Top stories from The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2022 | ASU News

2023-01-03 12:58:18 By : Ms. Bi Elaine

In 2022, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University made headlines across ASU News and beyond. But there were a few stories that readers really gravitated towards. 

Check out The College’s top 10 countdown for most viewed ASU News stories published in 2022, from online dating to Black representation in film to simulated animal combat.  1X16 PLC Splitter

Top stories from The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2022 | ASU News

A 1973 film, which takes place in 2022, portrays a world being devastated by climate change, its oceans polluted with waste. Overpopulation and overuse of resources lead to shortages of food and water, and housing prices skyrocket to the point where only the elite can afford apartments.

ASU professors, including Joni Adamson, President’s Professor of environmental humanities in the Department of English, discussed what “Soylent Green” got right.

Chaco Canyon was the center of the ancestral Puebloan world, home to immense great houses as high as five stories tall and containing as many as 800 rooms, cavernous kivas built so that dancers appeared to rise out of fires during ceremonies, engineered roads, a prehistoric observatory and systems for communication.

Matt Peeples, an associate professor of anthropology and the director of the Center for Archaeology and Society in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, shared what he has learned as part of an NSF-funded team seeking to unravel the mysteries of Chaco Canyon.

ASU students are learning biology in a unique virtual reality experience, hurtling through space to interact with creatures in an intergalactic wildlife sanctuary the size of a small city and to solve the mystery of why the creatures are dying.

A new study on the Dreamscape Learn biology course showed that this method of learning is not only unique, but also effective:

Overall, students in the Dreamscape Learn course had higher lab grades than those in the conventional course — 9% higher overall. The median lab grade for students in Dreamscape Learn was 96%, compared with 87% for the other group.

Students enjoyed the experience. The average rating on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being excellent) was 4.4.

Online dating is the No. 1 way to meet a romantic partner in the U.S., says Liesel Sharabi, assistant professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication and director of the Relationships and Technology Lab at Arizona State University.

Sharabi shared her findings about finding companionship online and how dating has evolved through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Azmat Khan, a professor of practice in the School of Politics and Global Studies and a mentor in the Center on the Future of War, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for her work on The New York Times series “The Civilian Casualty Files.”

According to the Pulitzer committee, the series “exposed the vast civilian toll of U.S.-led airstrikes, challenging official accounts of American military engagements in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan." Khan met with ASU News about the Pulitzer award and the reporting process from the six-year investigation.

Astrophysics major Kiera Charley shared her journey through her first year at ASU — from leaving her home on the Navajo Nation to making new friends on campus. 

“A Student’s Journey Toward the Stars” catalogs milestones and memories throughout Charley’s transition to college — and how higher education is changing to better serve the needs of Native American students.

On July 29, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 4,638 cases of monkeypox in the United States, with 41 cases in Arizona, and the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a “public health emergency of international concern.” 

Megan Jehn, an infectious disease epidemiologist and associate professor at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, cleared up some misinformation about monkeypox and answered some other questions about the disease.

Recent studies show that Black actors comprise 12.9% of leading roles in cable-scripted shows (proportionately reflecting the overall Black population of 13.4%). The numbers behind the scenes aren't as encouraging, though. Only 6% of the writers, directors and producers of U.S.-produced films are Black.

ASU News spoke to Aviva Dove-Viebahn, an assistant professor in the film and media studies program in the Department of English, about those numbers and how Black representation in film and TV is still needed behind the scenes.

The U.S. Space Force and ASU signed an agreement making ASU the newest member of the service's University Partnership Program, and beginning efforts at ASU to assemble partnerships and models to collaborate with the Space Force on research and education.

“We are certainly no stranger to space,” said ASU President Michael Crow. “ASU is a leader in exploring the universe, from planets to asteroids and from the Milky Way to the most distant galaxies. We are excited to work with Space Force to continue on this path toward discovery and insight.”

The annual March Mammal Madness tournament celebrated its 10th anniversary of combining science, storytelling and simulated animal combat to teach students about animals.

This year’s March Madness-style bracket included the following four divisions: Mammal Collectives; Wild North America; Queens of the Sea and Sky; and Why Not Both? Going beyond just mammals, the tournament featured an Arctic tern and Macaroni penguin, as well as orcas and swordfish. 

In the championship match, a "grandma" orca faced a pride of lionesses in an epic animal battle of land and sea. View the official Rodent Recap video of the championship round.

Top image: This year's top story celebrated the 10th anniversary of March Mammal Madness, which combines science, storytelling and simulated animal combat to teach students about animals.

