US trains top foreign-born students but sends them away after graduation, presidents say

In an open letter to more than 1,200 university and college presidents across the country, ASU President Michael M. Crow joins the presidents of Cornell University and Miami Dade College in urging their fellow leaders in higher education to join them in pushing for smart immigration policies that will help attract and retain the world’s best and brightest. Download Full Image

Working with the Partnership for a New American Economy and the National Immigration Forum, David J. Skorton (Cornell), Crow and Eduardo J. Padrón (Miami Dade) announced that on April 19 they will host major events on their respective campuses to highlight the role of immigration in driving innovation and creating American jobs. They are encouraging others school presidents to follow suit.

“By speaking with one coordinated voice,” they write, “we can best bring our message to the public and to our representatives in Washington, D.C.”

In their letter, these three presidents stressed that America often trains the most talented foreign-born students in our top educational institutions, only to send them overseas to compete against us in the global marketplace because our immigration system does not provide an opportunity for them to stay. They also noted that many children who were brought here at a young age are prevented from attending college because of their undocumented status. These presidents have long been advocates for sensible immigration reform that helps bolster America’s economy.

Skorton, Crow and Padrón also highlighted visa reform for students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields as one of the policies they’re strongly backing. Right now, the U.S. economy faces a severe shortage of STEM workers: By 2018, the United States will have an estimated 779,000 jobs that require advanced STEM degrees but only an estimated 555,200 advanced-degree STEM holders – a shortage of more than 220,000 workers.

"For years we've been training the best and brightest foreign-born students in our leading universities – only to have our antiquated immigration laws send them packing after graduation. I thank these college and university presidents for joining the growing list of higher education leaders who are urging Congress to fix our broken immigration system – and fix it this year,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, mayor of New York City and co-chair of the Partnership for a New American Economy.

“Many of us have lost sight of the important contributions immigrants have made – and are making – to our culture and our economy," said Skorton. "Their continued contributions are critical to our country’s success.”

“As one of the largest U.S. public research universities, and one dedicated to meaningful global engagement, ASU is ‘home’ to students and alumni from more than 125 foreign countries," Crow said. "We have a critical responsibility as an education and discovery leader, economic driver, and workforce provider, to support change that allows this country to retain the brilliant minds we serve, thereby strengthening American competitiveness and quality of life.”

“For millions of young people in our country, the opportunity to gain a college education depends on immigration reform. Given the chance, those students will be contributors to vital communities and an American workforce that leads through innovation,” said Padrón.

“Too many of the students trained on our college campuses return to their country of origin because we do not offer them a chance to remain. Whether it is attaching a green card to a STEM degree or putting undocumented students on a road to citizenship, our immigration system must catch up with the times,” said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum.

The Partnership’s research shows that:

• The U.S. is facing a shortage of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workers. By 2018, there will be more than 220,000 advanced-degree STEM jobs that will not be filled even if every single American STEM graduate finds a job. (Partnership for a New American Economy and Partnership for New York City, “Not Coming to America,” May 2012)

• Foreign STEM graduates drive American innovation. More than three out of every four patents (76 percent) that the top 10 patent-producing universities (MIT, Caltech, Stanford, etc.) received in 2011 had an immigrant inventor. (Partnership for a New American Economy, “Patent Pending,” June 2012)

• Foreign STEM graduates create American jobs: Every foreign-born graduate with an advanced-degree from a U.S. university who stays and works in a STEM field creates on average 2.62 jobs for American workers. (American Enterprise Institute and the Partnership for a New American Economy, “Immigration and American Jobs,” December 2011)

• Passing the DREAM Act will create jobs and boost economic growth: Incentivizing DREAMers to pursue college and allowing them to work here legally will add 1.4 million jobs and generate $329 billion in economic activity over the next 20 years. (Center for American Progress and Partnership for a New American Economy, “The Economic Benefits of Passing the DREAM Act,” October 2012)

• Immigrants have created many of America’s greatest companies. Forty percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by an immigrant or the child of an immigrant. (Partnership for a New American Economy, “The ‘New American’ Fortune 500,” June 2011).

