Southern Methodist University

William Spears, founder and CEO of Dallas-based sustainability solutions firm Cenergistic, gave SMU its largest donation from a non-alum in its more than century-long history in 2022. The gift helped establish his namesake Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership within the Cox School of Business, as well as the Spears Accelerator and other entrepreneur-supporting efforts.[Photo: SMU]

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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Real Estate Expert Joins SMU, Crow Holdings to Provide Industry Research to the Region
by | Mar 11, 2022

Mark Roberts is taking his expertise in the real estate space to two local organizations.

A fellow at the Real Estate Research Institute, Roberts has been jointly hired by Dallas real estate investment and development firm Crow Holdings and the SMU Cox School of Business’ Robert and Margaret Folsom Institute for Real Estate as a director of research....

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Building on a ‘Crypto Mining Gold Rush’: Dallas’ Blockmetrix Raises $43M Series B
by | Mar 8, 2022
With $50 million in total funding since launching just last year, Blockmetrix plans to purchase more than 5,000 bitcoin mining rigs, adding to more than 1,000 it currently operates—mostly in Oklahoma.

But the startup aims to go beyond mining bitcoin to research and develop crypto revenue sources, loan bitcoin, set up a cryptocurrency exchange, and more.
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In the SMU study on Dallas' infrastructure deserts, neighborhoods seen in dark red are "highly deficient." Circles denote predominant race-ethnicity (blue for white, green for black, reddish for Hispanic, purple for no predominance). [Image: SMU]

SMU Study Uses Drones and Machine Learning to Find ‘Infrastructure Desert’ Neighborhoods in Dallas

by | Feb 22, 2022
The study by a team of SMU civil engineering researchers was supported by a five-year, $584,000 National Science Foundation grant. The team hopes that their study will lead to equitable improvements in the identified neighborhoods—with better groceries, internet access, noise walls, crosswalks, hospital access, bike trails, and more.
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Bioplastic Product Startup lands $3.25M Seed Round
by | Feb 8, 2022
Two former SMU golf teammates hated paper straws—and got to work. In 2020, the duo launched PlantSwitch, a B2B business offering plastic alternative products with just three clients. Since then, the company has grown fast, adding D2C business and hundreds of clients that include distributors such as Sysco and Ben E. Keith.
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Local Startup Aims to Save Peoples’ Sight with Video Games
by | Feb 7, 2022
McKinney-based BALANCED Media|Technology, SMU, and the Retina Foundation of the Southwest are collaborating to commercialize technology to fight age-related macular degeneration. Using a crowdsourced video game, players help the team create new data sets out of captured retinal images, helping to lead to potential breakthroughs in detection and treatment.
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’58 Alum Gives SMU $50M Toward New End Zone Complex for Gerald J. Ford Stadium
by | Jan 21, 2022
The gift by Weber, a 1958 alum and former Mustang football player, is the largest in the history of the SMU Athletic Department. It launches a $100M facility drive to build the 192,500-SF complex—which will house a team auditorium, new locker rooms, a weight room, position-specific meeting rooms, and more.
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An NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD probably won't fit inside your home office. But SMU can manage it. [Image: NVIDIA]

$11.5M NVIDIA Collaboration Will Put SMU ‘in the Fast Lane for Artificial Intelligence’

by | Nov 11, 2021
SMU is investing $11.5 million into a powerful new supercomputing research system featuring an NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD. Connected with the NVIDIA Quantum InfiniBand networking platform in SMU's data center, it will produce a theoretical 100 petaflops of computing power—enabling the university's network to perform "a blistering 100 quadrillion operations per second." The new capability will supercharge SMU's AI and supercomputing exploration, boosting North Texas' growth as a technology hub.
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SMU Professor Gets $315K Grant To Create New Disaster Evacuation Models
by | Jul 7, 2021
Catastrophes like Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey can cause massive human misery and death. With the National Science Foundation grant, SMU Professor Halit Üster will explore ways to use data to help move millions safely out of harm's way—with enough supplies available to meet their needs.
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Former SMU Basketball Player Launches Purpose-Driven Apparel Line
by | Nov 5, 2020
Jarrey Foster's One Zero Athletics—named for his SMU jersey—aims to foster the relationship between mental and physical health. He teamed up with Dallas entrepreneur Andrew Gautreaux, the CEO of Legacy Exploration, to launch the first collection.
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[Image: Courtesy Balfour]

Kendra Scott Partners with Dallas’ Balfour in its First-Ever Brand Collaboration

by | Aug 27, 2020
The company wants to “reinvent tradition” by teaming up with powerhouse brand Balfour, the more than 100-year-old premier class jewelry provider, while also pivoting its GEMs program.
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SMU-Hosted VC University LIVE is a Crash Course on How Venture Capital Works. Scholarships Remain, But Deadline Looms
by | Aug 26, 2020
Women and minorities, who are underrepresented in the venture capital industry, can apply for scholarships. Deadline for the virtual fall program is Friday, August 28.
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Women Who STEAM Awards Luncheon to Honor Eight Diverse Local Female STEAM Leaders
by | Aug 19, 2020
The event benefits The Dallas Chapter of The Links, Incorporated's STEAM Academy for middle and high school girls of color as well as its scholarship program.
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Discovery: SMU Team Propels Drone Communication Forward, UTA Professor Creates Sustainable City Simulations
by | Feb 28, 2020
In this weekly roundup of research and development activity in North Texas, you’ll also find out about a new collaboration between UNT and LaCore Labs that includes a $1 million gift.
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