ASU's year in review 2016

A roundup of some of the university’s top stories of 2016

people waving from ASU bridge

December 21, 2016

It was a year of big headlines for both the nation and Arizona State University. As the world has been faced with new challenges — and opportunities for new solutions — ASU has found innovative ways to help the communities it serves. The university’s faculty, staff and students have made advancements in health, space exploration, robotics and more, all while expanding access to education and extending compassion to others.

Here are some of the top stories from 2016:

  • ASU graduate students consult coordinates to track a meteorite.

    Tracking down the Arizona fireball

    This summer, a chunk of rock the size of a VW Beetle hurtled into the atmosphere and broke apart. Soon one of ASU’s top meteorite experts was off on a team expedition searching for pieces — after three nights of searching, they were successful.

  • The sensors involved with using the brain to control drones

    ASU researcher creates system to control robots with the brain

    The director of the Human-Oriented Robotics and Control Lab, Panagiotis Artemiadis, discovered how to handle multiple drones using the human brain.

  • ASU associate research professor David Williams with model of Dawn spacecraft

    The case of the missing craters

    Associate research professor David Williams was on a team for a NASA mission that explored the dwarf planet Ceres, which orbits in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. He helped pinpoint a lack of big craters, leading to a new model for Ceres' evolution.

  • Basketball robot

    ASU robot teaches itself how to shoot hoops — in a matter of hours

    Plenty of machines can shoot hoops, but this ASU robot taught itself to play ball in a matter of hours. Meet the amazing, two-armed, self-taught, hoop-shooting basketball bot called Sun Devil.

  • Yili Hong, Zhongju Zhang and Ziru Li

    ASU team first to prove Uber eases traffic congestion

    Uber has provoked great debate over its effects, but research by an ASU proved that when the nation’s largest ride-sharing service enters an urban market, it reduces traffic congestion for all drivers.

  • Shadows stalking some grass.

    Think babies are tough? Wait until middle school

    ASU researchers showed that the most challenging period of mothering comes during middle school years, when the child is dealing with puberty, social dynamics at school, and the instinct to branch out from parental rules.

Discoveries

From shooting stars to shooting hoops, ASU researchers were in on some big finds.

  • Aedes aegypti mosquito

    Scientists reveal low-cost test for Zika

    Hoping to slow the advance of the Zika virus, researchers from the Wyss Institute and ASU developed a low-cost, practical diagnostic that can be easily administered — even in areas where resources and medical expertise are scarce.

  • online yoga class

    The healing effects of yoga

    ASU associate professor Jennifer Huberty and her team are studying the effects of yoga on the stress and grief experienced by women who've gone through a stillbirth, and the results are promising. She also hopes to examine yoga's recuperative powers on those with a rare blood cancer.

  • Kim Jones

    Cyber stars at ASU

    With more than 200,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs — and an estimate of up to 1 million vacancies by the year 2020 — ASU has established the Cybersecurity Education Consortium to address the growing talent gap in the sector.

  • Lake Mead with Hoover Dam in the foreground.

    The future of water in the Southwest

    A three-part series examined the work that ASU is doing in the realm of water as a resource in the arid West.

  • Artist rendering of the future Mayo ASU Alliance for Health Care building

    Mayo Clinic ASU alliance seeks to transform health care

    A partnership between ASU and the Mayo Clinic aims to transform medical education and health care in the U.S., helping doctors reduce costs, simplify the system and save more lives.

  • Woman standing among dancers.

    Dance legend Liz Lerman joins ASU

    Liz Lerman — choreographer, author, educator and 2002 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship recipient — joined the ASU faculty at the beginning of the spring 2016 semester.

  • ASU professor Lawrence Krauss

    This guy? He knows people

    As subtly as the shift in a gravitational wave, the universe changed. Lawrence Krauss’ Erdos-Bacon-Sabbath number became the lowest in history, placing him ahead of Stephen Hawking, Thomas Edison and Fred Rogers.

  • The SunCube FemtoSat, designed at ASU.

    The next big thing in space is really, really small

    Going into space is now within your grasp. A tiny spacecraft developed at ASU is breaking the barrier of launch cost, making the price of conducting a space mission radically cheaper.

  • A cellphone takes a photo of a group of students with a Pokemon

    Teaching geography with Pokémon GO

    An ASU professor created an education tool that leverages Pokémon Go to improve elementary school students’ geography, math and language skills.

  • From 'bulldozer bait' to a beehive of artistic activity

    Once destined to become rubble, the 100-year-old Grant Street Studios structure in downtown Phoenix now serves as the state-of-the-art center of activity and production for graduate programs in ASU’s School of Art.

Solutions

ASU faculty and staff found real-world ways to solve today's challenges and prepare for tomorrow's.