Arizona State University professors Lina Karam, Cun-Zheng Ning, Antonia Papandreou-Suppappola and Yong-Hang Zhang have been elected to distinguished Fellow status in leading professional engineering organizations.

Each is on the faculty of the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, one of ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Download Full Image

Karam, Ning and Papandreou-Suppappola are new Fellows in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the largest and one of the most prominent international engineering organizations, with more than 400,000 members.

Ning and Zhang are among new Fellows of the Optical Society of America (OSA), an organization of engineers, scientists, business leaders and educators in more than 100 countries who work in the fields of optics and photonics.

Members of the organizations are elevated to Fellow positions based on outstanding achievements and leadership in their areas of expertise.

Karam is being recognized for contributions to human perception-based visual processing, image and video communications and digital filtering.

"In perceptual-visual processing we try to explore how we perceive images and video so we can develop systems that are more efficient and can improve the quality of an image while reducing the bandwidth, power or resources," she explains.

By understanding what humans can perceive, Karam introduces distortions where human perception is not strong, thereby conserving bandwidth and power that can then be channeled into more salient areas with color or depth variation to achieve better quality.

"Previous algorithms rely blindly on every dot in the image and expend resources on everything. Instead we enhance things that are going to make a difference," Karam says.

Her work in image and video communications complements the perception research by providing the means to automatically judge the quality of an image. Karam is developing objective metrics that will perform this function and determine the location of distortions. Results of such research are applied in development of technological advances for consumer electronics.

Communication devices make use of these functions to determine how much bandwidth to allocate to different areas in an image or video to optimize the perceived quality of the transmitted visual content, while minimizing the needed bandwidth, thus saving energy and costs.  

Digital cameras, for example, apply these functions to assess blur distortions in the image being photographed and then automatically adjust the lens to provide a clearer focus.

Digital filtering takes signals or data and processes them through a system that changes or enhances them for a specific purpose. "The applications range from monitoring seismic activity and oil explorations, to medical imaging, noise reduction and low-delay communications," Karam says.

Karam was the first to bring a high level of expertise in modern image and video processing to ASU.   

Selection as an IEEE Fellow “makes you feel good that your work is being seen as something significant in the field," she says. But she emphasizes the importance of the students who have worked with her throughout her career. "This wouldn't have been possible without the students in my research group and their commitment to develop the ideas we discuss," she says.

Ning's research group fabricates nano-scale lasers and studies nanowire materials for applications in optical devices. In collaboration with a colleague, Martin Hill from the Netherlands, Ning and his students developed what is so far the world’s smallest plasmonic nanolaser using electrical injection. Such lasers can potentially be used in future computer chips or for other on-chip information processing and communications.

His selection as an IEEE Fellow is also based on his development of metallic-cavity nanolasers that operate at room temperatures without the costly and complicated assistance of refrigeration systems. This is so far the highest temperature at which such lasers can operate, moving nanolaser technology one step closer to practical applications.

The OSA is recognizing his wide range of contributions to nanophotonics, optoelectronics and laser physics. His research in these areas involves pursuit of advances in photonic devices, such as lasers made from semiconductor nanostructures for optical and light- emission applications.

His research group was first to create quaternary alloy nanomaterials and alloy nanowires that can emit over the entire visible light spectrum. Such unique nanomaterials have important applications in solid-state lighting.

Using such alloy nanomaterials, the team has designed a new type of solar cell capable of absorbing the entire spectrum of solar light by using a variety of materials that most effectively absorb light at various wavelengths. It’s a particularly innovative achievement because all of the various materials can be grown at once on a single platform, instead of requiring a costly process of growing them separately and having to place them together.

Ning’s wide range of innovations has attracted significant attention from the scientific community, as well as news media.  He has been interviewed by several prominent research journals and magazines, such as Science, Nature Photonics and Laser Focus World, and the results of his team’s work have been featured in popular publications such as Science Daily.

