Our programs

The Arizona Water Innovation Initiative is a statewide project that works with industrial, municipal, agricultural, tribal and international partners to rapidly accelerate and deploy new approaches and technology for water conservation, augmentation, desalination, efficiency, infrastructure and reuse.

The Department of Energy’s seventh Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute, Electrified Processes for Industry without Carbon is a public-private partnership aimed at securing U.S. manufacturing competitiveness in a global economic environment that increasingly demands eliminating carbon emissions by developing the technologies and workforce required to replace fossil fuel-based heating with electric heating.

The Southwest Sustainability Innovation Engine — based at ASU and spanning 54 partnerships across Arizona, Nevada and Utah — is one the first NSF Innovation Engines to accelerate the development of jobs, technologies, policies and solutions by way of green economy and innovation.

The Center for Negative Carbon Emissions is advancing carbon management technologies that can capture carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from ambient air in an outdoor operating environment. This includes the technological solutions development designed by carbon capture pioneer Klaus Lackner with the MechanicalTree(r) being produced and tested in partnership with Carbon Collect LLC.

The Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science leads spatially-explicit scientific and technological research focused on mitigating and adapting to global environmental change. The research unit has 10 labs within Arizona and Hawaii to further discovery, conservation and action with particular focus on the health and rehabilitation of the planet’s coral reefs, mapping greenhouse gas emissions and working with local communities and cultures to protect and integrate long-standing knowledge and approaches to environmental and societal wellness.

The Decision Theater organizes researchers, policymakers and the business community to better understand and explore solutions to complex issues facing society. In addition to permanent facilities in Arizona and Washington, D.C., Decision Theater is able to mobilize its experts and technology to meet partners where they are at and even assist and guide partners to create their own Decision Theater hub.

The Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems develops innovative ideas and solutions to the many challenges of current food systems. Taking a holistic and transdisciplinary approach, the Center’s work encompasses water and energy use, carbon footprint and nutrition, innovations in agtech, and the well-being and livelihood of farmers and others working in food systems.

LightWorks pulls light-inspired energy research at Arizona State University under one strategic framework. It is a multidisciplinary effort to leverage ASU’s unique strengths, particularly in solar-electric energy, sustainable fuels and products, and energy and society.

In 2012, Rob and Melani Walton, through the Walton Family Foundation, invested in Arizona State University to initiate programs that will develop use-inspired knowledge to solve sustainability problems, educate leaders and implementers, and engage people globally to innovate and take risks to create a more sustainable world. Today, the Solutions Service continues this endeavor through innovative approaches to circular economies, waste, municipal engagement and sustainable economies.

The HeatReady Program project was born out of the desire to protect those most vulnerable to extreme heat. It emphasizes preparedness through detailed tracking and impactful response to protect human health from the dangers of heat at three essential connection points: cities, communities and schools.

The Center for Biodiversity Outcomes brings together individuals and groups — from academic, nonprofit, policy and corporate sectors — to achieve common goals of biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in the 21st century.

The Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes is an intellectual network aimed at enhancing the contribution of science and technology to society’s pursuit of equality, justice, freedom, and overall quality of life. CSPO creates knowledge and methods, cultivates public discourse, and fosters policies to help decision makers and institutions grapple with the immense power of science and technology as society charts a course for the future.

The BRIDGES Flagship Hub at ASU advocates and creates space for the meaningful engagement of traditionally marginalized voices and perspectives by supporting, co-designing and co-facilitating humanities-led programs and initiatives embedded across disciplinary, cultural, and experiential knowledge.

Launched in 2018 by the UN Secretary General, President of the World Bank and the Council of Women World Leaders at the UN General Assembly, this first-of-its-kind global competition for women social entrepreneurs who advance the UN SDGs and inspire entire communities to create the world we want by 2030. This program elevates and showcases the valuable contribution women social entrepreneurs and business leaders make toward solving the world’s greatest challenges.

As an enterprising think tank and knowledge enterprise at ASU, Leonardo integrates hybrid, creative inquiry and practice as catalysts to solve compelling problems, explore timeless mysteries, and shape a finer future.