Arizona State University

Statement by ASU President Michael Crow

The revised Fiscal Year 2009 budget passed by the state legislature has singled out the state’s universities for the largest cuts. It deals a devastating blow to ASU, U of A, and NAU, to all our students, to every citizen in this state who wants to see a child or grandchild have a quality university education.

While some have described these cuts as small, they have, in fact, set in motion a Force 4 financial hurricane whose destructive force has not yet begun to be felt. Our nation is fighting two wars it cannot afford to lose – one against terrorism and a second against an economic recession so deep it may take several years or more to overcome.

At the very time our nation is calling its universities to action in this most important of economic battles, Arizona has gone in the opposite direction, the equivalent of grounding the state’s economic air force in the hope that we can fight a high-tech economic war on horseback.

Since June 2008 the reduction of state investment in ASU has been $88 million or 18 percent of the university’s base state funding in a single fiscal year.

ASU’s per-student funding from the state general fund has now been reduced to what it was 10 years ago:

• $7,976 in 2008
• $6,476 in 1998
• $6,500 for 2009

This amounts to having more than 30,000 of our 67,000 students with no state investment whatsoever.

Consider also what we have already done to meet these cuts:

• More than 550 staff positions eliminated, including four deans positions and at least two dozen academic department chair positions
• More than 200 faculty associate positions eliminated
• Ten- to 15-day furloughs for all employees, including the entire senior administration, deans, varsity coaches and faculty.
• The consolidation of nearly a half dozen schools and of almost two dozen academic departments.
• A reduction in the number of nursing students the university can admit
• A wide variety of cost-saving measures from the reduction of purchases, to energy conservation to a hiring freeze.

To respond to this new budget we still need another $13-15 million in cuts to take. That could mean eliminating another 1,000 jobs, closing a campus, restricting enrollment next fall and increasing tuition and fees.

As bad as all this is, we must all understand that the state’s budget challenges do not end with the Fiscal Year 2009 budget. Another large deficit looms for Fiscal Year 2010. But we don’t have to repeat the devastation of the 2009 budget.

With the availability of federal economic stimulus funds and other revenue enhancements available to the state and to the university, the 2010 budget does not have to add more severe cuts on top of the ones taken this year.

ASU has contributed four of our leading economists and public policy experts to a group being assembled by the Arizona Board of Regents from all three universities to work on recommendations for the FY10 budget.

“Darwin’s Strange Inversion of Reasoning” is the topic of this year’s signature lecture presented by the BEYOND Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at ASU. The lecture will be given by philosopher and author Daniel Dennett at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18 in Galvin’s Playhouse on ASU’s Tempe campus.

Dennett was propelled to international fame with his ground-breaking book “Consciousness Explained,” widely cited as the most important contribution in modern times to the ancient mystery of consciousness, free will and the concept of self. Dennett’s incisive account of how consciousness could arise from the interaction of physical processes in the brain singled him out as a champion of scientific reduction. His follow-up book, “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life,” continued in the same vein, and fueled a debate concerning not only the power of Darwinian processes to explain biological complexity, but to “corrode” through an entire world view. The book was a finalist for the 1995 National Book Award in nonfiction.

His other titles include “Content and Consciousness,” “Brainstorms,” “Elbow Room,” “The Intentional Stance,” “Kinds of Minds,” and his most recent book “Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon.” He is author of more than 300 scholarly articles on various aspects of the mind and has published in journals including Artificial Intelligence, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Poetics Today, Journal of Aesthetics, and Art Criticism.

“Daniel Dennett is in high demand as one of the world’s most respected and eloquent philosophers. He has a reputation for selecting provocative themes that stir discussion and thought, and presenting them with elegance and lucidity,” says Paul Davies, ASU professor and founding director of the BEYOND Center in ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“The BEYOND annual lecture challenges one of the world’s leading intellectuals to think beyond the confines of their specialism, and to offer new insights into science, philosophy or futurology,” says Davies. “We’re in for a treat with Dennett’s lecture.”

The year’s BEYOND lecture coincides with ASU’s Darwinfest – a celebration of Darwin’s 200th birthday and 150th anniversary of the publication of “On the Origin of Species.” More details about Darwinfest at http://darwin.asu.edu.

Dennett is the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University as well as the co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies. He received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Harvard University and a doctorate of philosophy from Oxford University.

He taught at the University of California, Irvine, from 1965 to 1971, and has since taught at Tufts University.

Dennett has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Fulbright Fellowship and a Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Science. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1987.

The BEYOND lecture is free and open to the public. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. C.A.R.T. services will be available. More information at 480.965.3240 or http://beyond.asu.edu. Online maps of the Tempe campus and parking facilities are at: www.asu.edu/map.

The BEYOND Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science is a pioneering international research center established in 2006 at ASU. This “cosmic think tank” is specifically dedicated to confronting the big questions raised by advances in fundamental science, and facilitating new research initiatives that transcend traditional subject categories.

No. 21 Women’s Tennis will take on No. 20 Florida State, No. 8 Georgia Tech and No. 25 TCU in Atlanta, Ga. as part of ITA’s Kick-off weekend. Action begins on Saturday as the Devils duel with the Seminoles at 9:00 a.m. ET and then continues on Sunday when they will face the Yellow Jackets at 9:00 a.m. ET and the Horned Frogs at 2:30 p.m. ET.

The Devils ride into Atlanta confident after a pristine opening weekend that saw them sweep NAU and UC Davis 7-0. Two Sun Devil standouts, Nadia Abdala and Ali Van Horne, shut out their UC Davis opponents 6-0, 6-0 on Sunday.

About the Teams
Like the Devils, Florida State comes to Atlanta after winning their home opener last weekend. The Seminoles blasted Jacksonville 4-0 and won against the team for the third straight year.

TCU will be unpredictable after a weekend of ups and downs saw them fall to No. 41 Virginia on Saturday, then rally to upset No. 22 William and Mary the following day. In their arsenal the Yellow Jackets bring with them two ranked doubles teams: No. 16 Anna Sydorska and Macall Harkins, and No. 28 Nina Munch-Soegaard and Maria Babanova. Munch-Soegaard is currently ranked 12th in the nation in singles.

Georgia Tech boasts two top 25 players: 2008 National Champion No. 3 Amanda McDowell and No. 23 Irina Falconi as well as the No. 5 doubles team in the nation with McDowell and Falconi.

Homeward Bound
Although she will be away from Tempe, freshman Sianna Simmons will compete on home turf this weekend. Simmons, a native of Atlanta and 2008 graduate of the Keystone National High School will represent the Maroon and Gold in her home state and seek to help the Devils maintain their flawless record.

