Social and ethical outcomes of research aren’t always considered in an academic culture that regards knowledge as an end unto itself. The New American University’s goal is to contribute to disciplines and consider the larger contributions that can be made to society by building a community of scholars guided by a focus on purpose and on research that is truly use-inspired. ASU has embraced this vision and pursues it with vigor, believing that research matters, and is a key component in solving many of the world’s challenges.

At ASU, research matters when it comes to attracting the best faculty and students. It matters in experiential learning. It matters in training 21st-century minds. And it matters in order to advance our communities, the nation and the world.

By breaking the mold of traditional universities, ASU has become a place that trains leaders, implements change and embraces an analytical focus on global solutions.

In the past decade, ASU has employed these philosophies across all disciplines and has tripled its research expenditures to $355 million. ASU has become the fastest growing research enterprise in the United States among universities with research portfolios exceeding $100 million. This focused research has gained national attention among significant funding agencies including the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, U.S. Department of Defense and private philanthropists. In 2002, ASU was awarded 13 research grants topping $5 million. That number more than tripled to 42 grants by the end of 2011.

Along with this investment has come an increase in physical research space – more than 1.5 million square feet in new research space was constructed in the last 10 years. New buildings include the Biodesign Institute and Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Buildings (ISTB) 1 through 5, including the newest building – ISTB 4 – the largest research facility at ASU.

“The importance of what we did (over the past decade) was not only that we achieved it, but how we achieved it,” said Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development senior vice president. “We put together fantastic institutes and programs to address global challenges. This allowed us to attract outstanding faculty, researchers and students to ASU. With such talent, it is possible to achieve ambitious goals. For example, our students are very entrepreneurial – for the past two years, ASU teams have placed in the Microsoft Imagine Cup, and three of the five finalists in Entrepreneur magazine’s College Entrepreneur of the Year Award were ASU teams, including the winning team.”

ASU continues to augment its innovative approach to research by expanding the number of large transdisciplinary projects, industry contracts and major new research initiatives, enabling the university to build on its past successes and making a difference worldwide through use-inspired research.