Arizona State University - A leader in national security

Innovating the future of national security

Answering the call for innovation

ASU’s Global Security Initiative drives transformational research and other capabilities for defense and mission needs. The university is breaking the mold for what is possible by pioneering solutions that empower the U.S. in the contest for global leadership in emerging technologies. We are a national service university, built to accelerate positive outcomes through the integration of cutting-edge technological innovation and to be responsive in what the White House calls “the decisive decade.”

| Accelerating speed to market

Advancing innovation and scientific discovery has reached a critical juncture as we face the pressing challenges of national security and international stability. The U.S. Department of Defense's National Defense Strategy and the White House's National Security Strategy both emphasize the crucial role of the United States' leadership in technological development and operationalization. Joining forces with the Department of Defense and members of the defense and national security industries, Arizona State University is advancing critical technologies such as microelectronics, quantum sciences, space technologies and artificial intelligence.

One example of ASU’s contributions to scientific challenges in the national security domain focuses on critical materials. These materials provide the building blocks for many modern technologies that are essential to our national security and economic prosperity. Foreign countries exert an outsized influence over mineral supply chains, including the majority of the world’s production of rare earth elements. At ASU, expert researchers work to protect the United States from catastrophic supply chain disruptions. They are developing the thermodynamic information needed for critical mineral production, extracting minerals from waste streams and improving smelting and production processes for metals and alloys.

As the Department of Defense proactively seeks to bridge technology gaps in cyber, data, artificial intelligence and other specialized fields, ASU helps to fill the void by training and educating a diverse group of STEM learners who are passionate about pursuing careers in defense and national security. Via our nation’s largest engineering school and other dedicated programs, ASU provides comprehensive education and hands-on training to equip these future professionals with necessary skills.

Our researchers pioneer novel ideas, and an increasing number of them make their way to market. Skysong Innovations, ASU’s exclusive technology transfer and intellectual property management organization, negotiates licensing deals with commercial partners who advance these patented technologies and develop solutions for society. The organization has secured nearly 1,450 U.S. patents and closed nearly 1,400 option or license deals with commercial partners during its years of service to ASU. It has facilitated more than 200 ASU startups that have collectively attracted more than $1.2 billion in external funding.

| Driving success through partnerships and collaboration

ASU has a long history of successful collaboration with the Department of Defense and members of the defense and national security industry. These partnerships are diverse and include industry giants, such as Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies, to name a few. ASU’s faculty, students and staff significantly contribute to our nation’s security and protect our natural resources through a multitude of defense-related research and military initiatives.

Our collective efforts hold the key to unlocking new frontiers of knowledge and empowering us to tackle the urgent issues that confront us.

At ASU, we are changing the way the world solves problems. We look forward to partnering with you today for a more secure tomorrow.

Sally C. Morton Executive vice president ASU Knowledge Enterprise

Tap into the power of one of the fastest growing research enterprises in the United States

ASU has a history of rapidly growing its research capacity, leading to innovative solutions like shoebox-sized spacecraft that orbit the moon and exoskeletons that give U.S. Air Force aerial porters superlifting capabilities. In fact, during the past two decades, ASU has increased the scale and scope of its research activity universitywide nearly six times over. ASU receives funding for research from federal agencies, state and local grants, businesses and other private organizations, which is often awarded over multiyear periods. Research expenditures — the amount of this funding an institution spends in a particular year — provide the most effective way to measure and compare research enterprises.

ASU’s Department of Defense-related expenditures have increased 69% over the last five years.

Advancing technology for national security

Joining forces to maintain the United States’ tech leadership

As the contest for global leadership in emerging technologies heats up, our country’s national security and international stability is at stake as the U.S. strives to maintain its technological leadership. To help the U.S. stay ahead of the technological curve, Arizona State University develops and advances emerging technologies such as microelectronics, quantum computing and artificial intelligence for accelerating speed to market. As ASU’s hub for defense research and development, Global Security Initiative matches the university’s unique capabilities with Department of Defense mission needs.

| The future of wireless communications

ASU’s Center for Wireless Information Systems and Computation Architectures (WISCA) places the university at the research and development nexus of the next revolution in wireless communications and sensing systems. WISCA works across the research space: basic theory, novel system concepts, advanced algorithms, new advanced computing architectures, implementations and experimental validation. It provides the underlying technology for a wide range of applications, such as autonomous air and ground vehicles, multifunction low-cost satellites, next-generation communications systems and many more.

Among its projects, WISCA recently received a grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to help develop low-cost, high-speed, configurable optical data links that connect low Earth orbit satellites with each other and their earthbound proprietors from either the military, government, corporate or private sectors. WISCA is the only university research center recipient of a Space-BACN (or Space-Based Adaptive Communications Node) project, with the others going to major corporations.

| Quantum information science and engineering

ASU’s Quantum Collaborative is a major 21st century initiative poised to bring new discoveries and applications in advanced quantum information science and engineering. By introducing new types of computational, communication and sensory capability, quantum technologies will upgrade entire industries while improving data security for society and enhancing global competitiveness.

