Research centers
Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering
Fulton Schools research
Our research centers emphasize translational research and mission-focused impact.
The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering is the lead of a clean energy institute, a microelectronics innovation hub, and an active NSF-funded Engineering Research Center (and is a partner on another), among others.
Our many centers put the Fulton Schools at the forefront of research with strong impact in the areas of the climate and sustainability, national security and global economy. They also drive meaningful workforce development and education and outreach activities, building a foundation for future success.
Federally funded centers
DOD Microelectronics Commons Innovation Hub
Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub, or SWAP Hub, is one of only eight regional innovation hubs in the US that form the Microelectronics Commons, funded by the DoD through the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. The Microelectronics Commons advances microchip production in the US and bridges the gap between research and production.
DOE Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute
Electrified Processes for Industry Without Carbon, or EPIXC, is the seventh Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute, funded by the DOE as part of Manufacturing USA. These institutes focus on enhancing US economic competitiveness and advancing developments in sustainable manufacturing.
National Science Foundation Engineering Research Centers (ERC)
NSF’s Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) pursue convergent research with meaningful societal benefits. Over an award period of up to 10 years, ERCs produce research in key areas while also incorporating activities aimed at workforce development, diversity and inclusion, and the creation of an innovation ecosystem. NSF has funded 75 ERCs in the US since 1985.
Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics
CBBG focuses on biologically based design and sustainability to develop ecologically friendly, cost-effective solutions, inspired by nature, for development and rehabilitation of resilient and sustainable civil infrastructure systems.
Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment Center
NEWT works on water treatment systems that facilitate access to clean water anywhere.
Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technologies*
QESST emphasizes research that provides improvement in the efficiency, economic viability and sustainability of photovoltaic systems.
National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC)
NSF’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRCs) drive close engagement among industry, academic and government partners. Such partnerships enable high-impact research that meets industry needs, U.S. global technological leadership and highly skilled workforce pipelines. Currently, there are about 80 IUCRCs across the U.S.
Building Reliable Advances and Innovation in Neurotechnology
BRAIN centers on an innovation ecosystem that studies human interaction with medical device technologies.
Center for Efficient Vehicles and Sustainable Transportation Systems
EVSTS aims to yield transformational improvements in the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability of ground vehicles.
Center for Embedded Systems
CES enables sensing, communications, computing, and control in everyday objects, with applications in many areas, including personalized healthcare, consumer electronics, aerospace, industrial automation, automotive and transportation and security.
Center for Intelligent, Distributed, Embedded Applications and Systems
The IDEAS Center focuses on designing smart hardware and software that sense, collect, compute, communicate and control the world around us while targeting extreme energy efficiencies and high performance.
Connection One
Connection One’s research focuses on developing technologies for cellular, environmental and defense applications.
Power Systems Engineering Research Center
PSERC research at ASU addresses new energy sources as well as complex and diverse problems faced by the electric power industry.
Sensor, Signal and Information Processing Center
SenSIP an ASU research center advances next-generation integrated multidisciplinary sensing applications in various fields.
Water and Environmental Technology Center
WET promotes molecular and environmental research aimed at enhancing the quality of water.
*Center has successfully completed its goals.
ASU research centers and institutes
ASU’s research centers bring together faculty, staff and students within the Fulton Schools and across ASU. Our centers deliver cutting-edge research in key areas including manufacturing, sustainability, health and medicine, microelectronics, cybersecurity, water technology and more.
Adaptive Intelligent Materials & Systems Center
AIMS Center works to solve large-scale problems that benefit the economy and society through research on intelligent materials and adaptive systems.
Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation
AzCATI harnesses algae technology to produce renewable energy, food, feed and other valuable products.
ASU Center for Semiconductor Microelectronics
ACME focuses on research on devices, circuits and architectures, through strategic collaborations with industry partners.
ASU Energy Efficiency Center
ASU Energy Efficiency Center is a DOE Industrial Assessment Center committed to identifying sustainable technology, systems, and productivity.
ASU–Mayo Center for Innovative Imaging
AMCII aims to improve patient care by developing innovative therapeutic technologies, imaging acquisitions, imaging analytic tools, machine learning, and artificial intelligence algorithms.
ASU–Starbucks Center for the Future of People and the Planet
The ASU-Starbucks Center emphasizes research on developing greener stores, community betterment, food and wellness, and innovation test stores.
Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency
CAOE develops and applies advanced analytical tools and technologies to enhance planning, information sharing and real-time decision-making in homeland security operations.
Center for Adaptive Neural Systems
Driven by the needs of potential users, engineers and scientists at ANS are creating technology to offset the effects of spinal cord injury, orthopedic injury, Parkinson’s disease and cerebral palsy.
Center for Assured and Scalable Data Engineering
CASCADE bridges industry and academia, translating research in data processing and analysis into impactful technological solutions for sectors like energy, healthcare, security and finance.
Center for Biocomputing, Security and Society
CBSS translates insights between computer science and biology to understand and mitigate malicious behavior in complex systems, with application in managing cancer and repairing cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors
The BB Center aims to develop next-generation platforms to improve technologies in the health industries.
Center for Biomaterials Innovation and Translation
CBIT will transform the design, discovery and engineering of biomaterials, leading to translational technologies for advancing human health.
Center for Biosignatures Discovery Automation*
CBDA studies cell dynamics in diseases, technology for measuring cellular events and microorganisms’ responses to harsh environmental changes.
