GREEN GIANT
Biodesign Institute goes platinum

ASU's Biodesign Institute has garnered the highest designation for environmentally friendly design and construction from the U.S. Green Building Council. The platinum certification for "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design," known most commonly as LEED certification, was issued for Building B, which opened in 2006.

This marks the first time a building in Arizona has received the platinum award.

Building A, which opened in 2004, received gold-level certification. The two buildings were constructed separately but are connected on all levels by glass walkways.

The U.S. Green Building Council granted the certificates based on a stringent rating system that recognizes design and construction processes that minimize negative impact on the environment. So far, there are 40 platinum and 257 gold LEED certified buildings in the United States.

ASU President Michael Crow has called for all new construction at the university to meet LEED standards.

The Biodesign Institute facilities were designed by architectural team of Gould Evans+Lord, Aeck & Sargent. There were built via a joint venture of Sundt Construction and DPR Construction, and certification assistance was provided by Green Ideas. In addition to LEED certification, the team's work won the 2006 Lab of the Year award from R&D Magazine.

Overall, the project exceeded LEED criteria for use of recycled materials, at 15 percent, including aluminum ceiling panels, recycled-content carpet and rubber stairwell flooring. A construction waste management plan reduced landfill construction waste by more than 60 percent.

Other green elements to the institute include:

WEIGHING ANCHOR
Former CNN broadcaster Brown finds second career in teaching (back to top)

Aaron Brown, the former lead anchor for CNN, has been appointed the inaugural Walter Cronkite Professor Journalism at Arizona State University.

Brown will join the full-time faculty of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass communication in January 2008. He will hold the faculty rank of professor of practice. Brown was at ASU in the spring semester as the JOhn J. Rhodes Chair in Public Policy and American Institutions, a one-semester visiting lecturer position at the Barrett Honors College.

Cronkite, the longtime CBS News anchor, was active in recruiting Brown to the school that bears his name.

"I have long been an admirer of Aaron Brown both on ABC and later on CNN," Cronkite said. "He's a terrific journalist with high ideals and great integrity. His passion for our profession and his commitment to its highest standards of objectivity and fairness has been the hallmark of his work - and will be a source of great inspiration for our students."

Journalism school Dean Christopher Callahan says Brown "was nothing shortly of spectacular" in the seminar he taught with Assistant Professor B. William Silcock, "Turning Points in Television News History." Brown is a natural teacher who will inspire Cronkite students for years to come, Callahan added.

Brown, 58 served as news anchor of CNN's flagship show, "NewsNight," from 2001 to 2005, covering stories ranging from the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to the 2004 presidential elections to the Iraq War. Brown won the coveted Edward R. Murrow Award for his Sept. 11 coverage, broadcasting from a rooftop in lower Manhattan.

Before joining CNN, Brown was a founding anchor for ABC's "World News Now," the network's overnight newscast, and later was the anchor at "World News Tonight Saturday" as well as a correspondent for"World News Tonight with Peter Jennings."

In addition to the Murrow Award, Brown also won three Emmys, a DuPont, two New York Film Society World medals and a George Foster Peabody Award during his illustrious career.

RANK AND STYLE
ASU enters top tier in national college rankings (back to top)

Arizona State University was named in late August as one of the best universities in the United States, according to the 2008 edition of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report.

ASU has advanced its position among the nation's top universities, ranking 124th, up six spots from 130th last year. The progress moves the university into the top tier of the rankings.

Among the factors that determine national university rankings, ASU saw gains in its student performance, quality of its faculty, alumni giving, and expenditures per student. Improvements were noted in:

The exclusive rankings were published in the magazine's August 27 issue and online at www.asunews.com/colleges.

SEEING IS BELIEVING
Leading Chinese university to build its own Decision Theater (back to top)

An eight-person delegation from Huazhong University of Science and Technology recently spent two days visiting ASU's Decision Theater, an interactive 3-D immersive environment that allows individuals to see a detailed representation of the consequences of behavior, decisions and policy. They traveled from Wuhan, China, to see firsthand how the Decision Theater is organized and equipped to help decision-makers address public policy issues.