ASU’s Quantum Collaborative aims to promote understanding, forge academic and industry partnerships to advance innovation, and ensure the emergence of a highly diverse and well-trained quantum workforce.

Quantum AI, SandboxAQ and CR8DL. Academic partners include Purdue University, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Virginia Tech and The University of Texas at San Antonio. Beyond industry and academic organizations, ASU has partnered with the Quantum Economic Development Consortium and other major research organizations, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Internationally, the Quantum Collaborative is working with The University of New South Wales through the ASU PLuS Alliance and organizations across Netherlands, Germany and Japan.

Quantum Collaborative industry partners include IBM, Dell Technologies, Quantinuum, Google

| Microelectronics

Diminishing microelectronics manufacturing in the United States and supply chain disruptions pose national economic and security risks because virtually every military and commercial system relies on microelectronics. Addressing the need for secure microelectronics sources, ASU’s Secure, Trusted, and Assured Microelectronics (STAM) Center investigates new technologies and methodologies to offer opportunities for designing secure computing devices and systems, targeting applications of national security importance. Meanwhile, DARPA has funded two advanced computing projects, both of which are producing reimagined “chips” or microprocessors — one that provides an alternative processing pathway for greater power efficiency and another that improves mobile and satellite communications — at ASU’s Center for Wireless Information Systems and Computational Architectures (WISCA).

A new DARPA effort will enable communication between low Earth orbit satellites — both with each other and their partners on the ground.

| Securing the cyber frontier

From data breaches to ransomware groups shutting down national pipelines, there are near-daily headlines about cybersecurity attacks. To help address the long-term cybersecurity challenges facing the nation and the world, ASU’s Center for Cybersecurity and Trusted Foundations (CTF)

aims to keep infrastructures, users and their data safe. CTF does this by closely coupling the center’s large-scale research portfolio with novel, hands-on education opportunities for a pipeline of learners at varying levels of experience, alongside entrepreneurial efforts to ensure new cybersecurity techniques are able to transition from the lab into use.

| Technology as a trusted teammate

Humans are increasingly working together with synthetic agents, both robotic and softwarebased, to carry out essential national security functions, and yet helping people and technology collaborate well is no easy feat. ASU’s Center for Human, Artificial Intelligence, and Robot Teaming (CHART), a unit of the Global Security Initiative, is providing much-needed research on everything from how these teams communicate verbally and nonverbally, to how to coordinate swarms of robots, to how they can effectively collaborate on space exploration missions. While the role of artificial intelligence is increasing in military, government and private sectors, people working with these systems may have low trust in them. An ASU Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency (CAOE) team is working to address that concern by testing a tool that could help government and industry identify and develop trustworthy AI technology.

Among CHART’s robots, the Fetch robot can lift objects in the air, while the Husky robot in the background is used to simulate Mars rovers.

| Creating resilient energy systems

Renewable energy and storage — including solar, wind, bio-based and geothermal technologies; advanced energy storage; electronic engines and power grid integration — add resilience and flexibility to DOD operations. ASU’s Laboratory for Energy and Power Solutions (LEAPS) assisted the Marine Corps Installations Command in understanding problems and developing solutions related to base resiliency in the areas of energy, food, water, communications and mobility. LEAPS creates technical and business solutions that facilitate the global transition to a resilient lowcarbon economy. It takes energy innovations from concept to construction with a focus on energy access, microgrids, grid modernization, resilient infrastructure and workforce development. Inside its one-acre microgrid test bed and computational laboratory, simulation-based design is combined with hands-on fabrication to create next-generation energy solutions.

| Space technologies

A U.S. Space Force partner, ASU brings its extensive experience in space exploration, engineering and defense research to help secure the nation’s interests and maintain an advantage in space. ASU’s faculty, researchers, staff and students have participated in more than 20 space missions. The university leads two NASA space missions, Psyche and LunaH-Map, and developed and runs instruments for scientific missions to the moon, asteroids and planets. ASU scientists and engineers are advancing various projects for current and future space missions, including:

• LunaH-Map, a small, shoebox-size spacecraft built at ASU to analyze water content at the lunar south pole to set up conditions for future exploration.

• The Psyche mission, which will seek answers to how planets are formed by analyzing the metal-rich Psyche asteroid orbiting the sun between Jupiter and Mars.

• Europa Clipper, which includes the Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System built by ASU scientists and engineers to investigate Jupiter’s moon Europa.

ASU President Michael M. Crow signs a memorandum of understanding in 2023 with the U.S. Space Force.