"I feel honored that I’ve been named a Fellow in these two most important societies in my field within a year. It is very rare for this to occur in the same year,” says Ning, pointing out the rigorous process of earning Fellow status.

Individuals must be nominated for the honor by a current Fellow and gain support for the nomination through endorsements from at least several accomplished peers in their profession.

Elevation to IEEE Fellow is limited to no more than one-tenth of one percent of the IEEE voting members each year.

Papandreou-Suppappola was selected as an IEEE Fellow for her novel research in time-frequency signal processing.
She has been working in the field for more than 15 years and has active projects ranging from waveform agile sensing and structural damage detection to biological and biomedical signal analysis and wireless communication system modeling.

"Research in time-frequency processing methods provides matched analysis tools for signals with frequency content and properties that change with
time," she explains.

It analyzes a signal on a two-dimensional plane of both time and frequency, allowing researchers to see the time, frequency and amplitude of a signal. Such research, she explains, involves "methods used to characterize time-varying channels, analyze biomedical signals such as heart sounds and brain activity, and process radar and sonar waveforms."

She has received numerous awards and honors for her contributions in signal processing.

In 2002 Papandreou-Suppappola won a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, which recognizes young engineers and scientists who demonstrate potential to be research leaders in their fields.  In 2003 and 2008 she won awards for her research from the IEEE Phoenix Chapter. She also received Teaching Excellence Awards from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering in 2005 and 2009.

Her election to IEEE Fellow "provides credibility for my research,” she says.

Zhang has been elected as an OSA fellow in recognition of his contributions to semiconductor optoelectronics.

His research has covered a broad area of optoelectronics involving the growth of semiconductor materials and their structural and optical properties, as well as semiconductor devices design, fabrication and testing.

These devices include lasers, light-emitting diodes, photodetectors and solar cells that have broad applications, such as the use of optical fibers and semiconductor lasers for the Internet, the use of photodetectors for environmental monitoring and electricity generation using solar cells.

His most notable contributions in these areas include the invention of new materials and device designs for 1.3 µm surface-emitting lasers for optical data links, information for new high-performance solar cells for space and terrestrial applications, and demonstration of novel test methods for multi-junction solar cells, which have helped the solar cell industry design devices for optimal performance.

“I’m pleased that ASU is getting more recognition from the OSA,” Zhang says. “For more than a decade, ASU has made continuing investments in these areas of photonics, optoelectronics and semiconductor solar cells, and it is paying off. I anticipate more ASU faculty members will be elected to the OSA as we expand research in these areas.”

He echoes Karam, saying “without outstanding students and postdocs, it will not be possible.”  

Zhang is currently supervising 15 doctoral and post-doc students, and has been faculty adviser to more than 20 students who have earned doctoral degrees or master’s degrees, and supervised more than 30 post-doctoral researchers. Many have gone on to positions as college faculty members and researchers at university research and development centers, as well as at national and military labs, and as engineers with major international corporations and innovative startup companies.

Written by Joe Kullman and Natalie Pierce

With a world-class faculty offering courses in more than 20 languages and cultures, ASU's School of International Letters and Cultures is one of the most dynamic international humanities programs in the Unites States.

From 4 to 9 p.m., March 2, the school will participate in ASU’s Night of the Open Door. The event, spearheaded by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, invites the public to the Tempe campus to participate in hands-on activities, attend presentations, and visit campus museums, classrooms and laboratories – places and activities that are not typically accessible to the public. Download Full Image

School of International Letters and Cultures' faculty and students will showcase cultural diversity and ASU’s global engagement by offering mini language lessons in 14 different languages, giving presentations about current cultural engagement projects and topics, and even guiding visitors on a virtual tour of ancient Rome using the digital “Rome Reborn” model.

Ancient Rome will also be the focus of the very entertaining mock Roman election, in which members of the ASU student organization Solis Diaboli (dressed in togas!) will campaign for votes. The audience will choose the winner by casting votes in ancient Roman style.

