Phoenix Arizona East Valley Living Blog » ASU

GARY DIRKS JOINS ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

Kathee — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:26:35 +0000

GARY DIRKS JOINS ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY TO LEAD LIGHTWORKS RESEARCH INITIATIVE

TEMPE, Ariz. “ Arizona State University has selected Gary Dirks as director of LightWorks, a new initiative to position ASU as a leader in solar-based energy and other light-inspired research. Dirks is the former president of BP Asia-Pacific and BP China.

LightWorks will capitalize on ASU™s unique strengths in renewable energy fields including artificial photosynthesis, biofuels and next-generation photovoltaics. LightWorks will eventually broaden to include other light-based projects, such as lasers for biomedical applications and energy efficient lighting.

Gary Dirks will help position Arizona nationally and globally as a leader in renewable energy and light-based research, said ASU President Michael Crow. Gary™s broad range of experience will help us meet President Obama™s challenge to lead a green revolution and develop clean sources of energy.

Dirks received a Ph.D. in chemistry from ASU in 1980. He was the first doctoral student to work with Devens Gust, Thomas Moore and Ana Moore in ASU™s Center for the Study of Early Events in Photosynthesis (now the Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis).

Dirks went on to work in the energy industry as a researcher, strategic planner and ultimately president of BP China and BP Asia-Pacific. In China, Dirks grew BP from an operation with fewer than 30 employees and no revenue to more than 1,300 employees and revenues of about $4 billion in 2008.

What does that mean for ASU? It means we have somebody who respects and understands the academic enterprise, but also somebody who is very practically grounded in what works in the energy world. We have somebody who knows the energy environment not just nationally, but globally, said R. F. Rick Shangraw, ASU Vice President for Research and Economic Affairs.

I feel privileged to have been selected, said Dirks. As I explored the opportunity to direct LightWorks, I was struck by the depth and breadth of capability at ASU to apply light to big social challenges. When you combine the capability that ASU has, the social need and the very strong support from President Crow and his team, it makes a very attractive opportunity for my next career.

Dirks will provide the enhanced strategic focus needed to pursue major funding opportunities, including those in the competitive arena of federal stimulus grants. He will also facilitate collaborations with other universities, industry and government agencies.
He said his initial focus is to communicate ASU™s strengths and capabilities through the vehicle of LightWorks and to connect ASU with major sponsors and partners.

Dirks already is fully engaged. I am working on two large energy projects now, he said.
The first is a Department of Energy proposal to identify pathways to commercial production of liquid fuels from algae. We have more than 20 partners from across the country, and ASU is leading. The second project is in anticipation of Congressional support for the Department of Energy Hubs program, he said.

It is incredibly important to bring resources into Arizona that will fund jobs and create an environment for growing new companies, said Shangraw.

However, Shangraw added that Dirks will not neglect the importance of basic research.
We do not have all the answers, particularly in terms of renewable energy. We can™t simply take our existing science and convert it magically into commercial products. We still have a lot of basic research to do in this area to be successful in the long run, he said.

In addition to directing LightWorks, Dirks has been appointed the Julie Wrigley Chair of Sustainable Practices and a professor of practice in the School of Sustainability. He is also a member of the Global Institute of Sustainability board of trustees.

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About LightWorks
LightWorks is an ASU initiative that builds on the depth and breadth of research advanced by natural or human-made light. The initiative is a multidisciplinary effort designed to provide solutions to societal challenges, such as providing clean, renewable energy.
LightWorks provides a framework for fostering collaboration, pursuing novel approaches and forming strong partnerships with industry, government agencies and other universities.