Rapid problem-solving for defense challenges

Overcoming renewed national security threats from ever-changing adversaries

Our national security depends on becoming more innovative and putting new technology in the hands of our armed forces faster. ASU energizes the flow of new technology into the defense industry by mobilizing its researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs.

|

Global Security Initiative

ASU’s Global Security Initiative addresses global security challenges in partnership with defense, security and diplomacy communities through multiple centers:

• Research at the Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency (CAOE) helps the Department of Homeland Security improve efficiency and security at our national borders, ports and airports through better prediction and response to emergencies.

• To help address the long-term cybersecurity challenges facing the nation and the world, GSI’s Center for Cybersecurity and Trusted Foundations (CTF) aims to keep infrastructures, users and their data safe. CTF has a broad portfolio of governmentsponsored research from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research and the Army Research Office.

• The Center for Human, Artificial Intelligence, and Robot Teaming (CHART) is a multidisciplinary center leading the charge to develop methods to assemble the most effective human-synthetic agent teams in support of national security. CHART develops and deploys technologies, tools and best practices for the composition, training, management and evaluation of human, AI and robot teams working together in support of national security.

• The Center on Narrative, Disinformation and Strategic Influence (NDSI) fuses humanities and social science research with state-ofthe-art computer science and modeling to support efforts to safeguard the United States, its allies and democratic principles against malign influence campaigns. Adversaries use propaganda and disinformation to assault political will, manipulate public opinion and erode socio-political institutions, thereby weakening democracies.

| National Security Academic Accelerator (NSA2)

NSA2 leverages ASU’s active presence in the defense innovation ecosystem to advance development of dual-use ventures capable of serving both commercial and defense markets. NSA2 is an ASU-led program sponsored by the National Security Innovation Network, an unrivaled problem-solving network in DOD that adapts to the emerging needs of those who serve in the defense of our national security. The accelerator provides training, coaching and financial support to advance ASU-led technology and solutions into startups that have commercial application and address national security needs. Our DOD partners are interested in solutions within technology verticals such as 5G communications, microelectronics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic systems and more.

| ASURE

ASU’s applied research and development arm, ASURE specializes in delivering programs, processes and strategies to rapidly drive ASU innovation into fully executed solutions for applied, classified and midrange technology-level challenges. Among its accomplishments, ASURE:

• Spearheaded research into threat actors’ motivations, means and methods of using microtargeting against U.S. interests, in collaboration with the DOD, U.S. Army, U.S. Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security.

• Partnered with the U.S. Marine Corps to design, develop, test and deliver lightweight ammunition packaging that reduced the burden on warfighters and increased operational capacity.

• Provided project management, content development and external partner relationship support for ASU’s K-12 microgrid education programs and training tools designed to create a future workforce pipeline for microgrid and advanced power systems careers.

| Accelerating tech transfer

Skysong Innovations is the exclusive intellectual property management and technology transfer organization for ASU. Skysong Innovations works with faculty, investors and industry partners to translate ASU innovation into broad societal impact.

In fiscal year 2022, ASU innovators working with Skysong Innovations generated 305 invention disclosures, 166 U.S. patents and 21 new startup companies. Since its formation in 2003, Skysong innovations has received more than 4,400 invention disclosures from ASU researchers, culminating in more than 1,200 U.S. patents. To date, more than 200 startups have launched based on ASU innovations. These companies have attracted more than $1 billion in funding from venture capital firms and other investors.

A team of Luke Air Force Base airmen and ASU engineering researchers developed the Dynamic Unmanned Threat Emitter to train pilots to identify and respond to threats such as surface-to-air missiles.

| Empowering entrepreneurs

ASU’s J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute is a connecting and collaborating resource for entrepreneurs at all stages across ASU and the local community. The Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute connects ventures with funding opportunities, mentoring, training and spaces to help turn ideas into reality. The Venture Vets program invites members of the military community and active duty military spouses to launch their ideas through Edson E+I Institute’s Venture Devils program.

| Discovering innovative warfighting capabilities

In partnership with Luke Air Force Base, ASU researchers created a low-cost threat emitter (LCTE), a system that can realistically mimic threatening emissions from an array of potential enemy air systems for use in both training and to create a congested environment on the battlefield. Instead of costing millions of dollars like current threat emitters being used, the LCTEs cost in the thousands and can be easily moved and reconfigured. ASU secured funding from the DOD’s Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER) to produce multiple LCTEs. RDER is a collaboration between the military services, combatant commands, industry and coalition partners with the aim of discovering new and innovative warfighting capabilities. ASU is the only university to receive RDER funds.

Based in Washington, D.C., The McCain Institute focuses on impacting the nation’s and world’s most critical issues and discussions. The institute offers policy research, events, student internships and other activities committed to supporting American global leadership and humanitarian action and upholding democratic and human rights. The institute also seeks out and trains new national security leaders in the public, private enterprise and military spheres.