The school’s Juan Pablo Gil-Osle, assistant professor of Spanish, will also host two Flamenco guitar workshops for anyone interested in Flamenco music and culture. Feel free to bring your guitar to one or both sessions.

The school will also host another international musical activity – the quintessential of all Japanese entertainments – Karaoke, featuring songs from an international song list in various languages.

Cultural sharing continues on the Tyler Mall stage outside with belly dancing, an international fashion show featuring traditional dress from a variety of countries and cultures, and international musical performances.

The public is also invited to get a traditional henna tattoo, tour the school’s project-based language learning lab, learn one of the calligraphies of the world, or learn about the many world-class study abroad programs that the school offers for both students and the public.

“A major university like ASU is in the business of training people for careers, but it is equally in the business of educating citizens capable of making informed decisions about their lives and the society in which they live,” says Joe Cutter, director of the School of International Letters and Cultures.

During ASU’s Night of the Open Door, the public will have the chance to experience just how diverse and exciting our world society is and just how much ASU has to offer with its international humanities programs in the School of International Letters and Cultures.

The School of International Letters and Cultures is an academic unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

In a coup for researchers of Native American culture, renowned Indigenous poet and writer Simon J. Ortiz has donated an archive of his personal papers to Arizona State University. Ortiz’ papers comprise a significant acquisition by the Labriola National American Indian Data Center in Hayden Library on the Tempe campus, where the collection will be housed. 

Ortiz, a Regents’ Professor of English and American Indian Studies, is of Acoma Pueblo heritage. His is a major voice in what is termed the “Native American Renaissance,” a 20th century literary movement. The breadth and scope of this collection will greatly add to scholars’ overall understanding of Ortiz’s substantial body of work. Download Full Image

The archive includes Ortiz’s personal and writer’s journals, manuscripts and early drafts, as well as sections of Ortiz’s personal library. It covers the period in the 1970s and 1980s during which Ortiz lived and taught in California at the College of Marin and the San Francisco Arts Institute, until his return to New Mexico to teach at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Speaking of the books he is donating, Ortiz mused, “The reading regimen of a writer is really everything as we go through our lives. I don’t buy a book to substantiate what I’m doing, but because I’m feeling compelled, or perhaps whimsical. Then, the book becomes a part of the journey.” 

Joyce Martin, curator of the Labriola Center, says that the Ortiz Collection at ASU will have “international significance while functioning as a wonderful research tool for students and faculty around the world who are exploring Indigenous literature.” 

Fellow Pueblo scholar Greg Cajete (Santa Clara Pueblo) assessed the contributions of Ortiz’s writing as it speaks of, and for, Indigenous people: “Indigenous community is a story that is a collection of individual stories ... and when a story finds that special circumstance, when its message is fully received, it induces a direct and powerful understanding. It becomes real teaching. This is the essence of what Simon achieves through his poetry, his fiction, and his nonfiction.”

Ortiz reflected upon his reasons for donating his archive to ASU: “I have been part of the process, the dynamic, and the creative output of what has become known as Indigenous literature, and therefore felt it was important to make this material accessible by providing it to the Labriola Center. Indigenous knowledge creates a foundation, the elemental basis that informs the general body of knowledge of the Americas. The keystone of this foundation is sourced in Indigenous oral tradition, which is expressed in my writing.”

When asked about his choice of ASU in particular to house his papers, Ortiz noted eloquently, “I’m a believer in public institutions. I believe in ASU because the people benefit – here, at the university, in Arizona, in the Southwest, in our community.”

The Ortiz Archives have already begun to attract doctoral students, with more expected when the archives are completed.

The Labriola National American Indian Data Center, part of the ASU Libraries, is a research collection international in scope that brings together in one location current and historic information on government, culture, religion and world view, social life and customs, tribal history, and information on individuals from the United States, Canada, Sonora, and Chihuahua, Mexico.

The Department of English and the American Indian Studies Program are academic units in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ASU.

Written by Paris Masek and Cynthia Hogue

Media contact:
Kristen LaRue, Kristen.LaRue@asu.edu
480-965-7611
Department of English, CLAS

Matthew Whitaker, founding director for the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, examines the "Age of Obama" in a Feb. 17 op-ed piece for the Arizona Republic.

