What Can An Innovative Ecosystem Do For You?

In September 2016, Rolf Halden, a sustainability scientist and professor at the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, helped inform a Food and Drug Administration ban on the harmful antimicrobial chemicals triclosan and triclocarban. Halden and his team’s research at the Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering focuses on environmental chemistry that affects human health.

Ariel Anbar, a planetary geologist and professor at the ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration, moved by a question posed by his son, decided to use his knowledge of Earth’s history to inform how we shape its future. He now also leads the Center for Education Through eXploration, merging gaming, social interaction and discoveries to encourage exploration of ideas and concepts.

These are two of the many, many examples of the outstanding interdisciplinary work researchers can accomplish in an ecosystem that encourages collaboration and innovation. As all of us head into the 21st century, boundaries between disciplines and what organizations can and cannot do are blurring.

Universities, especially, hold the key to shaping the future by being a sandbox for students, researchers, staff and local businesses and organizations to test concepts and ideas. Higher education institutions must embody the values we’re trying to teach our students: adaptability, entrepreneurial thinking and collaboration. Here’s how we apply these principals at ASU:

• Adaptability: “learning to learn” allows individuals to be flexible in any given situation
• Entrepreneurial thinking: encouraging people to think outside of their disciplines to find solutions that enrich the lives of people and communities
• Collaboration: working together across disciplines and units to create a greater impact

We’ve adapted our knowledge and skills to serve individuals and communities within and outside of ASU. Think about the ongoing transformation of ASU’s Sun Devil Stadium, with the help of Intel, into a smart stadium. The new and improved space will not only provide an enhanced game experience, but also serve as a test bed for smart cities. Our hope is that more and more higher education institutions take responsibility for the socioeconomic vitality of the communities they serve, and engage in partnerships with cities, businesses and other organizations to continue designing a better future.

Fostering this creative ecosystem has earned us the “most innovative school in the country” by U.S. News and World Report for the fourth year in a row. And as we prepare the minds of tomorrow, we’re making sure that innovation remains the fabric and foundation of not just ASU, but of colleges and universities, as well as communities everywhere.