About Arizona State University
At once the youngest and the largest of the roughly 150 public and private research-grade universities in the nation, Arizona State University enrolls more than 69,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students on four campuses of equally high aspiration configured across metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, a region negotiating societal and environmental challenges that anticipate coming trends worldwide. For the last seven years, ASU has served as America™s largest effort at institutional transformation in higher education, building a solution-focused institution that combines the highest level of academic excellence, inclusiveness to a broad demographic and maximum societal impact. Although the university is first and foremost committed to educating the students of Arizona, it is equally a discovery organization, focused on contributing to regional economic development through enhanced research and academic programs, including major interdisciplinary research initiatives focused on innovative solutions to the world™s greatest challenges. Through its educational and discovery missions, Arizona State University is producing the nation™s newest national assets.

Source: Arizona State University

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Tempe provides advice for weathering heat at ASU Graduation

Admin — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:33:03 +0000

1,000 bottles of Tempe water to be picked up at 3 p.m. today

Tempe, Arizona – The City of Tempe urges attendees of tomorrow’s Arizona State University graduation festivities to plan ahead to weather the heat and enjoy the commencement ceremony.

Tempe Fire Department employees will be on hand tomorrow to provide emergency aid and “cooling stations” for those attendees who need relief. And, as part of the effort to keep attendees cool, the City of Tempe is donating 1,000 bottles of its “Tempe Tap” water to ASU.

ASU will pick up the cases of donated water at 3 p.m. today at the city’s Kyrene Water Reclamation Plant, 311 W. Guadalupe Road. Fire Department spokesman Mike Reichling also will be available to discuss heat-related precautions for tomorrow’s event. At the facility, news crews can proceed to the east security gates and press “# 3” to be buzzed into the complex. Proceed past the gate to the west end of a gray building on the site.

Reichling will provide advice like wearing light colors, hydrating well in advance of the event, and wearing hats and sunscreen. Water bottles must be discarded when arriving at the security check points at Sun Devil Stadium. Complimentary water stations will be located inside and outside the facility. Concessions also will be available.

Technorati Tags: Arizona, ASU, Graduation, Tempe

The ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation’s Board Governance Program

Nellie Dunigan — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:30:22 +0000

Strengthen your board with the The ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation’s board governance program.

Current and prospective board members, volunteers, and nonprofit professionals interested in knowing more about nonprofit governance: This training is for you! Training includes continental breakfast, lunch, resource guide, governance toolkit and participant manual. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged! NEW delivery method in three areas of the Valley!

Date/Time: March 20, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: A New Leaf – 3420 E. University Dr. Mesa 85213

Date/Time: April 3, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: Catholic Community Foundation – 400 E. Monroe St. Phoenix 85004

Date/Time: April 30, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: Beth Eman Congregation – 13702 W. Meeker Blvd. Sun City West 85375

Cost: Single registration: $199. Up to three additional registrations per organization: $175 per registrant.

Registration: To register for this training go to: http://www.asu.edu/copp/nonprofit/asst/asst_boardgov_reg1.htm

Technorati Tags: Arizona, ASU, Governance Program, Lodestar, Lodestar Center, Mesa Arizona, Phoenix, Sun City

ASU’s Thomas Weber Named To 2008 Ray Guy Award Watch List

Admin — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:06:41 +0000

ASU’s Thomas Weber Named To 2008 Ray Guy Award Watch List

TEMPE, Ariz.–Arizona State University sophomore Thomas Weber has been named to the Watch List for the 2008 Ray Guy Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate punter.

Weber, who last year became the first freshman in history to win the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker, took over as ASU’s punter in the sixth game of the 2007 season. He averaged 39.2 yards per punt and downed 11 of his 47 punts inside the 20.

Thus far in 2008, Weber has punted 11 times and he is fourth in the Pacific-10 Conference with an average of 42.5 yards per punt. He has also made seven of his eight field goal attempts (the miss was blocked) and all 10 of his extra point attempts on the season, and he ranks third in the Pac-10 in scoring with 31 points.

The Watch List will be narrowed to ten semi-finalists in early November. The national voting body will then vote for the top three finalists, and ultimately the winner. The top three finalists will be announced in late November, and the winner of the Ray Guy Award, which is affiliated with the National College Football Awards Association, will be presented live on ESPN during the ESPNU Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec. 11, 2008.