Digital Marketing Manager , The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

480-965-3787 lauren.whitby@asu.edu

Responsive to action initiated by the Department of Defense, Arizona State University President Michael Crow has appointed two senior leaders to guide the university in creating a world-class center of excellence for microelectronics research, development education and training.Sally Morton, executive vice president of ASU’s Knowledge Enterprise, and Kyle Squires, dean of the Ira A. Fulton Schoo...

Responsive to action initiated by the Department of Defense, Arizona State University President Michael Crow has appointed two senior leaders to guide the university in creating a world-class center of excellence for microelectronics research, development education and training.

Sally Morton, executive vice president of ASU’s Knowledge Enterprise, and Kyle Squires, dean of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, will lead an interdisciplinary team composed of ASU faculty, staff and strategic external partners to respond to the Department of Defense’s call for proposals to establish the Microelectronics Commons — a national network funded by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.  

“Arizona State University is a national service university, built to accelerate positive outcomes through the integration of cutting-edge technological innovation and to be responsive in moments like this that call upon us to work collaboratively to pursue goals in the vital interest of our country,” ASU President Michael Crow said.

“Under the leadership of Dr. Morton and Dr. Squires and in partnership with colleagues in the private sector, ASU will offer a strategic proposal to the U.S. Department of Defense to create and operate a Microelectronics Commons that drives a coordinated process of innovation at scale and helps the United States succeed in being the global leader in microchip research, development and manufacturing,” Crow said.

The CHIPS and Science Act includes $2 billion for DOD to establish the Microelectronics Commons, which aims to close the innovation “lab-to-fab” capabilities gap in the United States. By building enduring partnerships across emerging technology research and development, manufacturing and government stakeholders at all levels, the Microelectronics Commons will work to scale the semiconductor technologies necessary for the U.S. national security enterprise, and develop the skilled American workforce needed for this essential sector.

The DOD released a Request for Solutions on Nov. 29; responses are due on Feb. 28, 2023. 

ASU is at the center of Arizona’s rapidly growing identity as a global semiconductor hub. Two of the world’s largest semiconductor firms — Intel and TSMC — have announced three megaprojects now totaling $72 billion that will build new or expand existing semiconductor fabrication facilities in the Phoenix area; and Apple recently announced it would begin buying its microchips in Arizona starting in 2024.

The microelectronics industry directly employs 22,000 people in Arizona, and the state’s broader semiconductor supply chain ecosystem includes leading equipment manufacturers, chemicals and materials suppliers, semiconductor packaging firms and defense electronics companies.

Drawing on the region’s strengths, ASU’s proposal will prioritize connecting students, researchers and designers at universities and companies throughout the region with prototyping capabilities, advancing the model established by ASU’s MacroTechnology Works facilities. Building on ASU’s existing partners, the university intends to collaborate with new partners to help the Department of Defense bridge the microelectronics technological “Valley of Death,” and expand domestic microelectronics innovation and manufacturing.  

“Success will be driven by partnerships and collaboration,” Morton said. “The university is working with existing partners and seeking to develop new relationships to build the collective team needed to accomplish the tasks ahead and to partner in not only manufacturing, but in the continued innovation of research and development.”

“ASU has been working toward this goal for more than two years,” Squires said. “We have had input into the process that created the CHIPS and Science Act legislation and we have prepared to be a contributor and higher education and research partner as this unique opportunity has come into sharper focus.”

Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, who was instrumental in tailoring the CHIPS and Science Act and building a coalition of support to pass the bill, has worked closely with Arizona business groups, industry and ASU to put the state in position to play a role in this national economic development and national defense priority.

“After nearly two years of work to secure funding for the Department of Defense’s National Network for Microelectronics Research and Development within the CHIPS Act, I’m excited to see this program take shape,” Kelly said. “This program will foster partnerships between universities and industry to establish new capabilities allowing American researchers, entrepreneurs and our armed forces to develop and test new microchip technologies in the United States, not in China.

"ASU has the advanced capabilities needed to make a real impact on the network; I applaud them for their ongoing determination to stay on the cutting edge of such an important mission for our national security and economy.”

Ranked No. 1 in innovation for eight consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report, Arizona State University is home to the largest engineering college in the country, with more than 30,000 students enrolled in seven transdisciplinary engineering schools, including the new School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks. More than 500 faculty members teach on campus and online with more than $150 million in engineering research expenditures in 2022.

Top stories from The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2022 | ASU News

Fiber Optic Patch Cord Driven by its mission of public service and accelerated by the renewed national focus on domestic chip production, ASU leverages its diverse capabilities, industry-grade facilities, expertise and partnerships to bolster microelectronics research, development and manufacturing at a national scale.