The delegation received in-depth briefings on the theater's visualization, simulation, modeling, and collaboration tools. They heard from a variety of experts about everything from strategic planning and project management, to visualization technology and group intelligence software. They also met with two Decision Theater clients representing public and private sectors.

Xu Xiaolin, the delegation leader and the Chinese university's dean of the College of Public Administration, says he's impressed with what he saw and heard during the visit. He particularly notes the value of the Decision Theater in helping to address a host of urban growth challenges.

"This enables cities to be managed better," Xiaolin says. "It offers a more scientific approach to managing a city. it gives more people a voice regardless of where they may live," referring to the power of digital technology as a planning and participation resource.

The dean believes his university will have its version of a Decision Theater up and running within a year. He foresees continued strong collaboration with ASU.

Initial discussions about a Decision Theater being built in China began more than a year ago and have included ASU President Michael Crow and other senior ASU officials. Rick Shangraw, the Decision Theater's executive director and ASU's vice president for research and economic affairs, visited several Chinese universities in May.

The delegation's visit to ASU concluded with the signing of a joint memorandum of understanding between the Decision Theater and Huazhong University of Science and Technology's College of Public Administration.

ASU 101 CONNECTS STUDENTS, PROMOTES SUCCESS (back to top)

ASU is debuting a five-week introductory course, ASU 101, to introduce first-year students to the unique culture, challenges and opportunities at the nation's largest university.

By the end of their first semester, all ASU freshmen will know what is expected of them as college students and how to succeed. The new course, ASU 101, will be presented to students in a small class environment.

More than 600 sections of ASU 101 will be offered this fall across the four campuses. Each course meets once a week for an hour and a half, and the class size is capped at 19 students, allowing students to develop a sense of community in a small class setting. The class is mandatory for incoming freshmen.

"It would be great if a first-year student could know what a graduating senior knows about being successful in college," says Duane Roen, a professor of English at the Polytechnic campus and one of more than 200 faculty teaching ASU 101. "We have a wonderful opportunity to share this knowledge with them, and to tell them what seniors said about what they needed in college."

Elizabeth Capaldi, University provost, said the ultimate goal with ASU 101 is to increase retention among the university's student body, especially between the freshmen and sophomore years.

ASU 101 students and instructors will discuss the essentials for academic and personal success, such as choosing a major, social diversity, study skills and university resources. The course uses a combination of multimedia presentations, writing exercises, and discussions, both in class and online, to introduce unique elements of ASU, such as sustainability and global engagement.

ART MUSEUM REFLECTS NEW VALUES (back to top)

The ASU Art Museum has announced three new initiatives - Global Arizona, InterLab and Moving Targets - that underscore the Museum's vision to serve as a laboratory for thinking about and enjoying art in innovative ways.

The museum's new initiatives are:

For more information about the museum, visit the Web site http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu

$1 MILLION NSF GRANT TO ADVANCE DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING (back to top)

The largest grant amount ever awarded to fund mathematics research at ASU Will support a project aimed at making advances in medical technology to improve magnetic resonance imaging.

The National Science Foundation grant will provide $1 million over three years to the project, led by Rosemary Renaut, a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

Fellow mathematics and statistics faculty on Renaut's team include Professor Randall Eubank, Professor Anne Gelb and Assistant Professor Svetlana Roudenko. They are joined by Douglas Cochran, assistant dean of research for the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering and associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering.

The project involves a partnership with the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, particularly with the institute's MRI system designers, James Pipe and Josef Debbins.

The team's will work to increase the understanding of the mathematics and algorithms necessary to improve the clarity of magnetic resonance images, and increase the speed at which images can be produced. The research also should enable development of advanced diagnostic methods that can more precisely depict moving tissues, such as a beating heart or blood flowing in veins, Cochran said.

"Success in this project can provide a stringboard for advances in other aspects of medical imaging," he said.

Added Renaut: "It's exciting to be able to contribute better mathematical understanding of recent novel image acquisition approaches that are being pioneered by the team at BNI. These technical advances can provided enhanced image resolution while reducing scan time for patients."

