ISTB12 a one-stop shop for robotics, manufacturing

New facility on the Polytechnic campus will provide a learning and innovation space for students and the community

By Scott Bordow, ASU News
Oct. 24, 2025

Two students peer through a gap in some machinery located in ASU's new ISTB 12 building. Both wear protective goggles and the machine appears to be glowing red.

Students work on a robotics machine inside ISTB12, the newest facility on the Polytechnic campus, which will be dedicated to robotics and manufacturing. Photo by Armand Saavedra/ASU

Binil Starly had been a North Carolina State faculty member for nine years when he heard about an opportunity at Arizona State University.

ASU was creating a manufacturing school and as part of the formation was constructing a new building — ISTB12 — that would make the university a leader in training students for the industries of tomorrow.

“That excited me,” Starly said. “How many universities even think about bringing manufacturing front and center as a school, and then investing in faculty and physical infrastructure to back that up? Usually, at other universities, manufacturing is always part of either mechanical engineering or industrial engineering.

“But ASU decided to give it prominence.”

That decision convinced Starly to become the director of the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks in July 2022, and on Friday, the grand opening of ISTB12 was celebrated with an event on the ASU Polytechnic campus, where the building is located.

The Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 12 at the Arizona State University Polytechnic campus sits against a bright blue sky.

The 173,000-gross-square-foot ISTB12 consists of three floors and more than 128,000 programmable square feet for office, meeting, instructional, research and collaboration spaces to prepare students to contribute to engineering solutions for societal challenges. Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News

ASU President Michael Crow said ITSB 12 reflects the university’s commitment to innovation and competition.

“Here in Arizona, we have ways in which we have constructed whole new types of institutions, like this university, whole new ways of working, new ways to partner, new ways to come together, new ways to say, ‘Hey, I think that the United States needs the most advanced manufacturing school ever made.’

“Well, OK, why don’t we figure out how to do that? We’re going to work with the city of Mesa. We’re going to work with the leadership of the state of Arizona. We’re going to work with Honeywell and other companies. We’re going to build this thing. We’re going to attract talent from all over the world, and we’re going to bring it together.”

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs credited ASU for the state’s success in leveraging the emerging advanced manufacturing industry.

“It’s because of this world-class university and its commitment to making sure that Arizona is at the forefront of this new era,” Hobbs said. “Your efforts have contributed to research and development, workforce training and job creation. Today marks more than the opening of a building. It is a milestone in our leadership as a hub of advanced manufacturing technology and innovation.”

Outside of an ASU building, ISTB 12, that has copper-colored siding and long, tall windows with a shaded courtyard.

A female ASU student looks closely at a humanoid robot in the the ISTB12 building.

Students look at the inside of a car motor in ASU's ISTB 12 building

Two female ASU students sit inside a modified dune buggy in ASU's ISTB 12 building

A male student wearing safety goggles holds out a 3D printed model in ASU's new ISTB 12 building.

Two male students work on a robotics system with lots of wires in the new ASU ISTB 12 building.

A female college student works at a desk in a cubicle in the new ISTB 12 building

“The future of manufacturing is going to be heavily digital, heavily automated, hardware- and software-integrated across all machines and processes,” Starly said. “ISTB12 is a representation of the connection between the manufacturing processes, AI learning, smart automation and smart robotics that represent the future of manufacturing.”

Kyle Squires, dean of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, said ISTB12 represents a “significant milestone in the evolution of the Fulton Schools” that began in 2003 with a gift from Ira A. Fulton.

“Today, nearly 33,000 students call Fulton home, and ISTB12 marks that next step under our trajectory,” Squires said. “It’s the new home for our School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks, which is the nation’s first engineering school dedicated to defining that future and what manufacturing will be.”

ASU is the only university in the country that has a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and a PhD in manufacturing engineering, and ISTB12 serves as a one-stop shop for the future of manufacturing.

“We’re not training students for any particular sector,” Starly said. “We try to pair general manufacturing knowledge with transferable skills catered to the aerospace or microelectronics industries, two big industries out here in Phoenix.

“Beyond a regional sense, there’s medical, pharmaceutical, food processing and consumer products that involve manufacturing in some shape or form, including for the nuclear energy sector. For example, can we rethink the way we design and manufacture nuclear reactor components? What we’re training students for are common core skill sets that will translate to varied manufacturing processes.

“This is why ASU is No. 1 in innovation. It’s not just language or what we put on our banners. We’re designing and actually doing things to make that happen.”

More about the ISTB12 labs

Advanced Battery Lab: Advances next-generation energy storage technologies, including Li-ion, Na-ion, flow and aqueous batteries. These advancements enhance performance, safety and lifespan, directly impacting applications in electric vehicles, grid storage and portable systems.

Clean Energy Systems Lab: Provides a plug-and-play environment for developing and testing integrated energy technologies at grid scale. With partnerships across utilities and technology developers, the lab addresses the growing demand for resilient, cost-effective energy solutions, ensuring innovations transition from circuits to real-world systems.

High Bay Collaborative Space: Also referred to as the Hybrid and Multi-Material Manufacturing Lab, the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks’ involvement in this space, features industrial robots and advanced additive and subtractive manufacturing technologies. This lab integrates Al and digital twin systems to demonstrate how automation can be applied to aerospace, nuclear and medical device industries, while also serving as a hub for workforce development. The Polytechnic School will explore electric and automated vehicle research, focusing on powertrain optimization, safety control and digital twins of autonomous vehicle driving. Vehicles ranging from mini-scale platforms to a full-size Mustang Mach-E, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Tesla Model 3 support validation, testing and workforce training in both on-road and off-road environments.

Robotics and Autonomous Systems Lab: A 5,500-square-foot facility dedicated to research in-ground and aerial robotic systems. Outfitted with advanced sensors, motion tracking and Al integration, the lab enables experimental hardware and software testing across sectors such as agriculture, defense and manufacturing, highlighting ASU’s strengths in robotics.

Reactive Material 3D Printing Lab: Supports additive manufacturing with metal alloys and ceramics, making it one of the largest dedicated metal 3D-printing facilities in the Southwest. The lab is designed to advance aerospace and medical device applications while attracting regional industry partnerships.

Materials Testing and Characterization Lab: Encompasses 5,865 square feet of shared facilities with more than $1 million in metrology equipment. The labs provide essential support for cross-disciplinary research in biomedical, aerospace and nuclear industries, with tools for microscopy, spectroscopy and thermal analysis.

Class 10,000 Clean Room: Consists of 1,200 square feet of Class 10,000 cleanroom space, the only facility of its kind on the Polytechnic campus. This lab supports training for NATCAST’s advanced packaging workforce — NATCAST is the designated operator of the National Semiconductor Technology Center and enables research in micro- and nanofabrication processes.

Micro-Assembly and Packaging Automation Lab: Provides 4,000 square feet of space dedicated to advanced semiconductor assembly processes such as die attach, wire bonding and encapsulation. Equipped with high-precision measurement tools, this lab bridges the gap between wafer fabrication and functional systems in computing, sensing and communications.