  • ASU top US producer of Fulbright scholars

    ASU was the top U.S. producer of Fulbright scholars among peer universities, with 10 faculty members receiving the prestigious honor in 2015-16. ASU also ranked fifth among research institutions in the number of student winners, with 22.

  • Thunderbird at 70: Rebirth and rediscovery

    The Thunderbird School of Global Management marked its 70th anniversary as an international business school. CEO Allen Morrison said its new partnership with ASU has given Thunderbird a chance at rebirth and rediscovery.

  • US President Barack Obama and Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang at a welcoming ceremony

    Obama highlights ASU during trip to Vietnam

    President Barack Obama, during a visit to Vietnam, spoke of ASU’s efforts in that country to improve education in science and engineering.

  • audiology grad student looking into patient's ear

    ASU professor leads audiology team to Malawi

    Ingrid McBride, an ASU audiology professor, has traveled to Malawi in southeast Africa for the last six years to address what she calls a “tremendous” need for medical professionals who can help people suffering from hearing problems.

  • Ancient city of Teotihuacan in Mexico

    ASU lab digs deep into ancient city's past

    Our three-part series on ASU’s Teotihuacan Research Laboratory in San Juan Teotihuacan, Mexico, told a story about people who once lived in one of the greatest cities of the ancient world — and the people who study them.

  • Academic Writing class

    ASU takes top spot for international students

    ASU maintained its position as the top-ranked public research institution for international scholars and moved up to No. 3 overall for a college or university, according a 2016 Open Doors Report.

Creativity

A sprawling, forgotten building turned into bustling art studios; a tiny satellite turned space exploration on its ear; an uber-popular game turned into a teaching tool — these are just a few ways that the ASU community took an innovative approach to the world.

  • Michael M. Crow

    ASU's innovation is a benefit for society

    In his annual address, ASU President Michael M. Crow said that Arizona State University’s innovative mindset requires collaboration and purpose, and it is driven by a responsibility to the community.

  • new seats in Sun Devil Stadium

    How to turn a stadium into a year-round cultural hub

    A team of five graduate students has come up with a plan to create a year-round cultural hub in Sun Devil Stadium that draws people of all ages every day of the week.

  • Visitors tour the new law building in downtown Phoenix.

    Center for Law and Society stands for inclusion

    The Beus Center for Law and Society opened this summer with a focus of connecting the community, as much as students, to justice. It will house the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law as well as several public services.

  • Westward Ho

    ASU helping community at landmark Westward Ho

    This year marked the grand opening of the Collaboratory on Central, a teaching clinic for the various colleges and disciplines represented on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus, including nursing, nutrition, nonprofit and social work.

  • Volunteers harvest dates.

    Helping sustain the future of dates

    The Polytechnic date palm grove is one of the most genetically diverse collections in the Western Hemisphere. See scenes from this year's harvest, view an easy and healthful way to use dates, and learn more about the history of "nature's candy."

  • Social Work classroom

    ASU strengthens Tucson

    ASU’s School of Social Work program based in Tucson fills a void in the community and includes interns who work with local police. Graduates work at shelters, drug-rehabilitation centers, family-services clinics, schools and hospitals.

  • Michael Phelps

    Phelps looks to life outside the pool at ASU

    Arizona’s blue skies and sunshine have been a tonic for Michael Phelps, who has been training at ASU since last summer. He followed his longtime coach, Bob Bowman, who is in his first season as head coach of the Sun Devils swim teams.

  • Two rows of palm trees against a bright blue sky.

    Palm Walk: A tale of trees, death, rebirth and mystery

    ASU’s iconic Palm Walk turned 100 this year. And as the palms near the end of their natural lifespans, they have slowly started to be replaced, so we took a look at the trees’ past as we prepare for their future.

  • ASU swimmer under water

    Fork 'em over in Rio

    ASU was well represented at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro — 27 Sun Devils went, representing 15 countries in nine sports.

  • A researcher works in an algae lab.

    Celebrating 20 years of hands-on learning at Polytechnic

    Twenty years ago, the birth of ASU’s Polytechnic campus was wrought with determination, trepidation — and a shoestring budget. From that beginning on a former military base grew what’s now called ASU's "maker" campus.

Entrepreneurship

From student startups to a journalism "teaching hospital" with Google News Lab, ASU's entrepreneurial spirit thrived. 

Global Engagement

ASU welcomes the global community into its halls and classrooms — the university was recognized as the top public university in the country for international students. The school also sends its scholars around the world to help, study and grow understanding.

Arizona Impact

Part of ASU's charter is assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves. Faculty, students and staff embody that.

Sun Devil Life

The university celebrated icons both historical (Palm Walk turning 100) and new (Michael Phelps). 

ASU News

As ASU drew accolades ranging from ranking in the top 10 for graduate employability to being named the nation's most innovative university for the second consecutive year, it also drew some brilliant minds and doubled its number of Nobel laureates.

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