Up Next
The Devils will return to Tempe on Friday, February 6 to face Cal State Northridge at 1:30 p.m. MT at ASU’s Whiteman Tennis Center.

Legends of the Fall
The Fall 2008 season saw ASU dominating competition at the Cal Nike Invitational, where sophomore Kelcy McKenna took home the ITA Singles Gold crown as well as the ITA Doubles Gold title with teammate Micaela Hein. ASU also collected its third ITA All-American in two years with McKenna.

Double Duty
The 2009 season will see exciting doubles action from Arizona State, with the return of partners Micaela Hein and Kelcy McKenna, who finished with an impressive 17-4 overall record in 2008. Senior Laila Abdala will also pair up for a final season with her sister, junior Nadia Abdala. The sisters will be in quest of success after posting 10 wins last season.

To Be the Best…
The Sun Devils have traditionally played one of the most rigorous schedules in the nation and this season will be no different. The team will be tested with a mixture of strong non-conference play and strenuous Pac-10 matchups, including back-to-back matchups with No. 10 USC and No. 3 UCLA.

Where They Stack Up
Last year, the Sun Devils finished the season ranked at No. 23 posting a 15-8 overall record, a fourth place conference finish and making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Arizona State is currently ranked 21st with four returning letter winners and powerhouse Kelcy McKenna, currently No. 3 in the nation.

At The Helm
Coach Sheila McInerney enters her 25th season at the helm of the Sun Devil program. In 2008, she led the team to a university record 21st consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance following a winning 15-8 season. Those wins saw ASU upset NCAA Champion UCLA, as well as conquer Stanford for the first time in program history.

Freshman Duggan Grant stands in sixth place with four of his teammates closely behind him as the first day of the Mountain `T’ Multis came to a close Friday afternoon inside the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Ariz. Grant scored 2,513 points in the first four events of the seven-event heptathlon with teammates Austin Prince (seventh), Kyle Hitchcock (eighth), Jamie Sandys (10th) and Alexander Wentz (11th) all competing in the event.

Grant, who trails overall leader Bubba Edmonds (unattached) by 411 points, opened his day running 7.49 in the 60m dash to finish ninth overall and score 716 points. Despite placing 11th among the 13 competitors in the shot put with a toss of 9.07m (29-09.25) for 430 points, Grant moved up the standings by placing second in the long jump with a 688 points on his leap of 6.46m (21-2.50) and tying for fourth in the high jump with 679 points on his clearance of 1.86m (6-1.25).

Just 29 points behind Grant is Prince, who stands seventh with 2,484 points. Prince tied for sixth in the 60m dash (7.41) and the high jump (1.80m/5-10.75) to earn 742 and 627 points, respectively, while adding 589 points in the long jump (6.01m/19-08.75) and 526 in the shot put (10.67m/35-0.25). Hitchcock is just 30 points behind Prince with 2,454 points after leading the Sun Devils with a third-place showing in the shot put and 603 points on a toss of 11.95m (39-02.50). Hitchcock scored 671 points in the 60m dash (7.63), 578 in the long jump (5.96m/19-06.75) and 602 in the high jump (1.77m/5-9.75).

Sandys and Wentz are separated by a mere 10 points with the duo standing 10th (2,384) and 11th (2,374), respectively. Sandys scored 716 points in the 60m dash (7.49), 641 in the long jump (6.25m/20-06.25), 523 in the shot put (10.62m/34-10.25) and 504 in the high jump (1.65m/5-5.00) while Wentz scored 694 points in the 60m dash (7.56), 619 in the long jump (6.15m/20-02.25), 509 in the shot put (10.39m/34-1.25) and 552 in the high jump (1.71m/5-7.25).

Another freshman, Jeremy Marcinko, is competing in the event unattached from the program and is currently in ninth place heading into the second day of competition on Saturday.

The men’s heptathlon, which will include the 60m hurdles, the pole vault and the 1,000m run on day two, will conclude in Flagstaff on Saturday morning. The remaining Sun Devils in Flagstaff will compete in the Mountain `T’ Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

ASU Game Notes and Statistics in PDF Format

COACH SENDEK ONE WIN FROM 300: The No. 14 (Associated Press and ESPN Coaches’ Poll) Arizona State’s men’s hoops team, 21-13 and 9-9 in the Pac-10 last year and 16-4/5-3 this season under third-year head coach and 299-game winner Herb Sendek, plays host to the No. 23 (AP) Washington Huskies (15-5/6-2) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. MT on Fox Sports Arizona and KTAR 620 AM. ASU (5-3) is one game behind both Washington and UCLA (6-2 each) in the Pac-10 standings, and tied with USC and California. After going 8-22 (.267) in Coach Sendek’s first year, the Sun Devils are 37-17 (.685) since and giving up just 60.9 points per game in his 84 games and are second in Pac-10 in points allowed this year at 58.2 per game, best by a Sun Devil team since 1948-49 (47.6).

THURSDAY VS. COUGARS: ASU led 39-32 at the 15:46 mark of the second half Thursday against Washington State but was outscored 33-16 the rest of the way in a 65-55 defeat…ASU, shooting 74.1 percent from the free throw line entering the game, was just 10-of-17 (.588) at the charity stripe (a season low if you toss out the 1-of-2 anomaly vs. IUPUI) and shot just 8-of-29 (.276) from the field in the second half…James Harden led the way with 26 points, but ASU was just 7-of-25 (.280) from the three-point stripe…Jeff Pendergraph added 10 boards and matched a career-high with a team-best four assists…ASU had just six turnovers, fewest since Feb. 19, 2005, when it had six vs. Oregon…Klay Thompson’s eight three-point field goals is the most by a Sun Devil opponent since Jeff Lauritzen of Indiana State also made eight on Dec. 1, 1988…it marked the first loss of the season when the Sun Devils had shot more free throws than their opponents (now 12-1) and committed less turnovers (now 13-1).

