Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.71
Liaison Alex Davis
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Arizona State University
AC-9: Academic Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 12.00 / 12.00 Betty Lombardo
Manager
University Sustainability Practices
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Number of the institution’s faculty and/or staff engaged in sustainability research:
870

Total number of the institution’s faculty and/or staff engaged in research:
1,950

Number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that include at least one faculty or staff member that conducts sustainability research:
94

The total number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that conduct research:
116

A copy of the sustainability research inventory that includes the names and department affiliations of faculty and staff engaged in sustainability research:
Names and department affiliations of faculty and staff engaged in sustainability research:
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A brief description of the methodology the institution followed to complete the research inventory:

Process: Arizona State University award data are queried using the following sustainability indicators:

Sustainability Scientists and Scholars (Investigators)
Keywords
Centers
Colleges
Sponsors

Each set of results are then combined together resulting in a distinct set of award numbers, thus eliminating duplicate reporting of expenditure values. Final expenditure totals are generated from this distinct set of awards and categorized based on survey instructions. For information purposes, the criteria for each category are included in the uploaded spreadsheets.


A brief description of notable accomplishments during the previous three years by faculty and/or staff engaged in sustainability research:

ASU scientists, along with colleagues at Argonne National Laboratory, have reported advances toward perfecting a functional artificial leaf. Designing an artificial leaf that uses solar energy to convert water cheaply and efficiently into hydrogen and oxygen is one of the goals of BISfuel – the Energy Frontier Research Center, funded by the Department of Energy, in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Arizona State University.

ASU engineer Amy Landis has been awarded a $6.9 million grant from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy to promote the use of biomaterials as sustainable sources of rubber and fuels.

Dragica Vasileska, a professor in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, will lead a national project aimed at producing more reliable and durable photovoltaic cells for solar energy systems.

In new research conducted at ASU’s Biodesign Institute, scientists explore the relationships of two important bacterial forms, demonstrating their ability to produce electricity by coordinating their metabolic activities.

Salt River Project and ASU's College of Technology and Innovation have partnered for a second year to award a $170,000 grant to fund research initiatives in renewable energy and conservation.

Mikhail Chester, an assistant professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering has been involved in a variety of research efforts to accurately forecast the costs – both economically and environmentally – of transportation systems and technologies throughout their life cycles and over the coming decades.

A $180,000 grant was awarded to the College of Technology and Innovation at Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University (NAU) to support a study on ways to naturally eliminate invasive plants.

In a Co.EXIST article by Stan Alcorn, ASU researcher Kevin Gurney discusses his tool, the Ventus Project, an online portal that allows everyday citizens to record nearby carbon-emitting power plants.

Research to help provide more sustainable water and energy resources earns ASU chemical engineer Mary Laura Lind support from the National Science Foundation.

A transdisciplinary team of scientists is using the hot and populous Phoenix metropolitan area to explore how different segments of the region are being affected by increasingly oppressive heat.


The website URL where information about sustainability research is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.