Decision Theater (DT) is a research tool that enables informed, data-driven decision-making .

DT models, visualizes and simulates complex local, national and international issues and systems to provide decision-makers greater understanding and opportunities to forecast consequences before decisions are made.

DT’s expert staff combines team science and decision science with capabilities such as highperformance computing, data analytics, software development, real-time modeling, gaming and data visualization. Subject matter experts from the university and around the globe collaborate to address and convene influencers and decisionmakers in an immersive, visualized environment. Remote sites, including ASU’s Decision Theater in Washington, D.C., foster expertise sharing.

The Decision Theater convenes researchers, policymakers and the business community to better understand and explore solutions to complex issues facing society.

| The McCain Institute at Arizona State University

| Decision Theater

| Center on the Future of War

An ASU and New America collaboration, the center explores the social, political, economic and cultural implications of the changing nature of war and conflict. The center convenes more than a dozen faculty, 15 research fellows, 140 affiliated ASU faculty and more than 30 affiliated New America experts. It connects ASU with policymakers and national media, organizes collaborative research projects, produces reports and publications, and designs and implements innovative educational programming, including the online Master of Arts in global security in the School of Politics and Global Studies.

A collaboration between New America and the Center on the Future of War, New America’s Future of War project brings together thinkers and practitioners from the worlds of law, technology, political science, history, policy, the military and the media to address the challenges posed by changes in how wars are fought.

| Flag Officer Advisory Council

Created in 2014, the council provides advice and perspective to ASU President Michael M. Crow, faculty, staff and students on matters of national significance. Council members include retired military generals and admirals from the U.S. Army,

Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. These distinguished leaders have served at the highest levels of government, both at home and abroad, to combat terrorism, respond to national disasters and defend the homeland. They have developed strategy, led diverse organizations and worked with national and international counterparts to address the nation’s most complex and critical problems. Their vast areas of expertise include complex decision-making, strategic planning, business development, operational management, communications, health policy, disaster and crisis management, supply chain, leadership and character development, ROTC and student mentorship, veteran legal advice, and serving as subject matter expert lecturers.

Upskilling and diversifying the military workforce

Top 8 in the nation for ROTC

— General Douglas MacArthur Foundation, 2021

ASU’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) is recognized as one of the top eight programs of its kind nationwide with the 2021 General Douglas MacArthur Award. Chosen out of 274 programs, the Sun Devil Battalion was selected for a combination of achievement in commissioning mission, cadets’ performance during Cadet Summer Training and retention rates.

15,000+

active military, veteran and dependent students are furthering their education and future careers in our top-ranked, highly supportive degree programs.

350+

With more than 350 high-quality undergraduate degree programs, students can study almost anything that interests them at ASU, or customize a program to the perfect fit.

#3

Best online bachelor’s programs for veterans

— U.S. News & World Report, 2023

Training and educating the national security workforce

Arming active-duty service members and reservists with the knowledge and skills needed to maintain the U.S. technological competitive edge

ASU proudly welcomes the opportunity to provide transformative, all-inclusive educational experiences, including research and training opportunities, for those serving on active duty and in the National Guard or Reserves, and for millions of lifelong learners and their families. ASU develops military and civilian national service leaders armed with the skills, networks and experience to work side-by-side in taking on our most complex challenges.

For current military personnel

| Air University

Air University, the U.S. Air and Space Force’s center for professional military education, has partnered with ASU to bring an agile, adaptive learning environment to the Air Force’s online professional military education. Through its online learning enterprise EdPlus, ASU established an innovative digital platform for Air University’s Squadron Officer School. The platform provides an enriched digital environment with superior accessibility, reliability and around-the-clock support. The partnership marks the first time the U.S. military partnered with a civilian university to help deliver professional military education for commissioned officers.

| Naval Community College

The United States Naval Community College and ASU have partnered to offer Associate of Arts in military studies and Associate of Arts in organizational leadership degrees to active-duty enlisted Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen. In the military studies degree program, students develop their knowledge and skills in military history, organizational leadership and political science through courses focused on global politics and history, Naval ethics and leadership, and more. In the organizational leadership program, students develop their skills in problem-solving, effective communication, program assessment, resource management and understanding emerging technologies.

| Upskilling programs for current military personnel

As the Department of Defense seeks to fill technology knowledge gaps in cybersecurity, data science and artificial intelligence in the military workforce, ASU offers pathways to learning through the Global Security Initiative. A primer on

artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science is now part of warrant officer intelligence training through a curriculum created by the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, the Army Research Laboratory and ASU. Three-week training for National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command personnel helped improve their cybersecurity skills using pwn.college, a novel education platform developed at ASU that is for students (and other interested parties) to learn about and practice core cybersecurity concepts in a hands-on fashion.

| Air Force innovation education

ASU hosted a design thinking workshop at the Thunderbird School of Global Management with representatives from across the U.S. Air Force — including AFWERX, ARCWERX, Air Force Institute of Technology, and Air Education and Training Command — to imagine the innovation education needs of the airmen of the future. As a result, ASU launched a pilot program funded by AFWERX to send 25 airmen through the Master of Applied Leadership and Management program offered by the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

The program combines cutting-edge management coursework with a truly global curriculum, crosscultural communication and negotiation training, personal development and leadership components to prepare graduates to thrive as decision-makers in enterprises that operate across borders.