QUICK UPDATES: ASU has won 12 of its past 15, including wins over two 10-0 teams (vs. BYU and at Stanford), a win at then ninth-ranked UCLA on Jan. 17 (ASU trailed 54-43 with just over eight minutes to go but won 61-58 in overtime) and a win at Arizona for the second straight year (just the third in 23 seasons) to raise its road record to 4-2. Three Sun Devils are in double digits: James Harden (22.2, which leads the Pac-10), Jeff Pendergraph (13.5 and shooting 66.0 percent, tops in the Pac-10 and fifth in the nation) and Rihards Kuksiks (10.5). Pendergraph is shooting 49-of-73 (.671) from the field in Pac-10 games. James Harden has four 30-point games on the year, the most by a Sun Devil since Ike Diogu had six in 2004-2005. ASU is now 23-6 when Harden scores at least 20 (10-3 this year),

VS. RANKED TEAMS: Coach Sendek has 33 career wins against ranked foes, including 12 top-10 wins in his past nine seasons. He notched his first at ASU on Feb. 18, 2007, as ASU topped No. 22 USC 68-58 and won his first attempt in the 2007-08 season with a 77-55 over No. 17 Xavier on Dec. 15 (largest win over a ranked team in ASU history)…the Jan. 17, 2009, win at ninth-ranked UCLA was ASU’s first top-10 road win since its 90-87 overtime win at No. 4 Stanford on Jan. 31, 1998…against seventh-ranked Stanford on Feb. 14 in Tempe last year, ASU beat its highest ranked opponent since that same 1998 Stanford game and earned its first win over a top-10 team since Jan. 23, 2002 (88-72 win over No. 10 Arizona in Tempe)…Herb Sendek is 2-1 against top 10 teams in his past three games…in the nine years prior to Harden’s arrival (1998-99 to 2006-07), ASU went 1-24 against top 10 teams. In its past three games against top-10 teams, ASU is 2-1, with wins over seventh-ranked Stanford last year and at UCLA this year.

FIRST TIME IN 28 SEASONS: Arizona State did something in 19 days that no Pac-10 team had done in in the previous 27 seasons. ASU won at Stanford (Jan. 2), at UCLA (Jan. 17) and at Arizona (Jan. 21) as the last time a Pac-10 team won at those three NCAA Tournament regulars in the same season was in 1980-81 (Oregon State and USC). The only time ASU won at all three was in 1979-80. ASU was a combined 22-69 (.242) in games at Maples, Pauley and McKale entering play this year.

APPROACHING 300: Even with a resume that includes coaching in 496 games at three schools, six NCAA tournaments, 12 NCAA Tournament games and having eight former assistants currently serving as head coaches at the Division-I level, ASU head coach Herb Sendek is still the third-youngest coach in the Pac-10 even with two new hires this year. Oregon State’s Craig Robinson is a little older than Coach Sendek (about 10 months) while Stanford’s Johnny Dawkins is about seven months younger. With one more win Coach Sendek also will become the second-youngest active coach with 300 Division I wins, only Florida’s Billy Donvan (344 wins) is younger, as he is 43 years old (born May 30, 1965).

KUKSIKS NOTES: Sophomore Rihards Kuksiks is averaging 11.7 points, including 42-of-89 (.472) from the three-point stripe, in his past 14 games. He has 18 double-figure scoring games in his past 32 contests (9.8 ppg.) dating to last year after scoring 42 points in his first 22 games.

QUICK NOTES: ASU also leads the Pac-10 in assists (16.1 per game), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3) and is second in free throw shooting (.734)…ASU shot 16-of-18 (.889) from the field in the second half against OSU…ASU shot 65.3 percent in its Dec. 29 win over Central Connecticut State, including 14-of-14 from inside the three-point arc in the first half…ASU hit a school-record 17 three-pointers in its 90-55 Dec. 23 win over Idaho State…ASU is 24-1 when it shoots 50 percent under Herb Sendek and has won 22 straight. Its only loss was on Jan. 4, 2007, when it fell at Washington State 75-55 despite shooting 54.8 percent (23-of-42). It was 12-0 last year and is 10-0 this year when it shoots 50 percent.

NO TO’s: ASU had just eight turnovers in the overtime win at UCLA on Jan. 17, the fewest turnovers on the road since Feb. 12, 2005, when it also had eight at USC in an 82-71 loss, a span of the past 35 road games. Derek Glasser had zero turnovers in 42 minutes at UCLA and has just three turnovers in the past 108 minutes. ASU followed that up with nine turnovers at Arizona on Jan. 21 and had just six vs. Washington State, fewest by a Sun Devil squad since Feb. 19, 2005, when it had six vs. Oregon.

SOLID: Derek Glasser played 42 minutes without a turnover in the Jan. 17 overtime win at ninth-ranked UCLA and followed that up with clutch shots at Arizona on Jan. 21. He is 138-of-167 (.826) from the free throw line and has played 17 turnover free games in his 84-game career. In the eight Pac-10 games he is 12-of-22 (.545) from the three-point stripe and 24-of-26 (.923) at the free throw line. In his first six games he was 2-of-13 (.154) from three-point stripe but is 20-of-36 (.556) in the past 14 games. He had a career-high 11 assists (most by a Sun Devil since Jason Braxton had 12 at USC on Jan. 17, 2004) vs. Oregon on Jan. 10 and has 97 assists and just 43 turnovers on the year (2.23-to-1 ratio). He has 328 career assists (3.94 per game), on pace to break the ASU record of 454 set by Bobby Thompson from 1983-87.

WINNING CLOSE ONES: ASU is 12-7 in the past two seasons in 10 points or less games after going 4-17 in Herb Sendek’s first year…after going 10-29 in Herb Sendek’s first two seasons when trailing at the half, ASU is 4-0 this year as it trailed at San Diego State, vs. IUPUI, vs. BYU and at Arizona…ASU has now won six straight overtime games under Herb Sendek after its 61-58 win at ninth-ranked UCLA on Jan. 17, with four of them away from its home arean. It also beat IUPUI in Phoenix 59-58 in overtime on Dec. 14. Last year ASU was 4-0 in overtime, beating LSU in Maui 87-84 (Nov. 21), topping Arizona at home 64-59 (Jan. 9), winning at Cal in double overtime 99-90 (Jan. 17) and beating seventh-ranked Stanford 72-68 in Tempe (Feb. 14)…in ASU’s first season under Herb Sendek, it was 3-12 in two-possession games (six points or less), in the past two seasons it is 10-4 including a 4-0 mark this year.

HITTING FREEBIES: ASU shot .739 from the free throw line last year, the fifth-best mark in ASU history and second-best in past 21 seasons, and is shooting below that pace this year (.734). In his 10 seasons at NC State, Coach Sendek’s teams led the ACC four times in FT percentage (including three straight seasons, 2002-04). In 2004 NC State led the nation and set the ACC record by shooting .799 from the charity stripe. While at NC State, his squads shot 71.3 percent. One good note on his 2003-04 NC State team is in the past nine seasons, that squad’s .799 FT percentage is tied for the best in the NCAA with St. Joseph in 2005-06.

AT HOME: ASU is 23-6 (.793) at home in the past two seasons (8-1 this year), as it won 15 home games for first time in the 32-year history of Wells Fargo Arena last year. It was15-5 with wins over NCAA Tournament teams Arizona, Xavier, Stanford, USC, Oregon and Coppin State.