Whitaker says that the election of President Barack Obama reflected a "major pivot in American society."

The piece further examines the topic of "blackness" as personified by the Obama family: "Blackness, as personified by the Obama family, embodies the type of hybridity that defines all Americans. We are a fusion of humanity, but Obama’s ascendency has helped educate millions about just how diverse we are," Whitaker writes.

Access full article below.

A reception, book signing, workshops and special keynote address by David Treuer is part of an upcoming Diversity Scholars Series event hosted by the Office of Institutional Inclusion.

Treuer, the featured scholar, is an Ojibwe Indian from Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota. He will discuss and read from his most recent book, "Rez Life: An Indian's Journey Through the Land of His People," as part of a special reception open to the public from 5 to 7 p.m., Feb. 20, in the Memorial Union, room 228, on the Tempe campus. Download Full Image

Light hors d'oeuvres will be served from 5 to 6 p.m., and the keynote address will follow. Please RSVP by Feb. 16.

In his book "Rez Life," Treuer brings a novelist's storytelling skill and an eye for detail to a complex and subtle examination of Native American reservation life, past and present.

With authoritative research and reportage, he illuminates misunderstood contemporary issues of sovereignty, treaty rights, and natural-resource conservation. He traces the waves of public policy that have disenfranchised and exploited Native Americans, exposing the tension that has marked the historical relationship between the U.S. government and the Native American population. Through the eyes of students, teachers, government administrators, lawyers and tribal court judges, he shows how casinos, tribal government and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have transformed the landscape of Native American life.

Treuer is the recipient of a numerous awards and fellowships, including the Pushcart Prize, and fellowships from the NEH, Bush Foundation and the Guggenheim Foundation. He has written three novels, a book of criticism, and more recently "Rez Life." His essays, editorials and stories have appeared in the New York Times, Lucky Peach, Esquire, TriQuarterly, the Washington Post, the LA Times and Slate.com.

In addition, the Office of Institutional Inclusion will present two sessions on Feb. 21 – the first one from 9 to 11 a.m., in the Memorial Union, room 246, on "The Narrative of Dismay: How to Get Beyond Tragedy."

The second session will take place from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., in the Memorial Union, room 246, on "Social Justice and Narrative Justice: How to Think about Being Indian in the 21st Century."

A light breakfast will be provided in the first session, which is designed for ASU faculty and graduate students. In this session, Treuer will discuss the role of scholarship, journalism and memoir in relation to finding new ways of investigating American Indian lives.

A light lunch will be provided in the second session, which is designed for ASU student support and staff. Here, Treuer will discuss ways in which we can account for the difficulties of supporting American Indian students in the modern age.

Seating is limited – please RSVP by Feb. 16 to diversityscholars@asu.edu.

Gwen Ifill, one of the nation’s most recognized and respected television journalists, will give a free public lecture April 1 on diversity in the news.

Ifill is managing editor and moderator of the PBS news show “Washington Week,” the longest-running prime time news and public affairs program on television, and is senior correspondent for another long-running news program, the “PBS NewsHour.” She also has been a frequent guest on other news programs such as “Meet the Press.” Download Full Image

The best-selling author of “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama,” Ifill will discuss “Diversity and Inclusion in the News.”

Her appearance is sponsored by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication as part of an ASU award given to the school last year in recognition of its efforts to advance diversity and inclusion. The inaugural Institutional Inclusion Award included a grant to fund the visit under the university’s Diversity Scholar Series, a biannual event designed to stimulate conversations about diversity, social justice and policymaking.

“We are delighted to co-host Gwen Ifill as a university Diversity Scholar,” said Delia Saenz, vice provost for Institutional Inclusion. “Her prominence as a journalist and intellect on issues of national importance exemplify the level of dialogue around inclusion issues that ASU seeks to promote on our campus and in the broader community. Ifill’s visit sets a high bar for future diversity scholars co-hosted with academic colleges.”