Designed to empower graduates with well-rounded, future-ready skillsets, courses run the gamut from accounting and data-driven decision-making to global finance and marketing. Students also receive hands-on, experiential learning opportunities in practical, real-world situations through elective courses that allow them to apply the full range of professional skills acquired during their studies. The program allows students to work at their own pace to earn their degree in as few as 12 months.

For students interested in defense and national security careers

ASU is on the forefront of educational innovation and strives to help create the STEM talent and national security workforce the nation needs.

| STEM degree programs

The ability to train and educate a diverse universe of STEM learners interested in defense and national security careers is key to the Department of Defense’s goal to ensure the military workforce supports the U.S. technological advantage. ASU advances this goal with the largest engineering school in the country by enrollment, the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, as well as multiple STEM degree programs.

| Master of Arts in global security

The Leadership, Diplomacy and National Security Lab advances character-driven leadership, diplomacy, and national security education and training in support of the full range of university enterprises. Led by diplomatic and national security professionals, the lab dedicates itself to learner-centered solutions and thought leadership through a global network of partners employing state-of-the-art learning tools.

ASU Online’s Master of Arts in global security prepares students to advance their careers in the military, global security, diplomacy and other related fields. Its world-class faculty includes thought leaders and experts on a broad range of security issues, including irregular warfare experts, national security analysts, visionary futurists and best-selling authors. Students gain skills in policy analysis and strategic thinking by building on a strong foundation of academic disciplines — from anthropology and sociology to history and religion — that provide context for current and emerging domestic and international situations. Nearly half of students are current military members who can complete the program from anywhere in the world and at their own pace.

| Leadership, Diplomacy and National Security Lab

Hacking for Defense class

Hacking for Defense (H4D) is a project-driven course that teaches problem-solving, creative thinking and solutions development. ASU student teams from engineering, business, design and other disciplines apply innovative approaches to national security problems sourced directly from a sponsor within the DOD. Capstone programs match highly talented undergraduate and graduate students with operational military commands to deliver rapid, early stage prototypes, whether technical or policy-centered, that help solve project sponsor challenges. Meanwhile, X-Force Fellowship, a summer internship program, provides undergraduate and graduate students and recent graduates an opportunity to serve their country by solving real-world national security challenges in collaboration with the DOD.

| Taking the Pentagon to the People

ASU connects the talents of undergraduate and graduate students to career opportunities within the DOD and other federal agencies as a host for the event series, “Taking the Pentagon to the People.” Hosted in collaboration with the DOD’s Diversity Management Operation Center, the program also forges connections between DOD representatives and ASU faculty and staff, who gain insights on how the agency can support their recruitment, teaching and research activities.

Serving those who served

ASU offers numerous support services to more than 15,000 active duty service members, veterans and their family members enrolled at the university

ASU supports the students and families who have served our country by helping them succeed on their college journey and preparing them for life after they graduate.

|

Pat Tillman Veterans Center

The Pat Tillman Veterans Center provides comprehensive transition services, connections and academic resources to help veterans succeed at ASU and beyond.

Pat Tillman’s legacy was shaped at ASU, where he was an All-Pac-12 and All-Academic studentathlete. After graduating with honors, he was drafted by the NFL Arizona Cardinals. Tillman gave up his football career after four seasons to serve in the U.S. Army following the 9/11 attacks on the nation. He was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2004.

In the spirit of service and dedication that is the Tillman legacy, the center empowers veterans to follow their honorable service with exemplary academic performance and connect with meaningful employment for their postmilitary careers. The center ensures that ASU student veterans receive U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs education benefits in a timely and professional manner. It also offers a place for student veterans and military-connected students to congregate, study and engage in the student community, as well as receive help and advocacy to drive successful outcomes while in pursuit of their degrees and beyond.

