Science and Tech
Alumna Helps Patients “Live Happy”
Inspiration can come from unexpected places. For Malak Abouhenidi (M.S. ’14), it was from reading a novel titled Before I Go to Sleep, a psychological thriller about a woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Tapping into Sustainability
When St. Mary’s University revealed its first rainwater harvesting tank – a 5,050-gallon, 10-foot-tall container that irrigates landscaping previously irrigated by pumped water – David Turner, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences, couldn’t have been happier.
New Technology Unmasks Ancient Scriptural Manuscripts
Professor Todd Hanneken, Ph.D., is the first scholar to combine two existing imaging technologies in order to “see” handwritten text that has been indecipherable to the naked eye for hundreds of years.
Chemicals by Design
Susan Oxley, Ph.D., doesn’t mince words when explaining chemistry’s place in the world. “You can be a doctor and help thousands of people, or you can be a chemist and help millions,” Oxley said, quoting her favorite adage.
A Champion for Clean Water
When Albert Hindrichs (B.A. '83) talks to community members about water sustainability, he often asks the same question: "Who thinks water quality is better today than it was 40 years ago?"
Environmental Science majors introduce 5th graders to nature
Most children would rather be outside than in a classroom anyway, so when a group of Environmental Science majors from St. Mary’s University treated students from Ingram Independent School District to a day of outdoor learning last March, they were all smiles.
In Search of a Cure
Ahmad Galaleldeen, Ph.D., was a doctoral student when his faculty mentor showed him a graphic of what appeared to be colorful abstract patterns. In fact, it was a brand new molecular diagram of an important enzyme, and Galaleldeen was among the first to see it.
A 3-D Revolution
The technology of 3-D printers has been common in the news, with their ability to make just about anything from dental prosthetics to acoustic guitars. But what you may not know is that St. Mary’s has had its own 3-D printer for years.
Game On: Graduate Computer Science Professor Puts the Fun Back in Learning
For Carol Luckhardt Redfield, Ph.D., teaching isn’t a one-way process. She believes that effective teaching — and learning — requires students to be engaged in the effort. Considering how much of her time and teaching centers on game development, that makes sense.
Alumna Unearths an Ancient Warrior Queen
Olivia Navarro-Farr, Ph.D. (B.A. ’98), and a team of archaeologists made a career-defining discovery in the summer of 2012: In a collapsed chamber in Guatemala was the tome of Lady K’abel, a powerful Maya queen who ruled the ancient city of El Perú-Waka’ with her husband more than 1,300 years ago.
Engineering a Better World
Among her areas of study, Amber McClung, Ph.D., lists creating models for high-temperature polymer-matrix composites. Stay with me here.
Professor Asks, “Why Do Mammals Have Big Brains?”
Scientists have wondered for decades why mammals’ brains are so large relative to their body size, but for the most part all they could do was guess. The fossils that could give paleontologists clues to the earliest development of the mammalian brain are hard to come by.
Read More Stories
Rattler Den Food and Hygiene Pantry open to students
Launched in Fall 2023, the Rattler Den is a full pantry located in the Center for Life Directions, and free to all St. Mary's students.
Study highlights benefits of Catholic higher education
Wanting to show how religious-affiliated universities, like St. Mary’s, offer more than just an education, Jason King, Ph.D., partnered with market research group YouGov to see how graduates of Catholic institutions fare against their secular school counterparts.
Recent J.D. graduate accepts prestigious federal clerkship
Berenis Ibarra López (J.D. ’24) accepted a 2026-2027 clerkship with the Hon. Irma Carrillo Ramirez, J.D., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. López is currently a law clerk for the Hon.