NOT TAKING IT FOR FOR GRANTED: ASU had an eight-game win-streak from Nov. 30-Jan. 2, its third-longest in the past 28 seasons. Last year’s team won 10 straight and the 2004-05 team won nine straight…ASU is guaranteed of a winning record at the halfway point of the Pac-10 season for just the second time in the past 14 seasons and just ninth time in 31 Pac-10 seasons, as it was 5-4 in 2002-03. ASU was 6-3 at the turn for three straight seasons under Bill Frieder (1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95)…ASU is 5-3, in the previous three years it was 5-22 in the first half of Pac-10 play.

STEADY JEFF: Jeff Pendergraph, who earned his B.S. in Economics in December in just three and a half years and has 105 career starts, is shooting .761 from the free throw line in his career (306-of-402) and is 53-of-68 (.779) on the year. He has 1,346 points in 111 career games (12.1 points per game) and 807 career rebounds (7.3 per game). He has 23 career double-doubles (five this year).

BIG GAME JAMES: James Harden, the most heralded Sun Devil southpaw since Phil Mickelson, became the first player to earn Pac-10 Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks (Nov. 24 and Dec. 1) since Washington’s Brandon Roy notched the feat in February of 2006 in three straight weeks…first Sun Devil to score 40 points (against UTEP on Nov. 30) since Eddie House had 40 vs. UCLA on Feb. 17, 2000, and just the third Sun Devil to notch 40 points (six occasions). Through 53 career games, Harden has led ASU in scoring 41 times, rebounding 18 times and led it in assists in 22 games…has 28 career 20-point games and 12 this year (ASU is 23-5/10-2)…has four 30 +point games this year (33 vs. Pepperdine, 32 vs. Baylor, 40 vs. UTEP, 30 vs. BYU)…11-of-11 from the foul line vs. Charlotte and is 297-of-395 (.752) in his career…ASU is 7-5 in Pac-10 home games with Harden, in the previous four years, it was 9-27.

STEPPING UP WHEN NEEDED: In the four games ASU has trailed at the half (at SDSU, vs. IUPUI at Phoenix, vs. BYU at Glendale and at Arizona), James Harden is 13-18 (.722) from the floor, 4-5 (.800) from three and 24-31 (.774) from the foul line and is averaging 13.5 points in the second half, and ASU has won each game.

RALLY CAPS: ASU has fallen behind five times this year but rallied to win late. ASU trailed at Arizona at the half 21-18 on Jan. 21, was behind by eight midway through the first period and was down 37-33 at the 4:28 mark of the second half before rallying for a 53-47 win…on Jan. 17 against ninth-ranked UCLA at Pauley Pavilion, ASU was down 54-43 with just over eight minutes left but held UCLA scoreless the rest of the way and then won 61-58 in overtime…on Dec. 20 against previously undefeated BYU (10-0) in Glendale, ASU was down 66-56 at the 9:31 mark before outscoring BYU 20-9 for a 76-75 victory…against IUPUI on Dec. 14, ASU was down 18 early and 34-18 at the half but came back to win 59-58 in overtime. ASU outscored the Jaguars 15-3 in the final 8:27 to tie the game, as it matched the largest halftime deficit overcome in 15 years as ASU came back from 45-29 against New Mexico State in Tempe (NIT) on March 15, 2000…ASU also trailed at San Diego State 15-2 at the 12:46 mark but outscored the Aztecs 57-37…ASU came back from double-digit deficits in two big wins in 2007-08, as it put the brakes on a five-game losing skid in dramatic fashion on Feb. 10 in Tucson, falling behind 22-6 but coming back to take a 13-point second-half lead and winning 59-54 to sweep Arizona for the first time since 1994-95 (its first win in Tucson since March 11, 1995)…on Feb. 14 against seventh-ranked Stanford, ASU was down 14 in the second half and seven with 1:49 left before winning 72-68 in overtime.

A variety of events including theater, visual art, a motivational summit for high school students, and a celebration of an African American pioneer in Arizona are planned during February at Arizona State University’s West campus to commemorate Black History Month.

“While we celebrate Black History Month every year on campus, 2009 takes on a greater meaning with the election of President Obama,” says Duku Anokye, an associate professor in ASU’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. “This year’s theme recognizes our pioneers who made great strides in making the United States a place of opportunity for everyone and inspired young people to continue this effort.”

The theme is “Rosa sat so Martin could march. Martin marched so Barack could run. Barack ran so we can fly!”

The schedule of events is:

Monday, Feb. 2: Opening reception – This event features music and refreshments. Free and open to the public. 4:00 p.m., University Center Building, Delph Courtyard.

Saturday, Feb. 7: Gumbo Challenge – Sign up with your favorite gumbo recipe to compete. Email Jenny.Davis@asu.edu for more information and to RSVP.

Tuesday, Feb. 10: Initiative and Motivational Summit – African American students from Valley high schools will attend this event hosted by the ASU Black Student Union.

Thursday, Feb. 12: Art Gallery/Theater Performance Opening – Inspired by his recent trip to Italy, ASU artist and faculty member Leandro Soto presents an exhibit of “New Work” that examines America from a European perspective and Europe from an American perspective. Soto’s works feature art materials such as Italian newspapers and recycled canvas and boards. A free opening reception for Soto’s exhibit is at 6:00 p.m. in the Art Gallery on the second floor of the University Center Building.

The art reception will be followed by a performance of “A House With No Walls” at 7:30.  Directed by ASU’s Charles St. Clair, “A House With No Walls” presents two intertwined stories. The first involves the controversial events surrounding the opening of the American Museum of Liberty, while the second is the tale of a slave who decides to escape from her master, President George Washington.

“A House With No Walls” continues Feb. 13-15 and Feb. 19-21 in Second Stage West, lower level of the University Center Building. Curtain is at 7:30 p.m. for all performances except Feb. 15, which is a 3:00 p.m. matinee. Admission is $12 ($7 for students).

Tuesday, Feb. 17: An Evening With Fatimah Halim and Alonzo Jones – Halim and Jones, both well-known inspirational speakers, teach African Americans about their heritage in order to promote positive growth and development. Halim is president and CEO of Life Paradigms, Inc.; Jones is ASU’s associate dean of student affairs, multicultural student services. Each will lead discussion groups with ASU students. Email Jenny.Davis@asu.edu for more information and to RSVP.

Wednesday, Feb. 25: “August in April: A Tribute” – Attendees will have the chance to see a sneak preview of the soon-to-be-released documentary about the late August Wilson’s ten plays known as the Pittsburgh Cycle. 7:30 p.m., University Center Building, La Sala ballroom.