In 2008, the Pat Tillman Foundation established the Tillman Scholars program to support educational opportunities for service members and military families by bridging the financial gap left by the Post-9/11 GI Bill®. ASU has been a Tillman Partner University since 2011.

|

Shawn

Banzhaf,

executive director of the Pat Tillman Veterans Center

For 21 years, Banzhaf served the U.S. in the Army National Guard. He retired as the 1057th Transportation Company acting first sergeant. As an Iraq War veteran, Banzhaf earned the Bronze Star and Combat Action Badge for his actions during 100 combat missions in and around Baghdad, Ramadi and Fallujah. He was instrumental in his unit, the 1074th Transportation Company, earning the Meritorious Unit Citation during their yearlong deployment.

Banzhaf created and wrote the book, "The 5 Ls: A Practical Guide for Helping Loved Ones Heal After Trauma." He has trained over 1,000 individuals to apply this method as a tool anyone can use with a loved one struggling with PTSD, whether a veteran or not.

| Creating success through academics and workforce training

ASU values the veteran and military-connected learner as an integral component of the diverse university community, online and on campus. The work achieved across all ASU campuses continues to build a strong success culture that has received high praise and acknowledgement by MilitaryTimes.com (top 10% of public universities “Best for Vets”) and G.I. Jobs as a “military friendly school.” The university is one of the nation’s first higher education institutions to embrace “8 Keys to Success” and serve as a role model for implementation of the Executive Order of Principles of Excellence related to veterans’ services in higher education.

ASU hosts ROTC programs representing four branches of U.S. military service, including the nationally ranked Army ROTC, which has been a campus mainstay for more than 80 years. ROTC students have the same college experience as their peers with one significant difference — upon graduation, they will be commissioned as officers in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines. Qualified students participate in a combination of academics, military-specific courses, physical fitness and summer training. Through a common ASU and DOD goal of developing success-driven leaders, there are multiple opportunities to earn a commission and may include full-tuition benefits, payment for fees and books, and a monthly stipend.

ASU’s Army ROTC program provides cadets with character-building skills, a diverse, self-disciplined civilian education and leadership development training.

| ROTC

ASU programs for veterans

• The Office for Veteran and Military Academic Engagement integrates veterans into scholastic life, assists staff and faculty in understanding the veteran mindset and helps create research opportunities that benefit veterans by providing valuable hands-on experience.

• Salute to Service, ASU’s annual weeklong series of events honoring military service, features staff-, faculty- and studentorganized events across all Phoenix metropolitan campuses.

• VetSuccess on Campus, a joint program with the U.S. Department of Public Affairs, provides on-site counselors for veterans and family members using GI Bill benefits.

• The Yellow Ribbon Program helps Post9/11 GI Bill recipients and their families cover the cost difference between resident and nonresident tuition.

• Available scholarships include the Veterans Education Fund, Arizona Purple Heart Tuition Waiver, Spouse of Military Veteran Tuition Scholarship, Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, online military scholarships for individuals using tuition assistance and the Tillman Military Scholars program.

• In-state tuition has been offered to all honorably discharged veterans since 2011. Priority registration is available for veterans using benefits after their first semester.

• Credit is available for successfully completed military courses or training, and for DANTES and CLEP testing.

• The Veterans Upward Bound program helps low-income or first-generation student veterans improve their academic skills through free federally funded college preparation courses.

| Supporting career transitions

ASU continually seeks opportunities with external partners to find pathways for student veteran success. An example is the energetic, handson CORE (Career Opportunity Redefinition and Exploration) Fundamentals workshop. Led by professional services company Deloitte, the workshop teaches student veterans, as well as veterans and service members in the community, how to find the right career fit by translating their leadership skills into a business context. Veterans learn to understand their individual strengths, target career opportunities based on their personal brand, network and succinctly communicate their story to potential employers.

| Military families

ASU understands the important complexities surrounding military families. It is with this understanding that the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics created the Working with Military Families certificate. Students who complete the certificate program gain valuable insights into human development, marital and familial relationships, and family dynamics in the context of military culture.

| The Aerial Port Exoskeleton

A new power and endurance device from ASU gives U.S. Air Force aerial porters enhanced levels of safety and strength on the job. The Aerial Port Exoskeleton, or APEx, provides Air Force aerial porters — responsible for loading pallets and lifting cargo onto aircraft — increased lifting and pushing support. The APEx project was created based on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s 2019 Volpe Center study, which revealed that more than $31 million is spent annually in disability benefits for retired aerial porters, who had a high incidence of musculoskeletal injuries.

APEx is an exoskeleton designed to assist people with loading a 10,000-pound pallet and then pushing it onto an airplane. The fundamental purposes of the lightweight 8-pound device are worker wellness and making pushing and lifting easier and safer.

