An international team of six researchers, including Indiana University Distinguished Professor Linda Smith, received a $10.9 million European Research Council Synergy Grant to pursue a bold and diverse six-year interdisciplinary project at the intersection of language, cognition and human development. The international team’s new project, “SHAPE: The system of shape representations in cognition, development and across languages,” encompasses the way that shape figures into the learning of 44 different languages — systematically sampled to represent all languages across the globe — in children with typical and atypical developmental trajectories, as well as in deaf individuals using sign language. The team aims to expand understanding of the principles — and principled variations — in how developmental trajectories differ across languages, as well as how languages themselves vary in their representations of shape.

The research includes ethics issues related to artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous vehicles, privacy, and bias and seeks to improve AI ethics education from the perspective of industry professionals.

SAN ANTONIO — November 5, 2024 —Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. James Walker has received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Hypervelocity Impact Society. This honor recognizes individuals who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of hypervelocity science. Hypervelocity impact is typically viewed as impacts at speeds above 2 kilometers per second (4,475 miles per hour); for some materials, however, lower speed impacts display hypervelocity impact effects.