liberal arts and sciences

Honoree Hao Yan, a recognized leader in the fast-moving field of structural DNA nanotechnology (known as DNA origami), and his research team joined with ASU’s Biodesign Institute and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to be the first to successfully construct closed 3-D DNA nanoforms. The work uses nature – in this case, DNA – as the architectural underpinning of a biomimetic approach to advance nanotechnology and ultimately build nano-scale devices.

knowledge and enterprise development

The Diabetes for Democracy Project combines performance art and interactive cooking to spark discussion about the epidemic of Type 2 diabetes and share strategies for combating the disease. Mero Cocinero, “the People’s Cook,” and his comrades spent January 2012 in an artistic residency in Phoenix, where they conducted performance workshops with high school and college students and allied health practitioners.

earth and space exploration

The School of Earth and Space Exploration in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers the only Bachelor of Science degree in Earth and Space Exploration in the world. The school is breaking new ground by producing graduates who are hybrid scientist-engineers. The school is a focal point for systems engineering research and education at ASU that relates to space and earth science.

Origins

The Origins Project, led by Lawrence Krauss, a Foundation Professor in ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and the Department of Physics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is helping to position the Valley as a contemporary “intellectual center.” A fundamental role of Origins is communicating with the public, according to Krauss, who recently received the 2012 National Science Board Public Service Award for his efforts in increasing public awareness of science in the U.S.

engineering

During 2008-09, ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering refocused their efforts, moving from 10 traditional departments to five new transdisciplinary schools. The schools’ innovative structure allows for intellectual fusion between disciplines and educates future engineers in a way that prepares them to address complex and socially-relevant research challenges.

Engineers Serving Education is an innovative and sustainable partnership between the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College to reinvigorate science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) education in K-8 schools. The Engineers Serving Education program pairs engineering faculty, graduate mentors and undergraduate engineering students with pre-service teacher candidates from Teachers College to develop and deliver exciting, hands-on curriculum-driven engineering activities in K-8 classrooms. In 2011-12, its pilot year, the program trained more than 250 future teachers in delivering age-appropriate activities. In return, those teacher candidates impacted more than 7,000 students in grades K-8.

journalism

In 2007, ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication revised its curriculum to reflect a new emphasis on high standards, digital media, innovation, entrepreneurship and professional program experiences for students. With a relocation to a new $30 million state-of-the-art media complex in downtown Phoenix, students now learn – in the heart of the nation’s fifth largest city – to use the latest and most sophisticated technology in journalism.

law

The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law confronted the intellectual challenges of the 21st century by recognizing that law cannot be a silo. It must be forged by building interdisciplinary relationships with other ASU schools and departments, including business, history, philosophy, social work, bioscience, justice studies, bioengineering, psychology and sustainability, and with nonprofits outside ASU. For example, the college partnered with those seeking justice for the wrongly convicted and sentenced and those combating domestic violence. The college also has pursued an entrepreneurship model and helped startups with legal, patent and business planning, as part of an interdisciplinary clinic with the W. P. Carey School of Business. It also added transdisciplinary programs including the M.D./J.D. program with the Mayo Clinic, and a J.D./Ph.D. program with the ASU Department of Psychology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

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