraft," said Ötügen, whose research is funded by NASA.
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SMU Names Two New Deans

SMU has announced two new appointments to its ranks. Robin Poston and Jason P. Nance will serve as the Dean of the Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies and Dedman School of Law, respectively.

Jason P. Nance, an education policy and law scholar who studies inequalities in public education, will join SMU’s Dedman School of Law as the Judge James Noel Dean in August....

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SMU Alums Create Connections With 100,000 Downloads of Super Awesome Mix
by | May 24, 2022
Launched in 2021, the Super Awesome Mix podcast takes listeners through a 12-song mix tape built around a different theme each episode. Now, with over 100,000 downloads, the founders have launched an app to help users make their own digital mix tapes, plus a card service for events.
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SMU Lands One of its Largest Gifts Ever to Fund Entrepreneurship
by | Apr 28, 2022
William Spears, founder and CEO of Dallas-based sustainability solutions firm Cenergistic, has given SMU the largest donation from a non-alum in its more than century-long history.

The gift will be used to set up the William S. Spears Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership within the Cox School of Business, as well as the Spears Accelerator, to help get student- and faculty-formed businesses off the ground, and other entrepreneur-supporting efforts.
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Retail, Tech, and Innovation Leaders Join North Texas AR Startup’s New Advisory Board
by | Apr 6, 2022
Spacee, a computer vision- and AI-powered augmented reality company, has unveiled a new three-person advisory board in a moment that founder and CEO Skip Howard calls “critical.”
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