Saturday, Feb. 28: Pioneer Award Dinner honoring Judge Jean Williams – This evening of culture, food and music pays tribute to Jean Williams, Arizona’s first female African American judge. Williams defended more than a thousand cases arising from Chicago civil rights marches in the 1960s. RSVPs for this 6:00 p.m. event are required at 602-543-5311.

Black History Month events are held on campus at 4701 W. Thunderbird Road in Phoenix. For more information, call 602-543-5306.

Feb. 16 is the deadline for nominations for the Transdisciplinary Humanities Book Award, which is presented annually by ASU’s Institute for Humanities Research in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Every other year, the award is reserved for ASU authors. Colleagues, publishers or authors themselves may nominate academic nonfiction books, written by ASU tenured or tenure-track full-time faculty members that reflect the finest contemporary transdisciplinary humanities-based scholarship on any topic. To be eligible, the book must be written in English and published in 2007 or 2008. Edited collections are not eligible.

Criteria and nomination forms are at http://ihr.asu.edu/research/bookaward. Additional information is available at 480-965-3000. The author of the winning book will be notified in May and receive $1,000, publicity in institute materials and an award certificate. The author will also be featured at an awards ceremony in the fall.

Last year, when the competition was open to works written or co-written by scholars from around the U.S., more than 30 books were nominated by publishers – “an incredible record and an impressive array of humanities based scholarship that not only transcends disciplinary boundaries but also contributes to our deeper understanding of compelling social and cultural issues,” according to Sally Kitch, director of the Institute for Humanities Research.

The recipient of the 2008 award was Marita Sturken for her book “Tourists of History: Memory, Kitsch and Consumerism from Oklahoma to Ground Zero.” Sturken is a professor in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University as well as co-director of NYU’s Visual Culture Program.

“The Transdisciplinary Humanities Book Award highlights the central value that writing books holds in the humanities. But the award also illuminates the emphasis that this institution has placed on scholarly research that occurs at the edges of the disciplines – where history and religion intersect or literature and social movements coincide,” says Deborah Losse, dean of humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “This book program provides an opportunity to recognize an ASU faculty member whose research advances a pressing issue or insight at the intersection of two or more humanities disciplines.”

ASU remembers Darwin, the power of risk-taking and how bold ideas can change worlds with Darwinfest, Feb. 4-13.

Bringing in some of the top evolutionary scientists and philosophers, planners from ASU’s School of Life Sciences and their university colleagues have designed a creative scientific enterprise that features acclaimed authors and filmmakers, as well as a Darwin look-alike contest, beagles, and a Darwin birthday party. Amidst the festival-like atmosphere and provocative questions that touch on religion, gender, and race, will be particular attention on teaching about Darwin and his science in the classroom.

Why the focus on Darwin and his theory? Studies have shown that “16 percent of high school biology teachers are essentially young earth creationists who deny human evolution, with only 28 percent accepting unguided naturalistic evolution of humans,” says John Lynch, a lecturer in ASU’s School of Life Sciences and an Honors Faculty Fellow in Barrett, the Honors College.

“While this latter number is higher than the general public’s 13 percent, it is still very low.”

What keeps these numbers so low? Teachers face a unique challenge with Darwin and a theory that’s achieved rock-star notoriety in particular, some ASU educators believe, because of a general lack of background information, effective teaching strategies and techniques.To address teachers’ needs and concerns, ASU’s Darwinfest will include a workshop and panel discussions constructed for educators.

The “Evolution Challenges Workshop,” led by Sarah Brem, an ASU associate professor of psychology in education, is designed to bolster the classroom skills and access to information for Arizona teachers, while  helping them find their way through what can be a personal, as well as an educational, minefield.“Teaching about evolution is stressful,” says Brem, with ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton College of Education. “Teachers experience physiological and psychological stress when just thinking about teaching evolution. They are well aware of polls and can easily envision problems that may arise in their classrooms.”

“This workshop will help teachers address each facet that contributes to the beliefs reported in polls, and in ways that can be addressed in the classroom with respect and integrity,” Brem adds. “It will also help us to learn more about what teachers experience and provide support.”

The Feb. 7 Darwinfest workshop, held on the Tempe campus from 8 a.m.-3 p.m., is part of the Evolution Challenges program, funded by the National Science Foundation. Area high school teachers must apply to attend and can receive college credit, if they are already enrolled in an ASU Master’s program, or a $250 honorarium.

Joining Brem and Lynch is a multidisciplinary team from the ASU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, including researchers from the School of Life Sciences, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, and Institute of Human Origins; and from the School of Educational Innovation and Teacher Preparation on the Polytechnic campus. Applications to attend the workshop can be obtained by contacting Margaret Coulombe, ASU Darwinfest’s coordinator.

Lynch believes that at a time where state and local school boards are being pressured by creationist groups to “teach the controversy” over “Darwinism,” teachers and their students need to be clearly aware of the scientific nature of evolutionary biology and how scientists frame and test claims about the evolution of life’s diversity.

“Evolutionary biology is no different than any other scientific field,” Lynch points out. “And modern evolutionary biology – while having its roots in Darwin’s ideas formulated over 150 years ago – is not ‘Darwinism,’ but rather a rich field of inquiry that Darwin himself would perhaps not clearly recognize. We at ASU are committed to helping Arizona’s high school biology teachers develop lessons that clearly show evolutionary biology for what it is – an exciting, engaging, and fascinating field, one that shares all the characteristics of modern scientific inquiry.”

Brem agrees: “Especially in Arizona, where the shortage of science teachers has led us to really push for innovation in recruitment, training and retention, I think helping teachers deal with this scientifically complex and socially controversial topic is particularly important.”

Brem and Lynch also believe that exposing students to all venues of science allows them to “draw their own conclusions,” an opinion shared by fellow workshop participant Debi Molina-Walters, a science education professor in the School of Educational Innovation and Teacher Preparation.

“If we teach high-quality science, students will be better equipped to make meaningful decisions on how to use that information and apply what they have learned. Darwinfest is an opportunity to celebrate science and the scientist who has had a huge impact on this discipline.”

In addition to the Evolution Challenges Workshop, ASU’s Darwinfest hosts an interactive panel discussion geared toward educators. “Teaching and Learning Evolution in America: Darwin’s Role in the Classroom” will be held on Feb. 13. Several other Darwinfest events for the public will also be held at the Arizona Science Center, including the Feb. 20 Science Café “Evolution and Faith revisited: Can the two be reconciled?” featuring Lynch and Norbert Samuelson, ASU professor of religious studies. Brem believes that Darwinfest offers a rare opportunity to see science in a different way, as a truly human endeavor.