Ifill’s talk will take place at 7 p.m., April 1, in the First Amendment Forum of the Cronkite School on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus.

Ifill has been called the most successful female African-American news correspondent of all time. She has covered six presidential campaigns and moderated two vice presidential debates – the 2004 debate between Republican Dick Cheney and Democrat John Edwards and the 2008 debate between Democratic Sen. Joe Biden and Republican Gov. Sarah Palin.

She began her career as an intern at the Boston Herald-American and went on to report for the Baltimore Evening Sun. She was local and national political reporter for The Washington Post, chief congressional White House correspondent for The New York Times and chief congressional and political correspondent for NBC News.

In 1999, she became moderator of the “Washington Week” program, hosting a robust roundtable discussion each week with award-winning journalists who provide reporting and analysis of the major stories emanating from the nation’s capital. Now in its 44th year, "Washington Week" is the longest-running prime-time news and public affairs program on television. During the 2008 presidential campaign season, "Washington Week" conducted a nine-city series of road shows across America with live audiences. The regular broadcasts and whistle-stop series earned the program a Peabody Award.

Her work also has been honored by the Radio and Television News Directors Association, Harvard University’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy and Ebony Magazine.  

A graduate of Simmons College in Boston, Ifill holds more than 20 honorary doctorates and serves on the boards of the News Literacy Project and the Committee to Protect Journalists. She is a fellow with the American Academy of Sciences.

Previous Diversity Scholar speakers have included Dave Treuer, novelist and writer of Native American fiction; Chon A. Noreiga, director of the University of California, Los Angeles, Chicano Studies Research Center; Wafaa Bilal, assistant arts professor at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University; Lori Arviso Alford, the first board-certified Navajo woman surgeon; Daniel Bernstine, president and CEO of the Law School Admission Council and former president of Portland State University; and Patricia Gurin, the Nancy Cantor Professor at the University of Michigan, whose research played a key role in Supreme Court deliberations on affirmative action.

From the underground dance scene of 1950s Memphis, Tenn., a story of love, music and acceptance emerged as a new sound was heard over the airwaves – one that would forever change rock 'n' roll.

Now, that sound and story have landed on the Broadway stage with the arrival of "Memphis" the musical. Download Full Image

Inspired by actual events, "Memphis" – winner of four 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Musical – tells the story of a white radio DJ looking to shake things up and a black club singer ready for her big break. Filled with music, dancing, emotion and laughter, the show has been described by the Associated Press as "the very essence of what a Broadway musical should be."

"Memphis" comes to ASU Gammage for a week of performances March 5-10. Buy your tickets now.

"The show is about the racial tensions America suffered in the 1950s through segregation laws," says Kyle Leland, who trains and coaches cast members as one of two dance captains. "The show centers around this white DJ, who puts race music on the radio in Memphis for the very first time, and a black singer with whom he falls in love."

Leland says the show is ultimately about acceptance – allowing people to be who they are and love whomever they choose.

"I know it sounds heavy, but there's also a lot of lighthearted storytelling," Leland adds. "The characters are lovable."

Leland started dancing at a fairly late age, 16; however, the Los Angeles native, now 25, soon was offered a full scholarship to the prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Of the training he received there, Leland says, "it was incredible. I can't beat the education I got there. It shaped my career for the rest of my life."

Also serving as a "swing" for the show, Leland fills in for other "Memphis" dancers in the case of an emergency. But he says his favorite aspect of being part of the show has been the opportunity to train newcomers.

"It's sad to see people who have been with us for a while leave, but a great part is to work with the new people before they join the show," he says. "I love the teaching process. I love that I get to bring the show to them."

Beginning March 5, Leland and the cast of "Memphis" will bring the show to a whole new audience at Gammage – it's a performance you won't want to miss.

For more information, or to buy tickets, visit the ASU Gammage box office.