UNIVERSITY GETS A NEW ONLINE LOOK (back to top)

ASU unveiled a new face to the Internet world on Aug. 20, with changes found on every level, from individual departments and programs to larger-scale, university-level pages.

One of the most visible changes is the revamped university home page at www.asu.edu. The design, developed throughout the summer by a university-wide team, is intended to reflect the modern, active environment present at ASU. It also includes flexibility for features and content that will better reflect the needs of the current and prospective members of the ASU community.

Another change comes in a new version of My ASU, located online at http://my.asu.edu, which is powered by Google. Features of the new page include: gmail, Google docs, spreadsheets and a calendar for ASU; My ASU courses; eAdvisor, which offers advising and degree-tracking tools; access to ASU Interactive Services; Exchange and Outlook e-mail; and ASU Directory Search.

Also displaying the results of a redesign is the new ASU News site, located online at http://asunews.asu.edu/. The new site, which replaces the previous ASU Insight Online, includes information from a variety of ASU publications that has been categorized for easy access.

A fourth newly debuted online project is a new undergraduate degree-searching tool, located at www.asu.edu/programsearch. The site allows users to search ASU's 250 undergraduate degrees by keyword, college and interest areas. Users can compare degree programs, view major maps and curriculum "checksheets," and learn about career opportunities. Students seeking admission to the university also can use the tool to apply online.

GREENES SELECTED AS POLY EDUCATION DEAN (back to top)

Carole Greenes, a professor of mathematics education at Boston University, was recently selected to lead the School of Educational Innovation and Teacher Preparation at ASU's Polytechnic campus. Greenes replaced Gail Hackett, interim dean for the school, on Oct. 22.

As dean, she will continue to build the school as a free-standing unit, and develop strong mathematics and science education programs for teachers, Greenes also will direct the Practice, Research and Innovation in Mathematics Education center that will be located on the Polytechnic campus.

Greenes has an extensive history in K-12 and higher education in mathematics and mathematics education. She has authored more than 300 books and programs for students in pre kindergarten through 12th grade, for college students and for teachers.

At Boston University, Greenes held academic and administrative positions of increasing responsibility. She reserved as an assistant dean for academic programs and the Chelsea Project in the School of Education; associate dean for research, development and advanced academic programs; and dean of overseas programs.

In 2003, Greenes was inducted into the Massachusetts Mathematics Education Hall of Fame.

GAMMAGE VENUE STIMULATES AREA ECONOMY (back to top)

ASU Gammage brings more than entertainment to the Valley. A study by the League of American Theatres and Producers Inc., the Economic Impact of Touring Broadway on Metropolitan Areas, shows that the series at ASU Gammage resulted in $41.3 million in spending in the Phoenix metropolitan area in 2005.

According to the report, which was part of a national economic study and included responses from 350 individuals attending shows at ASU Gammage, the 2005 series generated $23.5 million in direct spending and an additional $17.8 million in visitor spending. Among the shows presented that season were "The Lion King" "Movin' Out" and "Wicked."

"The only word I can use to describe these results is dramatic, which, of course, is remarkably appropriate," says Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, the executive director of ASU Public Events who manages ASU Gammage. "We've known all along that the Broadway series presented are not only an opportunity to see great theater but that the financial impact in the Valley was significant. This report certainly confirms that."

ASU Gammage is one of the most successful touring Broadway series in the country. The 2006-2007 season outsold most markets for every show in the series.

The study shows that 62 percent of the respondents were women and more than 85 percent were single-ticket buyers who travel to ASU Gammage from across the state.

"We counted 123 Arizona ZIP codes in the study and six from out-of-state ZIP's including the now-famous 90210," Jennings-Roggensack says.

CANDELARIA NAMED CLAS ASSOCIATE DEAN (back to top)

Cordelia Chávez Candelaria, widely acclaimed for her scholarly and pioneering work promoting understanding and appreciation of the rich diversity of American society, has been named associate dean for strategic initiatives in the College of Liberal Arts an Sciences at ASU.