The contract was funded under the Department of Defense Rapid Innovation Fund, which awards contracts to develop innovative technologies that can be rapidly inserted into programs that meet needs and are designed to include small businesses in the research process.

| Ensuring military and soldier readiness

Our national security relies on military readiness, the ability of military forces to fight and meet the demands of assigned missions at any time. To achieve this important objective, the military uses Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) domains — physical fitness, sleep, nutrition, and mental and spiritual readiness — to evaluate and improve soldier readiness. The ASU College of Health Solutions works with multiple military installations in Arizona and the Midwest to increase readiness through cross-cutting prevention measures to increase signature behaviors such as good nutrition and regular activity and decrease negative behaviors such as smoking and substance abuse. The project also examines the social determinants of health for suicide prevention.

| Starbucks College Achievement Plan

The Starbucks College Achievement Plan, launched in 2014, is a first-of-its-kind partnership between Arizona State University and Starbucks to expand access to high-quality education. It creates an opportunity for eligible U.S. partners (employees) to earn their first-time bachelor’s degree with 100% tuition coverage, choosing from more than 140 undergraduate degree programs offered online through ASU.

In November 2015, ASU and Starbucks expanded the innovative education partnership to allow partners who are serving or have served in the U.S. military to designate an additional family member to receive the benefits of the Starbucks College Achievement Plan.

Partners enrolled in the program have access to a dedicated enrollment coach, success coach, academic advisor, financial aid counselors, and career and professional development services to support them through graduation. More than 20,000 partners are currently participating in the Starbucks College Achievement Plan and nearly 10,000 partners have graduated from ASU, contributing toward the goal of graduating 25,000 partners by 2025.

Uniting with the defense industry

Addressing current and emerging security challenges through the power of relationships and engagement

The following are a few of the numerous organizations that look to ASU, an innovative powerhouse, as a partner to support the U.S. technological advantage.

New Economy Initiative

Sponsored research

Philanthropic investments

Space

Security & Defence PLuS

Workforce development

Boeing supports scholarships and sponsorship opportunities for student organizations. Key areas of interest for Boeing and ASU collaborations include talent acquisition, research and development, including aerospace engineering, advanced manufacturing, data science and supply chain.

General Dynamics engages across ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, the largest engineering school in the country, on programs including computer science, electrical engineering and manufacturing engineering systems. By collaborating on joint projects, workforce development and federal funding opportunities, General Dynamics and ASU propel forward the industries of the future.

| General Dynamics

| Boeing

Honeywell Aerospace and ASU work together to build a long-term, strategic and comprehensive relationship, establishing Honeywell as an employer of choice with ASU’s engineering students.

Lockheed Martin and ASU NewSpace are engaged through MILO Institute, which is focused on enabling more scientists, engineers and students to design, develop and conduct deep space robotic missions.

ATK

Northrop Grumman sponsors research throughout ASU and as part of the New Economy Initiative, enabling the development of new technologies to support national defense needs. NGC also engages with ASU students throughout their academic careers.

Raytheon and ASU together support research, workforce education, student hiring and philanthropic engagements.

| Security & Defence PLuS

Security & Defence PLuS initiative is an academic research and educational collaboration between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. This new initiative provides independent, original knowledge and understanding of national and global security issues and serves as a keystone in the PLuS Alliance, a partnership between ASU, King’s College London and the University of New South Wales Sydney aimed at solving pressing educational and societal challenges.

| Raytheon Technologies

| Northrop Grumman/Orbital

| Lockheed Martin

| Honeywell

Today’s challenges, tomorrow’s achievements

Creating a secure future, one innovation at a time

Military innovations change the world. From GPS tracking and microwave technology to digital photography and virtual reality, some of the nation’s most groundbreaking inventions have emerged from the military sector. At ASU, even greater innovations lie ahead that will serve our national defense and security, making the impossible possible.

| New Economy Initiative

ASU is creating new partnerships with industry to drive breakthroughs that will push emerging technology out of the lab and into the real world in areas that are critical to national defense and security. The engine is the state-funded New Economy Initiative that tasks Arizona’s three universities to develop a coordinated response to attract high-tech industry, drive job creation and create a competitive and resilient economy in Arizona.

ASU lends its muscle as a research powerhouse through six new science and technology centers (STCs):

• Manufacturing, Automation and Data Engineering (MADE) STC focuses on the development of new technologies aimed at transforming manufacturing through 3D printing, robotics and automation, and new materials, with strong links to private industry support in aerospace, defense and space systems.

• Advanced Materials, Processes and Energy Devices (AMPED) STC is a national research resource for advancing new energy materials and device technologies in solar, batteries and electronics to market, growing industry engagement and workforce training.

• Performance Engineering and Research for Optimizing Response Mechanisms (PERFORM) STC leverages regional strength and technology opportunities to enhance physical and cognitive performance, medical prevention and intervention, and drive research from discovery to marketplace.

• Extreme Environments (EXTREME) STC focuses on management and technology opportunities associated with growing population centers, and research to engineer resiliency into the energy, water, materials and transportation systems in the built environment of future cities and regions.

