Global sustainability requires a collective shift in social consciousness in which individuals, organizations, and societies reinvent themselves with new aspirations and purpose. ASU's extensive portfolio of research in this area includes understanding sustainability lessons from the past and present, disseminating proven "best practices" in sustainability, developing effective social-conservation strategies for multiple diverse cultures around the world, and targeting special areas of concern such as public health, social equity, policy making, and consumer education.
Biodesign Center for Innovations in Medicine
The Center for Innovations in Medicine attempts to transform our understanding of disease, putting aside what we think we know and approaching problems in ways that have never before been attempted. Research efforts focus on the improvement of medical diagnostics and treatment and the prevention of disease, with the ultimate goal of saving lives and improving quality of life.
Biodesign Institute
The Biodesign Institute plays a critical role in advancing the research mission of Arizona State University, a comprehensive metropolitan university that is the second largest in the U.S. The Biodesign Institute embodies the guiding principles of the New American University, as defined by Arizona State University President Michael Crow, specifically, to conduct use-inspired research, fuse intellectual disciplines and value entrepreneurship.
Center for Behavior, Institutions and the Environment
The Center for Behavior, Institutions and the Environment, housed in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change is a multidisciplinary endeavor to improve our understanding of how different types of institutions-defined as the norms and rules people use to govern common resources and provide public goods-perform within different social-ecological systems.
Center for Biology and Society
The Center for Biology and Society promotes exploration of conceptual foundations and historical development of the biosciences and their diverse interactions with society. We engage in activities across multiple disciplines that allow opportunities for intellectual ferment and increased impact by creating research and educational collaborations and communication. Research programs in the Center focus around Bioethics, Policy, and Law and History and Philosophy of Science, as well as Responsible Conduct in Research. Specific current projects include the Carnap Project, Embryo Project, History and Philosophy of Systematics, and Neuroscience and Philosophy Project.
Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity
The Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity leverages the emerging field of complex systems to foster interdisciplinary research on fundamental questions of social life. The Center brings together scientists from such diverse fields as anthropology, biology, mathematics, philosophy, physics, psychology, and sociology to collaborate in cross-disciplinary teams.
Center for Sustainable Tourism
The Center for Sustainable Tourism seeks to examine the role and contribution of tourism in the social, cultural, environmental, and economic well-being of communities.
Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict
The Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University promotes interdisciplinary research and education on the dynamics of religion and conflict with the aim of advancing knowledge, seeking solutions and informing policy. By serving as a research hub that fosters exchange and collaboration across the university as well as with its broader publics-local, national, and global-the Center fosters innovative and engaged thinking on matters of enormous importance to us all.
Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative
Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative leverages trans-disciplinary relationships to address complex global challenges in health, sustainability, security and education by creating entirely new technologies and novel solutions. This requires integration of diverse research disciplines across the University and building an extended network of global collaborations.
Decision Theater
The Decision Theater Network actively engages researchers and leaders to visualize solutions to complex problems. The Network provides the latest expertise in collaborative, computing and display technologies for data visualization, modeling, and simulation. The Network addresses cross-disciplinary local, national and international issues by drawing on Arizona State University’s diverse academic and research capabilities.
Global Biosocial Complexity Initiative
The Global Biosocial Complexity Initiative (formerly the Consortium for Biosocial Complex Systems) generates fresh insight into global challenges and transforms their findings into real-life applications that improve the human condition. The mission is to develop and promote a new science of biosocial system dynamics that uses a complex systems paradigm, computational thinking and quantitative methods to forge a new and holistic understanding of life and society. Through dynamical discussions, visiting scholars, lecture series, major research projects and novel courses and degree programs, we are rapidly solidifying the science that holds the key to solving our most complex challenges. We are committed to fostering diversity in STEM education, and actively recruit students from diverse backgrounds who are strong on potential, but may be lacking opportunities and mentors.
GlobalResolve
GlobalResolve was established at ASU in 2006 as a social entrepreneurship program designed to enhance the educational experience for interested and qualified ASU students by involving them in semester-long projects that directly improve the lives of underprivileged people, and/or those in underdeveloped nations throughout the world.
Institute for Humanities Research
The Institute for Humanities Research supports scholarship exploring human thought, expression and experience, and addressing many of the central challenges facing all of us. ASU humanities scholars of culture, language, literature, the arts, film, media, history, philosophy and religion work within their disciplines and in collaboration with scientists, social scientists, artists and others to advance research that makes a difference in the world.
Institute for Social Science Research
The Institute for Social Science Research facilitates transdisciplinary research and innovation. The Institute offers objective, relevant survey research and analysis; research technology support, and geographic information system (GIS) services to funded research projects within the university as well as community groups and organizations desiring professional research assistance.
Institute of Human Origins
A research center of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Human Origins pursues an integrative strategy for research and discovery central to its over 30-year-old founding mission, bridging social, earth, and life science approaches to the most important questions concerning the course, causes, and timing of events in the human career over deep time. IHO fosters public awareness of human origins and its relevance to contemporary society through innovative outreach programs that create timely, accurate information for both education and lay communities. The Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University is the leading research organization in the United States devoted to the science of human origins. Embedded within ASU's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, IHO pursues a transdisciplinary strategy for field and analytical paleoanthropological research central to its approximately 30-year-old founding mission-integrating social, earth, and life science approaches to the most important questions concerning the course, timing, and causes of human evolutionary change over deep time. IHO links to its research activities innovative public outreach programs that create timely, accurate information for education and lay communities.
Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics
The Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics advances teaching, research and community engagement efforts that explore how best to live together as a human community, so that we all may achieve purposeful, productive and prosperous lives.
Phoenix Area Social Survey
This survey studies the relationships between people and the natural environment in the Phoenix metro area.
Simon A. Levin Mathematical, Computational and Modeling Sciences Center
The Simon A. Levin Mathematical, Computational and Modeling Sciences Center vision includes: bridging the gap between the biological, environmental, and social sciences and the mathematical sciences; promotion and support of cross-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary research that relies on state of the art computational, modeling and quantitative approaches; and the training of a new generation of computational mathematical, and theoretical scientists whose research is driven by the application of computational, mathematical, modeling and simulation approaches to the solution of problems that will improve the human condition.
Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center
The Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center (SIRC) is an Exploratory Center of Excellence conducting transdisciplinary minority health and health disparities research, training and community outreach.
Spirituality and Sustainability Initiative
Founded in 2015, the Spirituality and Sustainability Initiative (SSI) integrates perspectives on sustainability and innovation with an awareness of the sources, dynamics, significance, and meaning of values and ethical convictions for driving aspiration and action, and as factors in personal and collective resilience. In other words, the kinds of questions and commitments associated with spirituality not only fit with but are intrinsic to a comprehensive and holistic approach to sustainability. SSI is a secular, non-sectarian effort, defining spirituality broadly to include humanistic values and informal modes of spirituality as well as established religious traditions.
The Sustainability Consortium
The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) is a global organization dedicated to improving the sustainability of consumer products.
Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics
The Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics is developing new diagnostic tools to pinpoint the molecular manifestations of disease based on individual patient profiles. The Center brings together multiple disciplines - biology, biochemistry, cell biology, engineering, molecular biology, bioinformatics, software development, and database management - to aid in the evaluation of human proteins according to their specific role(s) in living systems. Discovering and validating molecular biomarkers will lead to earlier diagnoses and patient-specific therapies.
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