“Darwin wasn’t the heroic sort or a child prodigy; he was a methodical, shy man who missed a lot of days of study because of panic attacks and a bad stomach. He’s in many ways an ordinary guy who is a central piece of this extraordinary puzzle because he persevered even when he was scared out of his wits and wanted to stay locked in his study working on yet another specimen,” Brem explains. “That’s a very different picture of science than we usually get, and I think it’s one that might help people to better understand who scientists are, what we do, and why.” 

For a full list of Darwinfest events and more information about the workshop: http://darwin.asu.edu 

The innovative use of technology to help produce more effective teachers in metropolitan Phoenix and across Arizona has earned a prestigious national award for Arizona State University’s College of Teacher Education and Leadership (CTEL).

CTEL is the 2009 recipient of the Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). This is CTEL’s second AACTE award within two years; the college received the Best Practice Award for Effective Partnerships in 2007.

“Receiving this award is another indication that our efforts in long-distance learning, reaching out to underserved communities, and providing the leadership in education critical to future generations, is working and being recognized for its successes,” says ASU President Michael Crow.

“Our state-of-the-art distance-learning system that helps ASU educators reach high-need and hard-to-reach school children and professionals exemplifies the access, excellence and impact we emphasize at ASU,” Crow says. “Students and faculty are making a difference in Arizona education in ways that reflect the best of the New American University.”

“CTEL faculty members view technology as a valuable tool that can improve teaching techniques in their own classrooms and ultimately in the K-12 classrooms of the teachers they prepare,” says Mari Koerner, CTEL’s dean. “Technology also helps us bring high-quality educational offerings to current and future teachers and school administrators.”

Cutting-edge, two-way video and online distance education techniques are employed in programs that provide high-need school districts with initial teacher preparation and professional development programs.

Interactive video technology brings CTEL’s Professional Development School (PDS) program to locations including Chinle and Douglas. PDS trains aspiring elementary and middle school teachers in low-income, ethnically diverse schools, enabling participants to stay in their communities as they pursue a degree and teaching certificate.

The PDS model has been expanded to teach future special education teachers and to provide leadership training to current and aspiring principals in high-poverty urban and rural districts around the state. Video technology also gives working teachers access to CTEL’s Content Academy, broadening their knowledge base in math, science and reading.

“Using technology as an outreach tool is especially important in Arizona, given the needs of urban and rural districts,” says Keith Wetzel, professor of teacher education. “Metropolitan Phoenix has more than 50 school districts, many of which are so small that they are quite limited in their ability to provide on-site professional development opportunities. Rural districts also struggle with access to professional development, as they tend to encompass large, sparsely populated areas, leaving educators isolated geographically and professionally.”

Early childhood teachers needing to meet the new Arizona certification requirement can do so through CTEL’s online early childhood certification and master’s degree program. This program has proven so popular that teachers in California and other states have enrolled in it.

The “Our Courts: 21st Century Civics” program is an additional example of how CTEL’s technology use extends beyond Arizona’s borders. In partnership with ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and Georgetown University Law Center, the project is providing a free, interactive online curriculum to engage middle school students in civics from the perspective of the judiciary.

Our Courts builds on the experience CTEL has gained through involvement in the GeoLiteracy Project, founded in 2002 in partnership with the Arizona Geographic Alliance and the National Geographic Education Foundation. This project has produced a collection of 85 online lesson plans based on Arizona content standards in reading, writing and geography.

“A critical component of all of these programs is ongoing assessment,” Koerner says. “We don’t simply assume programs are working; we collect data to assist us in refinement and improvement. It’s a great honor to be recognized by AACTE not just for using technology but for using it in ways that meet the needs of the communities we serve.”

AACTE is a national alliance of 800 educator preparation programs at public and private colleges and universities in every state, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. Information is available at www.aacte.org.

ASU’s College of Teacher Education and Leadership, through collaboration with educational and civic communities, prepares and inspires innovative educators to be leaders who apply evidence-based knowledge that positively impacts students, families, and the community. Visit www.ctel.asu.edu for details.

With every decade that passes, the subject matter studied by medieval art historians recedes farther into the distant past.

But that doesn’t stop these scholars from discussing and writing about their passion.

Nor does it stop them from publishing.

Corine Schleif, a professor of art history in the Herberger College School of Art, is the editor of the inaugural edition of a new online journal, “Different Visions: A Journal of New Perspectives on Medieval Art.”

The first edition, titled "Triangulating Our Vision," features Schleif’s essay titled "Introduction or Conclusion: Are We Still Being Historical? Exposing the Ehenheim Epitaph Using History and Theory.”

"This edition is dedicated to Madeline H. Caviness’s triangulatory approach to medieval art," Schleif said. "It aims to rekindle discussions about methodology and the use of critical theory together with considerations of historical context."

So what does this mean to the average person who travels to Europe to gaze at the windows in the Chartres Cathedral, or view other religious works of art, such as Jan van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece?

"The triangulatory approach stresses using not just theoretical insights and not just historical facts and dates, but both — not one without the other," Schleif said. "It proposes opening up works of art from the Middle Ages not for their own sake but for audiences of today."

In other words, Schleif said, the approach "shows how works of art from the past can be used to discuss the issues that engage us today: e.g. religion, race, the invention of whiteness, the alignment of whiteness with good and darkness or blackness with evil."

An example is the use of whiteness in Medieval stained glass. In her article, “From the Self-Invention of the Whiteman in the Thirteenth Century to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly,” Caviness explains, “in the later Middle Ages, saints in paradise gleam as white as their garments. By then it had become the norm for glass-painters to use colorless glass instead of flesh tints. A virginal saint might be celebrated in enamels, with a pearly complexion and ‘pure’ white garment. At some stage, Christians appropriated something of this sanctity by depicting their kind as truly ‘white.’”

Did those Medieval artists really mean to imply goodness through whiteness?

"We can’t go back in time to ask the artists what they meant," Schleif said. "We can only open the works of art through theory, for us today. Only we count."

In her article, Schleif explores the relationships depicted in the Ehenheim Epitaph, a panel measuring 113 by 102 centimeters, which has hung in the parish church of St. Lorenza in Nuremberg since it was painted following the death of vicar general Dr. Johannes von Ehenheim in 1438.

No archival records exist for this work, which shows Saint Lawrence, titular saint of the Nuremberg parish, Empress Cunegond and Emperor Henry II, saints of the Bamberg diocese, advocating for Ehenheim with Christ, portrayed on the right. In this painting, Christ alone stands untouched and untouchable, but clad only in a filmy loincloth.