A 2006 Regents' Professor of English and Chicana/Chicano Studies, and most recently vice provost of academic affairs at ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus, Candelaria will provide expertise in the implementation of college initiatives designed to transcend academic disciplines. Additionally, she will oversee efforts to provide a diverse college environment for students.

Candelaria began her career at ASU in 1991, when she joined the university as an English professor and researcher for the Hispanic Research Center. She went on to chair the former Department of Chicana/Chicano STudies from 2000-2005, a position where she honed her administrative knowledge for creating new academic enterprises, developing curriculum and recruiting faculty.

AS a researcher and author, her scholarly work has helped redefine the mainstream of American literary and cultural studies. Candelaria has published more than 200 titles, including 15 books and monographs, as well as numerous book chapters, essays, reviews, poems and other writings. She is the author of "Chicano Poetry, A Critical Introduction," published in 1986, which was the first comprehensive study of Mexican-American poets. One of Candelaria's books - "Seeking the Perfect Game: Baseball in American Literature" - is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame's library. She also co-edited the first women's studies journal focusing on Chicanas and the first "Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture," a two-volume set published in 2004.

APOLLO ARCHIVE CASTS NEW LIGHT ON EARTH'S COMPANION (back to top)

For nearly 40 years, the complete photographic record from the Apollo moon project sat in a freezer at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, almost untouched, until now.

A new digital archive - created through a collaboration between ASU And NASA - is making available on the Internet high-resolution scans of original Apollo flight films. These startling images will be accessible to both researcher and the general public, to browse or download, at http://apollo.sese.asu.edu.

Between 1968 and 1972, NASA sent nine manned Apollo missions to the moon. Both from lunar orbit and on the surface, astronauts snapped about 36,000 photographs in various formats.

The moon images filmed by astronauts during NASA's Apollo program have never been seen in high-resolution detail by the public, or even by most lunar scientists. The new digital scanning project at ASU will use the original Apollo flight films. Previous scanning projects have been limited in scope, and none have used the original films that came back from the moon.

Mark Robinson, professor of geological sciences in the School of Earth and Space Exploration, is the lead scientist on the project. It's appropriate, as the moon has long been a focus in his career. In grade school Robinson avidly followed the Apollo missions, and after becoming a scientist, he worked on Clementine, a robotic moon mission in 1994.

Today, Robinson is the principal investigator for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, a suite of three separate, high-resolution imagers on board NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, due for launch in October 2008.

One of the most interesting uses of these decades-old images, notes Robinson, is that researchers will be able to compare them with the images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. He notes that, while scientists could always visually compare an Apollo-era photographic print with a new digital image from LROC, having both in digital form speeds up the job and makes it more accurate.

Beyond its utility for lunar exploration, Robinson is delighted the project is underway for another reason: "I think these images give everybody a beautiful look at this small, ancient world next door to us."

(STUDENT) BODY BEAUTIFUL
University welcomes record-breaking freshman class (back to top)

ASU's freshman class broke records again, with 9,274 students joining the Sun Devil fold for the first time. This number of first-time freshmen is the largest in history, almost twice as large as the entering class 10 years ago.

Enrollment overall at ASU hit 64,394, more than 1,000 students higher than last fall's tally of 63,279. All four ASU locations experienced increases, with the greatest gaines at Polytechnic and Downtown Phoenix campuses.

The number of national scholars in this fall's class (National Merit, National Hispanic and National Achievement) totals 265, making ASU one of the top schools in the country for national scholars. The number of National Hispanic Scholars at ASU increased by 180 percent during the past five years to its current total of 111.

Thirty-three percent of the 2007 resident freshman class are students of color, a proportion that has doubled in the past 10 years. ASU students come from all 50 states and more than 150 foreign countries.

The number of top scholars from Arizona enrolling at ASU also continues to increase a a record pace. More than 1,800 ASU President and Provost Scholars, students who perform at the very top of their high school graduating class, are part of this year's class. The number represents 30 percent of ASU freshmen from Arizona.

"Our growth in scholars outpaces the overall growth rate, demonstrating that quality and size go together," said Jim Rund, vice president for university student initiatives.