Technorati Tags: ASU, Sports

Video Game Design at ASU

Admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:17:39 +0000

ASU Training helps Arizona high school students learn and showcase their video game design and development skills.

After six weeks of intense, hands-on training in video game design and development, Arizona high school students participating in the CampGame summer program offered by Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering want you to experience the awesome video games they’ve created.

WHEN: Friday, July 18, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

WHERE: ASU SkySong, 1475 N. Scottsdale Rd. (southeast corner of Scottsdale Road and McDowell Road), Room 195

The public is invited to play the students’ video games from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. CampGame graduates will present final projects until 6 p.m., followed by the CampGame awards ceremony and reception.

Technorati Tags: Arizona State University, ASU, Video Game Design, Video Games

Dan Gillmor » New Media Entrepreneurship Job Available at Arizona State University

Admin — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:25:42 +0000

New Media Entrepreneurship Job Available at Arizona State University

Dan Gillmor wrote:

“We have an opening at Arizona State for someone to work with me at the new Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship. Here’s the official listing (feel free to pass it around):”

Business Development Coordinator, Digital Media

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication seeks a business development coordinator for the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship. The center, which was established this year, is devoted to the development of new media entrepreneurship and the creation of innovative digital media products. It is funded by grants from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The ideal candidate will have experience as a new media entrepreneur and possess a solid understanding of business planning and principles. He or she will work closely with the Center’s director, Dan Gillmor, and with students from journalism, business, engineering and other schools, singly and in teams, to plan, prototype and, if possible, launch new-media projects. (This is not a fundraising position.) The business development coordinator will report to the director of the Knight Center and will hold the faculty rank of lecturer in the Cronkite School.

Minimum qualifications: Bachelor’s degree and experience in the business development of digital media.

For more information on the Knight Center, click here.

To apply: Submit cover letter, resume and three (3) professional references and contact information to:

Search Committee – Knight Center
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism
PO Box 871305
Tempe, AZ 85287-1305

Applications may also be submitted via email at jjobs@asu.edu.

Applications must be received by 5:00 PM, March 1, 2008.

Arizona State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

Dan also wrote about the creation of the Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship when he first got the job:

Moving into New Arenas

Wednesday, November 7th, 2007

Dan Gillmor, an internationally recognized author and leader in new media and citizen-based journalism, will be the founding director of the new Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University announced today.

Gillmor, director of the Center for Citizen Media, will start Jan. 1 as Knight Center director and Kauffman Professor of Digital Media Entrepreneurship. He will hold the faculty rank of professor of practice.

Dan has been invited to attend the next LinkedIn Live event on April 10th but we have not seen a response yet.

Whoever tried to get the word out about this was a bit slower than I would generally like. The job posting expired March 1 and I just learned of it today. I guess I will have to subscribe.

Technorati Tags: Arizona State University, ASU, Dan Gillmor, Digital, Digital Media, Digital Media Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship, journalism, Media, New Media, New Media Entrepreneurship

High School Students Experience Working in the Performing Arts at ASU Gammage – Phoenix Arizona Local News

Kathee — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:59:55 +0000

High School Students Experience Working in the Performing Arts at ASU Gammage

On February 21, nearly 20 high school students from Peoria’s Sunrise Mountain High School will begin their first day on the job at ASU Gammage as part of its innovative “School to Work” program.

Since its inception 14 years ago – more than 300 students have been a part of School to Work – an interactive workshop that highlights potential career choices in arts administration. During the workshop, students interact with ASU Gammage employees and learn what it takes to run one of the top arts presenting theaters in the country.