The inaugural issue of "Different Visions" includes articles from a variety of perspectives and disciplines. "To promote the combined methods of theory and history, we invited well-known art historians, renowned scholars from related disciplines, and young scholars with fresh new ideas," Schleif said.

In helping establish the e-journal, Schleif has learned a great deal about publishing.

"The e-journal has advantages and disadvantages," she said. "We can have many images, and it’s not as expensive to reproduce them. But the image providers sometimes want to charge even more than for conventional books, and we have to remind them that these works are in the public domain and that non-interpretive photographs are not under copyright.

"The e-journal is free and accessible, and potentially, you can have feedback from other scholars.

And, "e-books are more work in some ways. More and more, scholars are required to take responsibility for editing and layout," Schleif said.

"But considering the status of publishing today, perhaps this increasing responsibility is good for scholars since it allows us to get our work, and get it out faster.

"As medievalists, they’re publishing less and less of our work," Schleif said.

To view "Different Visions: A Journal of New Perspectives on Medieval Art," go to www.differentvisions.org/one.html.

Arizona State University will host a two-day colloquium on the subject of Theravada Buddhism and its encounter with modernity in South and Southeast Asia since the early 19th century. The scholarly event will seek to re-appraise the field of Theravada studies from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, such as religious studies, history and anthropology. It will be held Feb. 13-14 in the Engineering Building A-Wing, Room 385, on ASU’s Tempe campus.

Colloquium organizers are Juliane Schober, associate professor in the ASU Department of Religious Studies, and Steven Collins, professor and chair of the South Asian languages and civilizations department at the University of Chicago. The conference is supported by the ASU Department of Religious Studies and the Institute for Humanities Research.

This state-of-the-field conference brings together leading scholars from institutions worldwide to explore the intersections of Buddhist practices and institutions with colonialism, education and nationalism.

Participants include Stephen Berkwitz, associate professor of religious studies at Missouri State University; Anne Blackburn, associate professor of South Asian studies and Buddhist studies at Cornell University; Kate Crosby, senior lecturer of Buddhist studies at the University of London; Christoph Emmrich, professor of South and Southeast Asian Buddhism at the University of Toronto; Charles Hallisey, senior lecturer of Buddhist literatures at Harvard University; Anne Hansen, associate professor of languages and cultures of Asia at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; Justin McDaniel, associate professor of religious studies at the University of California, Riverside; Patrick Pranke, professor of humanities at the University of Louisville; and Donald Swearer, distinguished visiting professor of Buddhist studies at Harvard University.

The ASU Academic Bowl championship team from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is heading to the University of California, Los Angeles, for a regional tournament.

The team will compete Feb. 7 in a regional matchup organized by the National Academic Quiz Tournaments. Representing ASU’s championship team are Kenneth Lan, a sophomore majoring in biological sciences; Erin Hutchinson, a senior majoring in global studies; Mary Beth Hutchinson, a sophomore majoring in religious studies and history; and Carolyn Moss, a junior majoring in history.

Emily Walter, an ASU academic success specialist in pre-health advising, is the team’s moderator.

ASU’s championship team will compete against teams from the California Institute of Technology; California State University, Fresno; Stanford University; the Claremont Colleges; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Irvine; and University of California, Berkeley. The winning team is qualified to go to the Intercollegiate Championship Tournament held April 3-4 at the Dallas-Forth Worth Airport.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences team dominated play in the final rounds of the ASU competition Oct. 30, beating teams from Herberger College of the Arts and Mary Lou Fulton College of Education.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences team also won last year’s ASU Academic Bowl and went on to compete in the College Bowl Regional Championship Tournament. However, after 31 years, the College Bowl Company suspended the College Bowl campus program.

The ASU Academic Bowl now uses questions prepared by National Academic Quiz Tournaments, which cover a wide range of subjects, including psychology, geography, astronomy, mathematics, world history, religion, literature – with a number on Shakespeare’s plays – opera, sports, film and theater.

Open to all post-secondary educational institutions, the national tournament will be played with a double round-robin format, then seed into a bracketed round-robin to determine the champion, with a final round as necessary.

More information about ASU Academic Bowl at asu.edu/academicbowl.

A delegation led by Anthony “Bud” Rock, vice president for global engagement, and Stephen Feinson, director of ASU’s Policy and Strategic Partnerships Office, traveled to the United Arab Emirates the week of Jan. 12 for a series of meetings to follow-up on last summer’s visit to ASU by Sultan Saeed Nasser AlMansoori, minister of economy for the UAE, and President Michael Crow and Rock’s subsequent visits to the UAE.

The ASU group, which met with government leaders, university officials and private sector representatives, included Mari Koerner, dean of the of College of Teacher Leadership and Training; Sam DiGangi, executive director of ASU’s Applied Learning Technologies Institute; and Jonathan Fink, director of the Global Institute of Sustainability.

Focus was on two thematic areas linked to ASU’s design aspirations: education technology and teacher training; and sustainability, with emphasis on renewable energy and public policy decision-making.

The trip, which included stops in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al-Khaimah, explored a range of potential projects and collaborations between ASU and the UAE. The delegation met with government leaders from the ministries of higher education, economy and environment; officials from Abu Dhabi University, the Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE University and Masdar Institute of Science and Technology; and private sector representatives.

Abu Dhabi University is a potential partner in the areas of educational training and technology, including possible development of a joint master’s in teacher leadership, as well as potential degrees in areas of special education and a possible joint center in education policy.
A meeting with the crown prince and the deputy ruler of Ras Al-Khaimah may lead to a linkage with Arab Grid for Learning, a pan-Arabic educational technologies initiative in which ASU is a partner and stakeholder.

Among opportunities under discussion with governmental and private contacts was construction of a Decision Theater, modeled on ASU’s facility, at some location in UAE to focus on environmental decision making, urban planning, and possibly connecting with the Masdar Initiative, a new, carbon-neutral city for 90,000 being built from scratch outside the city of Abu Dhabi. The latter is being managed by CH2M HILL, a large, international engineering firm with a presence in Tempe.

In addition, Vice President Rock met with representatives of the Dubai Municipality and Chamber of Commerce to discuss interest on the part of the City of Phoenix in building relationships with the emirate.

“It was a successful trip,” says Rock. “This is a critical region and ASU has a tremendous amount it can contribute, not only to economic development, but to fostering regional cooperation and collaborations. We’ve identified a range of opportunities and potential funding that can extend ASU’s global engagement aspirations and the university’s core objectives–sustainability, teacher leadership training, educational technology and public policy decision making—in collaboration with our partners.”

