Arizona State University Research Park Technology

Technology Collaboration

The following relationships exist between ASU Research Park and the University:

In February 2004, the U.S. Army awarded ASU a $43.7 million, five-year cooperative agreement to establish the Flexible Display Center located at the Research Park. This center will develop thin, flexible, low-power computer displays that can be rolled up or folded and put in a soldier's pocket.
ASU Center for Environmental Studies is conducting the Urban Heat Island (UHI) Research study at the Park. This study has significance to Arizona for several reasons. Arizona's urban growth and climate have created a need to discover more efficient uses of resources to reduce energy costs.
In August 2000, Avnet announced a strategic partnership with Arizona State University and donated $1million to ASU's Manufacturing Institute to support two endowed professorships in supply-chain management.
VLSI Technology's (now Philips Semiconductors) software gift and training program with the Electrical Engineering Department was established in 1987. VLSI donated its newly developed integrated semiconductor chip design software, valued at $2 milllion, to ASU for the College of Engineering's Hewlett-Packard workstations.
The National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM), in collaboration with ASU's College of Business, houses at the park the Harold E. Fearon Chair of Purchasing.

Cytec Fiberite Inc., has contributed funds towards ASU's Industrial Associates Program and has designed several of its research projects to be coordinated with ASU's programs.
To advance the satellite technology for their global satellite communications network, Iridium North America, Inc. partnered with ASU's College of Engineering Telecommunication Research Center to complete a hand-off propagation study.
The W.P. Carey School of Business and the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering have teamed up to offer a Technology M.B.A. program (combining both engineering and business disciplines) which is given at the Park's Flexible Display Center as well as the nighttime M.B.A. program.
Both Motorola SATCOM (Satellite Communications Group) and Cytec Fiberite, Inc. have contributed their expertise and materials to ASU College of Engineering's ASU's Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering's Sat1 project. NASA has also provided funds for the project that, over the past 5 years, has involved over 300 students. ASUSat1 is an innovative "nanosatellite" that weighs just 10 pounds, and was launched into space on September 30, 1999.
On an ongoing basis, Az Technology Enterprises and the Park cooperate to assist start up technology companies in obtaining research startup monies, technical support and the Park is a partner in many Technopolis programs which train entrepreneurs.

University Strengths

ASU is research driven and focused on learning which is carried out in a context that encourages the creation of new knowledge. The faculty includes recipients of prestigious academic and professional awards, including membership in the national academies.

ASU is also home to the nationally ranked W.P. Carey School of Business, where the Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.) and undergraduate programs have been recognized as being among the very best. The undergraduate business degree ranks in the top 25 in the nation according to the U.S. News & World Report.

“ASU has a long-time reputation for providing trained professionals for the technology industry workforce,” said Jonathan Fink, ASU vice president for research and economic affairs. “But the university also is becoming a national leader in emerging research fields, such as astrobiology, bioengineering, urban ecology, and nanotechnology,” he added.

ASU’s list of research success stories is ever expanding. For example:

In 1994, ASU became one of only nine universities nationally to achieve Research I status without an agriculture or medical school.

ASU opened and has begun Phase 1 Construction of the Arizona Biodesign Institute (AzBio), to spearhead the university’s new emphasis on biomedical research activities that will change how diseases are diagnosed, treated, and prevented. AzBio will house a core of elite, cutting-edge researchers and serve as an example of ASU President Michael Crow’s vision for rapid research success to help position the Phoenix metropolitan area as a major biotech hub.

ASU’s new Center for the Study of Religion & Conflict will enhance research and education on the role of religion in public controversies around the world. It will focus on the fundamental issues driving public disagreements and explore the complex roles of diverse religious traditions in contemporary conflicts.

ASU is part of NASA’s virtual Astrobiology Institute and has sent research equipment on three successive flights to Mars. Professor Ronald Greeley was co-investigator for the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) camera, and is co-investigator for the Mars Express mission to be launched by the European Space Agency. The windsock experiment, onboard the Mars Pathfinder rover, was designed and built at ASU. Professor Philip Christensen is the principal investigator for the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) onboard the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft and the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) aboard the Mars Odyssey spacecraft, both currently in orbit around Mars.

President George W. Bush has named Arizona State University Professor of Geological Sciences Laurie Leshin to the President’s Commission on the Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy. Leshin is the only Arizonan appointed to the critically important nine-member commission, and one of four scientists.

ASU Research