Technorati Tags: ASU, ASU Gammage, High School Students, Performing Arts

Oceanic maps show human impacts gone global

bonnie — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:06:04 +0000

TEMPE, Ariz. – The ocean has inspired men and women, who looked out over its wide vistas to the horizon and dreamed (or schemed). Its depths have provided food, inspired empires, and belched forth a wealth of resources and opportunities. Writ on waves, wash and spray, is also much of human history, from the cod-fueled voyaging by the Vikings and Portuguese to storm laden disasters where Armadas sailed and faltered, from “sea to shining sea.”

But is the vision of endless oceanic bounty and ecosystem diversity that launched a thousand of ships, like Homer’s Helen of Troy, rapidly becoming part of a legendary past?

Many experts say, “Yes.”

“You go to a forest and immediately notice when it is clear-cut. However, when you go to the beach, the ocean almost always looks the same, regardless of whether there are fish in it or not,” says Caterina D’Agrosa, a postdoctoral fellow in Arizona State University’s School of Life Sciences. “This, I think, is one of the largest problems with marine conservation – our perception.”

D’Agrosa, a marine ecosystems scientist, is one of 19 researchers whose study, published in the journal Science on Feb. 15, challenges historic views of marine systems and humans impact through fishing, introduction of invasive species and pollution.

As with the research that fueled Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth, that set the world to thinking, this study considers for the first time the sum of 17 human-driven impacts on a score of marine ecosystems, including coral reefs, estuaries, and pelagic waters.

Led by Ben Halpern of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at University of California, Santa Barbara, the authors tell us that “no area of the ocean is unaffected and over 41 percent experiences high levels of human influence.”

The most heavily affected oceans include the North Sea, China Seas, Caribbean, Eastern North American seaboard, Mediterranean, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Bering Sea, and portions of the western Pacific. Still, a few regions remain largely untouched, for example, near the poles.

“This project allows us to finally start to see the big picture of how humans are affecting the oceans,” Halpern says, adding that the results also show “that the big picture looks much worse than I imagine most people expected.”

Moreover, this study is considered by its authors to be conservative. According to Halpern and his colleagues, many human influences could not be incorporated in the study, including effects from hypoxic “dead” zones, coastal engineering, aquaculture, disease, tourism or recreational fishing, changes in sedimentation and freshwater input, illegal or unregulated fishing or past events.

Regardless, the researcher’s global map is a tool to guide policy makers, conservation managers and provide “critical information for evaluating where certain activities can continue with little effect on the oceans, and where other activities might need to be stopped or moved to less sensitive areas.”

“I think the biggest thing is that we hope to change with this Science paper is the perception of humans as to the status of the oceans,” adds D’Agrosa. “Hopefully, this change in perception will lead to action.”

D’Agrosa’s work has been largely centered in the Gulf of California in Mexico. As a graduate student with Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in Guaymas, México, she looked at the interactions between fishing practices and the endangered vaquita. The smallest marine porpoise in the world, the vaquita is found only in the upper Gulf of California. Since then, her goal has been to develop understanding about human impacts, how to establish more sensitive management practices and ways to balance ecosystem and human needs.

With funding from The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund, D’Agrosa and a host of U.S. and Mexican partners’ current project is the biological prioritization of a network of 54 conservation areas throughout the Gulf and developing understanding about their connectivity to one another, be that at the level of plankton or whales, and to human activities in the region.

The areas were selected with the help of Comunidad y Biodiversidad (COBI), a non-governmental organization in Mexico.

“The purpose of this project is to give The Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund some guidelines for where to allocate their time, money, people, and resources. To help them prioritize and maximize their efforts,” D’Agrosa explains. “And to help us understand how the Gulf works so that we can best protect its productivity and biodiversity.”

D’Agrosa’s piece of the Gulf project involves examination of the key species and ecosystems, and the species connectivity in those 54 areas. Figuring out “how the Gulf works” also includes D’Agrosa considering potential threats and their impacts to the entire region. For example, one threat that arises from pollution flowing from the mouth of the Yaqui Valley River can have effects across the Gulf, in the form of algal blooms, nearly 850 km to the south in marine protected areas in Loreto Bay Marine Park. Other researchers, such as those with the University of Arizona’s PANGAS project, focus instead on fishers, their habits and needs in the Gulf. Still others, like master’s student Zach Hughes with the ASU School of Sustainability, look at economic aspects.