Following the UAE meetings, Feinson and Fink continued on to Jordan and Israel for additional meetings where they identified potential partners and resources that could extend core ASU global engagement objectives to a more regional approach which would build on some of the natural parallels between Arizona and that part of the world.

Discussed were the possibility of Jordanian/Palestinian/Israeli collaborations with ASU in the key areas of water resources, renewable energy (particularly solar) and long-term ecological research with a heavy focus on roles for ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability and School of Sustainability and Tel Aviv University’s Porter School of Environmental Studies, as well as Friends of the Earth Middle East, an non-governmental organization of Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli environmentalists that works cooperatively on regional environmental issues.

“ASU is seeking solutions for sustainability problems that affect arid regions with rapid population growth,” says Fink, “conditions that definitely apply in the Middle East. Our emphasis on research that directly helps decision-makers was especially well-received by the leaders we met with in the UAE, Jordan and Israel. We are exploring partnerships around water, energy and urbanization.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: The U.S. Army’s renewal of a five-year contract for $50 million to ASU’s Flexible Display Center is an example of the economic benefit a research university can bring to its state. In this case, the benefit has short and long-term consequences. In the short term, Arizona benefits from the $50 million, five-year contract. In the longer term, the work of the Flexible Display Center is designed to lead to an entirely new industry that will grow from within Arizona. Each year, Arizona universities pump almost $1 billion into the Arizona economy from their research, most of which is funded by the US government and entities from outside the state. Research money brought in by universities is restricted money that can only be used for the research activity it supports. It cannot be used to compensate for cuts in other parts of the university’s budget.

ASU announced Jan. 29 that the U.S. Army has committed to sponsor an additional five years of research and development at ASU’s Flexible Display Center. The five-year renewal, agreed upon in 2008, is for $50 million and follows initial funding of the center in 2004. Taken together, the two five-year commitments represent a total investment of nearly $100 million in this unique component of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory’s research portfolio.

The Flexible Display Center is a collaboration among government, industry and academia designed to advance the development of full-color flexible display technology.

The U.S. Army’s continued commitment follows a rigorous evaluation of Flexible Display Center activities and progress during its first five years of operation, with a thorough assessment of the Center’s future plans. The review included an evaluation by leading technology experts assembled at the invitation of the Army.

Army officials say the Flexible Display Center represents a critical resource in the Army’s ongoing effort to provide military members with the highest level of technology assets. Since the Army’s initial support in 2004, officials say they have been consistently impressed with the Center’s track record in achieving critical development milestones. They expect that over the next five years, the Center will expand its portfolio beyond strictly informational displays and will extend its role as a national asset in the research and development of flexible electronics.

Over the past five years, the Flexible Display Center has established a strong set of core capabilities to support flexible display development, including six-inch wafer-scale and GEN II 370×470 mm display-scale manufacturing pilot lines and related toolsets. Through its collaboration programs, the center has achieved development and demonstration milestones that incorporate a broad range of advanced materials and processes necessary to accelerate the commercialization of flexible displays.

With a view towards the next five years of its operations, the Flexible Display Center has appointed Nicholas Colaneri to the position of director, replacing Gregory Raupp, who was the Center’s director since its inception in 2004. Colaneri joined the Center in 2005 as associate director, responsible for business development, member recruitment and the management of the center’s intellectual property. He received his Ph.D. in physics in 1987 from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Raupp continues as professor of chemical engineering at Arizona State University, and in this capacity he will be responsible for strategic research and market opportunities in flexible electronics for ASU supporting the Flexible Display Center.

“As an early adopter of advanced technologies, the Army recognized the importance of developing revolutionary information displays and had the foresight to commit to fostering a sustainable ecosystem that could successfully develop and commercialize flexible electronic displays,” says Colaneri. “The Army’s long-term commitment to this initiative not only recognizes the important role that the center plays within this developing market but, more critically, allows us to accelerate the application development and commercialization process.”

In addition to the U.S. Army, the Flexible Display Center partners with many of the world’s leading and emerging industry providers of advanced display technology, materials and process equipment, and product integrators such as HP, General Dynamics, Raytheon, BAE Systems, L3 Communications, Boeing, LG Display, E Ink, Applied Materials AKT, Ito America, EV Group, DuPont Teijin Films, Honeywell, Universal Display Corporation, Kent Displays, Plextronics, Etched In Time, Surface Science Integration and Particle Measuring Systems. A key founding partner in the center is the FlexTech Alliance, an industry association focused on the manufacturing and distribution chain of flexible, printed electronics and displays.

Also, the Flexible Display Center collaborates with renowned universities such as University of Texas at Dallas and Lehigh University on basic materials research projects.

Flexible electronic displays are playing an increasingly important role in the global high-tech industry, serving as the crucial enabling technology for a new generation of portable devices, including e-readers and similar products designed to combine mobility with compelling user interfaces. According to a recent iSuppli report, the flexible display market is expected to grow from $80 million in 2007 to $2.8 billion by 2013.

About the Flexible Display Center

The FDC is a government – industry – academia partnership that’s advancing full-color flexible display technology and fostering development of a manufacturing ecosystem to support the rapidly growing market for flexible electronic displays. FDC partners include many of the world’s leading providers of advanced display technology, materials and process equipment. The FDC is unique among the U.S. Army’s University centers, having been formed through a 10-year cooperative agreement with Arizona State University in 2004.

This adaptable agreement has enabled the FDC to create and implement a proven collaborative partnership model with over 20 engaged industry members, and to successfully deploy world class wafer-scale R&D and GEN-II display-scale pilot production lines for rapid flexible display technology development and manufacturing supply chain commercialization. More information on the Flexible Display Center can be found at www.flexdisplay.asu.edu.

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Source:

Nick Colaneri, nick.colaneri@asu.edu
(480) 727-8971

Media contact:

Dymond Simon (Women’s Basketball) and Jason Lewis (Track and Field) have been named Arizona State Athletes of the Week, for the week ending Feb. 1. Both had record setting weekends and led the Sun Devils to victory in their respective sports.

Simon scored a game-high 19 points to go along with six assists, three rebounds and four steals in Arizona State’s 75-38 win over Arizona. The four steals set a new career best while the six assists tied a career best. Simon part of a defensive effort that limited Arizona to 38 points and 27 percent shooting. She has averaged 18.3 points, 5.3 assists and 3.0 steals in ASU’s last three games and shot 54.5 percent (6-11) from beyond the arc during that span.

Lewis broke the school record in the men’s weight throw by over three feet and automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in March. Lewis, who set the set school record last year at 20.94m (68-08.50), shattered his previous best mark with a record-toss of 22.04m (72-03.75) to earn a spot in the national championships. His toss is currently the second-best in the nation.