A one-of-a-kind musical revue comes to ASU’s West campus Feb. 14 and 15. “The Soul of Broadway” started as the brainchild of a few African American musical theater performers in the Valley who wanted to create a show that both allowed them to perform in material that showed their strengths and to create a show that reflected their experiences.

Chanel Bragg and Mitchell Vantrease began to spearhead the venture and started to talk privately with other performers who felt the same. What resulted was a revue of songs from Broadway shows that featured African-American performers. They engaged musical director Jeff Kennedy, who is also an associate clinical professor at ASU’s West campus, and premiered the show in June 2011 at Theatre Works in Peoria. Download Full Image

Since that time they have performed the revue as guest artists at a number of theaters across the Valley. The show features songs from “Porgy and Bess” to showstoppers from “Dreamgirls” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and the most recent hits from shows like “The Color Purple” and “The Scottsboro Boys.” The current cast includes Krystal Pope, Anne-Lise Koyabe, Chanel Bragg, Miguel Jackson, Anthony Bragg, Jr., Matravius Avent and Mitchell Vantrease, with Kennedy continuing as their music director. 

“The Soul of Broadway” will be presented at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 14-15, in Second Stage West as part of the West campus' Black History Month Celebration. Tickets are $10 general admission, $7 for seniors, and $5 for students, and are available for purchase online at brownpapertickets.com. Visitor parking on campus is $2 per hour on Thursday evening and free on Friday evening.

The campus is at 4701 W. Thunderbird Road in Phoenix. More information is available by calling the ASU West Events Line at 602-543-2787.

Could designs for some of the next generation of toys that teach arise from a recent collaboration of freshman students in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and a class of local sixth-graders?

Instructor Benjamin Mertz challenged the 29 freshman honors students in his Introduction to Engineering class to develop prototypes of toys that would help teach engineering, science and math at fifth- and sixth-grade levels. Download Full Image

Mertz stipulated that the toys be designed for use anywhere in the world, including communities in underdeveloped countries. That meant any electrical components of a toy would have to be capable of being powered by hand-crank generators or solar-energy cells.

Mertz’s class of aerospace, mechanical, chemical and electrical engineering majors teamed with 30 sixth-graders from the K-12 ASU Preparatory Academy, relying on the youngsters for insights on whether the toys being designed would be both fun and educational.

The ASU students visited ASU Prep, where they helped the sixth-grade class perform a design activity to demonstrate some fundamental principles of engineering. Later came interviews between the two classes of students, documents describing proposed toy designs, written feedback on the designs from the sixth-graders, and a progress report meeting on Skype between the two groups of students.

The collaborative endeavor culminated with Toy Expo day. The sixth-graders visited the mechanical and aerospace engineering machine shop on ASU’s Tempe campus – where they got a look at a high-tech computer-controlled milling machine and a three-dimensional printer – before meeting the engineering class at the campus eSpace workshop. There, the youngsters examined nine toy and game prototypes developed by Mertz’s students.

Designs ranged from a solar-powered device that would light up when the correct answer to a question is given, to a catapult that throws a ball at a target if the throwing arm is set to the correct length based on correct answers to board game questions that teach the geologic time scale.

Another design required solving math problems to enable players to progress in a game called Math Monkeys, which featured hand-molded clay monkey heads as game pieces.

There were also variations of popular games like Jenga and Guess Who? adapted to incorporate math topics like prime numbers and decimal division.

“Working with ASU engineering students was an exciting and challenging opportunity for my students,” says ASU Prep teacher David Bennett. “We want to see our students graduate from college after they leave us. This project certainly helped to further that goal. It showed them in a very real, hands-on way the possibilities that engineering, science and technology can offer.”

Mertz now has an eye out for “opportunities for partnerships with organizations or companies that would help get these designs into classrooms around the world.”

The project achieved his immediate goal of giving his students experience in “reaching out to our local community and encouraging younger students to pursue college degrees, and considering the global impact that engineering can have,” Mertz says.

“It really represents the kind of impact we want our students to have while studying engineering at ASU,” he adds. “We want our students working to solve real engineering problems from day one.”

Written by Natalie Pierce and Joe Kullman