The desired outcome is to produce a fully integrated study that considers as a whole, all human and ecosystem impacts in the Gulf, and their inter-relationships, in keeping with the perspective laid out in the Science paper’s study.

“The time of considering single impacts of human on oceans is over,” D’Agrosa says. “By considering the sum of all the impacts together we can offer practical and realistic guidelines for policy makers and managers at the local level, in conservation areas, parks and marine protected areas, as well as at a national and international level.”

In 2007, D’Agrosa, ASU professor Leah Gerber, and others compiled a handbook to assist decision-makers entitled “Navigating Uncertain Seas: Adaptive monitoring and management of marine protected areas,” which was funded by ASU and Scripps Institute of Oceanography, with support from private foundations, in conjunction with the Department of the Environment of Mexico (SEMARNAT).

Their handbook offers practical guidance for adaptive monitoring, assessment, and management of marine protected areas that can be applied world-wide, through a “real world” lens. The handbook arose as a result of Gerber and colleagues research in and review of the lessons learned at Loreto Bay Marine Park, a “biologically diverse area subject to intense fishing pressures,” and an ideal laboratory in which to examine marine management and its impact on local communities.

Of their work Gerber notes, “I think one of the important components of trying to balance priorities between human communities and conservation is recognizing that the world is not what it once was and that we need to be strategic in how we preserve remaining biodiversity while allowing sustainable human communities.”

How can communities, like Phoenix that are far from the sea contribute to the preservation of ocean systems? D’Agrosa suggests, “Consider how you vote, give money to good environmental agencies and tread lightly. Even though we live in a desert, we are upstream and affect watersheds, regional economies, and coastal development. Consider where your food comes from and eat sustainably harvested seafood. What we do matters. The choices each of us makes, combined, can make a difference globally.”

Technorati Tags: Arizona, Arizona State University, ASU, AZ, Fish, Ocean, Phoenix, Phoenix Arizona, Study, Tempe

McGovern brings his perspective to ASU

bonnie — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:00:24 +0000

TEMPE, Ariz. – George McGovern, the former U.S. senator from South Dakota who was the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee, will deliver a public lecture at 7 p.m. Feb. 26 in Arizona State University’s Old Main Building, Carson Ballroom, Tempe campus. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is titled “America and the World in My Lifetime.”

A foreign policy scholar and long-time champion of the American farmer, McGovern was named by President Kennedy as the first director of the Food for Peace Program in 1960.

During World War II, McGovern flew 35 missions over Europe and received the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war, he returned and earned a doctorate in modern American history from Northwestern University before becoming a professor at Dakota Wesleyan University and then a two-termed congressman from South Dakota. He later served three terms as a U.S. senator. For his long distinguished service to his country, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000.

McGovern is the author of several books including his most recent, “Out of Iraq: A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now.”

The lecture is presented by ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in collaboration with its Department of History, Department of Political Science, and School of Justice and Social Inquiry. Other sponsors include ASU’s Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, and Barrett, the Honors College.

Seating for the lecture is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis. More information at kyle.longley@asu.edu <mailto:kyle.longley@asu.edu> , (480) 965-3524.

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SOURCE:
Kyle Longley, kyle.longley@asu.edu <mailto:kyle.longley@asu.edu>
(480) 965-3524

ASU MEDIA CONTACT:
Carol Hughes, carol.hughes@asu.edu
(480) 965-6375 direct line | (480) 254-3753 cell

Arizona State University
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Tempe, Arizona USA
www.asu.edu

Technorati Tags: Arizona, Arizona State University, ASU, AZ, George McGovern, McGovern, Phoenix, Phoenix Arizona, Tempe