• Advanced Communications Technologies (ACT) STC develops physical information systems as the Internet of Things becomes more prevalent, and as users increasingly desire greater access, information and reliability in communications.

• Sustainability Innovation STC unites industry, academic and government partners to co-create systems-level approaches to pressing challenges in sustainability. Focus areas include water security, renewable energy transitions, regenerative design, and sustainability planning and implementation.

• 40K new high wage jobs by 2041

• $6.9B economic output by 2032

• 100+ industry partners

• 2x return on state investment by 2032

| MacroTechnology Works

Posing security and economic risks to the country, America’s share of global semiconductor production has fallen from 37% in 1990 to just 12% today. But ASU and its industry partners are poised to help close the microchip manufacturing gap. Arizona has led the nation in chip investments since 2020, with the announcements of two new chip-making plants by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and two additional factories from Intel that will cost a combined $60 billion. Efforts are fueled by the federal government’s $52 billion CHIPS and Science Act that acts as a catalyst for improving American research, innovation, manufacturing, workforce development and national security related to semiconductors.

ASU is taking the next step by advancing the creation of Southwest Advanced Prototyping (SWAP) Hub through the DOD Microelectronics Commons program. The ASU-led SWAP Hub is a nationwide network of chip manufacturers, labs and universities with complementary strengths, allowing secure transfer of knowledge and research between member institutions. The university is also focused on workforce development, increasing the number of engineers and bridging the critical “lab to fab” gap — the time and investment gap between when technology is invented and when it’s ready to be fabricated and put to use. One important component of that will be ASU’s MacroTechnology Works, a unique lab and fabrication space that is open to university and defense researchers and community partners, from tiny ventures to big corporations.

New Economy Initiative’s goals for Arizona

| CXFEL

ASU is building the world’s first compact X-ray free electron laser, or CXFEL, a one-of-a-kind roomsized X-ray laser instrument that will fill a critical need for researchers to explore the intricacies of complex matter at atomic length and ultrafast time.

The CXFEL will allow scientists to observe molecular processes in detail — processes that will help investigators advance renewable energy research, quantum technologies, new medicines and drugs, and semiconductor research and manufacturing. The CXFEL’s powerful imaging capability could advance semiconductor designs

at a time when domestic manufacturing is a national priority, and potentially usher in faster, more efficient electronics. The CXFEL will dramatically shrink the size of the technology used by existing X-ray free-electron laser facilities, allowing it to be housed in a university, medical or industrial setting. Its reduced size will make this technology accessible to more research institutions at a fraction of the cost.

The National Science Foundation granted $90.8 million in funding — the largest NSF award in the university’s history — to advance this groundbreaking research in X-ray science.

William Graves, the chief scientist of ASU’s Compact X-ray Free Electron Laser Labs at the Biodesign Institute, discusses its capabilities.

| Dreamscape Learn

At the forefront of educational innovation, ASU strives to help create the STEM talent and national security workforce the nation needs. The university is creating new educational models that can be used to help DOD and civilian employees master new skills through Dreamscape Learn. A collaborative venture with Dreamscape Immersive, the world’s leading virtual reality company, Dreamscape Learn provides a first-of-its-kind virtually immersive experience that combines cinematic storytelling with innovative curriculum and emerging technology to create highly engaging educational experiences. The approach has the potential to be applied to all kinds of classrooms as well as adult learners in defense and national security, making troops on the ground safer and better equipped at a fraction of the cost of inperson learning.

The Dreamscape Learn partnership delivers avatardriven immersive experiences for campus-based and online courses, starting with introductory biology and expanding throughout the sciences and beyond. These learning labs enable students to work beside leading-edge science, arts and engineering faculty to solve problems, engage with virtual worlds and dive deeper in their learning.

Immersive experiences created in a VR environment can replicate almost anything, offering educators and learners the opportunity to modify, improve and practice, often at a fraction of cost of replicating those experiences in real life, without the limitations of time and geography. VR educational platforms like Dreamscape Learn also help build the workforce of the future, with an estimated 23 million jobs worldwide using VR and augmented reality by 2030.

Security & Defense PLuS

As part of a global effort to ensure peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region, Australia will become the seventh country in the world to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines. That move is part of a historic security partnership created a year ago among the United States, Australia and United Kingdom, called AUKUS, intended to strengthen and share advanced defense capabilities, including helping Australia develop long-range subs powered by nuclear energy.

Now, an alliance of three top universities from those countries — Arizona State University, King’s College London and the University of New South Wales — known as the PLuS Alliance has launched a new initiative to become the intellectual engine behind AUKUS. Called Security & Defense PLuS, it provides independent, original knowledge and understanding of national and global security issues to advance and support statecraft, research and policy in the spirit of the AUKUS partnership.

ASU Charter

ASU is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.

military.asu.edu