Center for Carbon-Efficient and Advanced Manufacturing of Materials and Structures
CAMMS aims to advance breakthrough technologies toward sustainable and efficient infrastructural materials manufacturing and infrastructure construction.
Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing
CUbiC facilitates multimedia computing through sensing and processing, recognition and learning, interaction and delivery to develop applications for assistive, rehabilitative and healthcare applications.
Center for Complex System Safety
CCSS transforms safety assurance through prognostics-based risk management based on an approach combining information fusion, probabilistic physics-based learning, and large network computing and communication.
Center for Cybersecurity and Trusted Foundations
CTF focuses on developing the next generation of cyber-reasoning systems that can automatically find vulnerabilities, synthesize exploits, and create patches of real-world software.
Center for Environmental Health Engineering
CEHS aims to better understand and manage key environmental determinants of human health and global sustainability.
Center for Human/Artificial Intelligence/Robot Teaming
CHART focuses on developing methods to assemble the most effective human-synthetic agent teams in support of national security with a multidisciplinary approach.
Center for Hydrologic Innovations
CHI focuses on water science and engineering that advances the mission of water managers and decision-makers for the benefit of industry and society.
Center for Negative Carbon Emissions
CNCE focuses on developing the next generation of carbon management technologies with a focus on carbon recycling and disposal and the economic and policy implications of air capture.
Center for Photonics Innovation*
CPI focuses on research related to the fundamental study of photon-matter interactions and practical optical sensors for medical and biological impacts.
Center for Research Advancing Racial Equity, Justice and Sociotechnical Innovation Centered in Engineering
RARE JUSTICE is a nexus at ASU focused on the research and implementation of anti-racist technologies, educational practices and impact.
Center for Sustainable Macromolecular Materials and Manufacturing
The Center for Sustainable Macromolecular Materials and Manufacturing will integrate the concepts of green chemistry and sustainable engineering practices across the continuum of materials innovation to provide the products we need for a sustainable life.
Center for Teaching Old Models New Tricks
TOMNET is an ASU research center that focuses on developing and advancing transportation forecasting models for mobility of people and goods.
Center for Wireless Information Systems and Computational Architectures
WISCA aids the development of advanced fluid protocols and mixed software-defined radios with hardware accelerators, based at ASU.
Center of Excellence for Energy
COE/E is funded by USAID with the support of the American people with a goal to advance Egypt’s energy transition to aid the country in reaching its target of utilizing 42% renewable energy by 2035.
Center of Excellence in Future Generation Wireless Technology
COE-FutureG aims to foster an environment conducive to research, education, knowledge dissemination, and workforce development, geared towards bolstering the U.S. military’s technological superiority in Future Generation Wireless Technology.
Flexible Electronics and Display Center*
FEDC is an ASU research center that aims at bridging the resource-intensive gap between innovation and product development.
Global Hydrogen Production Technologies Center
The HyPT Center establishes an international partnership of six countries to formulate a pathway to low-cost large-scale net-zero hydrogen production.
Global Security Initiative
GSI is committed to advancing research in support of national and global security.
Metis Center for Infrastructure and Sustainable Engineering
Metis Center at ASU focuses on learning how engineered and built systems are integrated with natural and human systems.
National Center of Excellence on SMART Innovations
NCE SMART at ASU seeks to quantify complex climate-energy system interactions and develop cost effective solutions to reduce negative impacts.
Navrotsky Eyring Center for Materials of the Universe
MotU attracts and inspires scientists across all STEM fields as it synergistically applies materials research methods and explores alien and extreme conditions and environments with the expectation of discovering new, useful materials and understanding the formation and evolution of planets.
Secure, Trusted, and Assured Microelectronics Center
STAM focuses on active investigations of new microelectronics in the expanding landscape of the semiconductor industry.
Southwest Pavement Technology Consortium
The SWPT is a collaborative platform to form a pavement alliance in the region and bridge the gap between university research and industry.
Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory
Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory seeks to engage stakeholders and provide scientists and decision makers with high-quality, relevant knowledge capable of spurring and guiding responses to environmental concerns.
Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology
The Swette Center at ASU manages microbial communities that promote the environmental sustainability of our society.
*Center has successfully completed its goals.
ASU Science and Technology Centers
With support from Impact Arizona, ASU has launched six Science and Technology Centers (STCs) that provide the expertise, facilities and infrastructure to collaborate with industry and develop future-focused technologies and science-based solutions.
STCs enable breakthroughs in innovation in areas key to Arizona’s thriving as a tech hub, positioning our state for global leadership in the emerging industries of the new knowledge and technology-driven economy. Five of the six STCs are led by Fulton Schools faculty.
ACT – Advanced Communication Technologies
Future RF systems, flexible modem SoCs, communications for augmented reality, and awareness for autonomous vehicles
Primary investigator: Daniel Bliss
AMPED – Advanced Materials, Processes and Energy Devices
Photovoltaics, batteries, and power-electronic devices
Primary investigator: Zachary Holman
EXTREME – Extreme Environments
Water, air, and heat
Primary investigators: Paul Westerhoff and Matthew Fraser
MADE – Manufacturing, Automation and Data Engineering
Process science and engineering, robotics and automation, and data analytics, cyber, and AI
Primary investigator: Binil Starly
PERFORM – Performance Engineering and Research For Optimizing Response Mechanisms
Devices, assessment, and performance multipliers
Primary investigator: PI Marco Santello