WINTER 2024 NEWSLETTER
SMU Corporate Engagement is your connection to SMU for cutting-edge research partnerships, strategic philanthropy, talent acquisition and continuing and executive education. We connect companies, nonprofits and individuals to SMU faculty, students and staff who are ready to collaborate with business.
Around campus:
SMU designated lead for new federal semiconductor tech hub
In late October, SMU received notification from the Department of Commerce that the University had been designated the lead agency of 31 new federal Tech Hubs across the country. SMU’s hub, the Texoma Semiconductor Innovation Consortium (TSIC), will develop, strengthen and propel innovation in fablet-based semiconductor manufacturing supply chains in 29 counties in southern Oklahoma and northern Texas, benefiting small rural communities and large urban and suburban areas.
The 41-member TSIC will apply this winter for a maximum of $75 million in funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to construct a model for promoting enhanced collaboration, expanding the region’s technical workforce and catalyzing commercialization of technology advancements via:
- Labs possessing equipment for electronic design, chip manufacturing, packaging and/or testing and used to advance both education and commercialization activities (known as “fablets,”), especially in underserved areas in the TSIC region;
- Commercialization Councils to link innovation, venture capital firms and industry throughout the supply chains to develop new ideas and products;
- Workforce Development Councils to empower students and adult learners to enter the workforce, obtain new knowledge and acquire degrees and certifications, at the K-12, post-secondary and reskilling levels.
TSIC is central to the nation with outstanding transportation connections to other regions in the country, which provides resiliency against supply chain disruptions. The entire manufacturing process can occur within TSIC’s service region, from bare wafers to the use of chips in final products, reducing transportation and energy demands. North Texas is the birthplace of the integrated circuit, and TSIC’s region is already a major player in semiconductor fabs and foundries.
TSIC industry partners include Texas Instruments, Fujitsu, Lockheed Martin and Global Wafers. For more information about TSIC and how you can take part, please
contact us.
O’Donnell Institute begins operations
Also new on campus for the 2024 spring term is the O’Donnell Data Science & Research Computing Institute. The institute oversees SMU’s high-performance computing (HPC) ecosystem, providing not only University faculty and students the tools for revolutionary computational research but also the capability for collaboration with industry and non-profit organizations where AI-level computing would prove valuable.
Neena Imam, the Peter O’Donnell, Jr. Director of the institute, comes to SMU from NVIDIA, where she worked with academic researchers to enable the development of GPU-accelerated and AI/machine learning applications. Before NVIDIA, Imam served as a distinguished scientist and deputy director of research collaboration in the Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where she performed research in high performance computing as well as next-generation microelectronics and Post Moore computing.
The University continues to recruit new faculty across multiple disciplines who are tackling obstacles in areas such as K-12 digital pedagogy, urban infrastructure, regional sustainability, marketing, economics and building/infrastructure vulnerability, to name only a few sectors of interest to industry. Featuring theoretical power of 2.6 petaflops of computing power, the University's supercomputing system is a portal for companies of all sizes, from legacy corporations globally to new joint ventures in Dallas-Fort Worth. These entities can join with SMU to solve problems in many industry verticals, including regional economic development, transportation, supply chain logistics and health care provision.
Please reach out if your company or institution would like to collaborate with the O’Donnell Institute and its network of data scientist faculty and students. The institute plans to hold events in 2024, including a data science hackathon and research computing day, so external constituency participation are welcome!
SMU hosts new exhibit on British and American punk and new wave music
An exciting exhibition celebrating some of the iconic artists, musicians and performers of the late 20th century will appear on campus in early February. Torn Apart: Punk + New Wave Graphics, Fashion and Culture: 1976 – 1986 will showcase posters, clothing, buttons, pins, and other artifacts from a pivotal period for pop music globally. Opening on February 8, the exhibition features select pieces from two collections: one owned by Andrew Krivine, a scholar and author, and the other from Sir Malcolm Garrett, a graphic designer. If you’re a fan of The Clash, Talking Heads, Pretenders and other bands and artists from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, please plan to come to campus this spring to learn more about how punk and new wave continue to influence fashion, graphic design and journalism in the 21st century.
Corporate and Foundation Relations has a newly revised website
Our website has a new look and more content designed to aid you in connecting across campus to maximize your value proposition with SMU. Please check it out and give us feedback on how we can improve it to make it more responsive to your needs!
Coming soon:
We invite you to forward this newsletter to your colleagues. We’re happy to add them to our mailing list. To learn more about research activities at SMU, please follow SMU’s Research News site and LinkedIn.
Let’s talk.
Best,
Rob Strauss
Senior Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
Tim Angell
Director for Corporate Engagement
SMU
Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations
P.O. Box 750402
Dallas, TX 75275-0402
www.smu.edu/CorporateEngagement
cfr@smu.edu
