Kathleen Smits

Kathleen Smits serves as Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Southern Methodist University's Lyle School of Engineering, holding the distinguished Solomon Professor for Global Development title. She concurrently acts as a Senior Fellow with the Hunter and Stephanie Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity. Her extensive career includes prior professorships at the University of Texas at Arlington, Colorado School of Mines, and the U.S. Air Force Academy, complemented by active service as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves where she managed civil engineering projects during multiple deployments.

Her academic foundation includes:

• Ph.D. in Environmental Science & Engineering from Colorado School of Mines
• M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin
• B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy

Dr. Smits' research pioneers energy-environmental systems integration, developing advanced tools for natural gas leakage detection, contaminated soil/water remediation, and renewable energy storage. Her work uniquely bridges land-atmosphere interactions, shallow subsurface multiphase flow, and contaminant transport dynamics to address critical infrastructure safety and sustainability challenges in both developed and resource-limited communities. Current projects focus on translating fundamental hydrological principles into field-deployable solutions for pipeline safety and mining-impacted environments.

Analysis of her 2022-2023 publications reveals three dominant research thrusts: (1) Mobile sensor networks for real-time natural gas leak detection under variable atmospheric conditions, (2) Mercury emission quantification frameworks for artisanal gold mining regulation, and (3) Low-cost monitoring systems for underground infrastructure. These works consistently demonstrate her signature approach of merging theoretical modeling with practical field validation to influence industry standards and environmental policy.

Her accolades include the prestigious NSF CAREER Award and 2024 Excellence in Research and Innovation recognition from SMU. Key honors comprise:

• Vadose Zone Journal Top Cited Papers (2021, 2022)
• NSF CAREER Award for sustainable engineering research
• 2024 SMU Lyle School of Engineering Excellence Award
• ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal Paper of the Year (2014)
• Shultz Humanitarian Engineering Fellowship (2016-2018)

Dr. Smits mentors exceptional graduate researchers including Truog Dissertation Award winner Navodi Jayarathne and P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship recipient Linda Jaramillo-Urrego. Her $450,000 NSF grant funds transformative work on sustainable gold mining in Colombia, while her leadership in the NSF IRES program enables international student research collaborations with Colombia's Universidad Nacional. Current projects integrate engineering solutions with socioeconomic frameworks for mining communities.

She directs a multidisciplinary research collective focused on environmental systems engineering, with active collaborations spanning the Hunt Institute, Cox School of Business (co-developing the Environmental Management of Energy Systems course), and international partners in Colombia. Her team's recent breakthrough demonstrating that leaking gas travels 4x farther under saturated conditions has directly informed first responder protocols and infrastructure safety standards.