Year in review: ASU's top stories for 2024
More than 11,300 students graduated from ASU this December, more than half earning their degrees through ASU Online. Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
As the year draws to a close, ASU News is revisiting some of the university's biggest stories in 2024 — from big announcements to rare books to the Beatles. So pour a warm cuppa and peruse our galleries below for stories you may have missed or ones that are worth a second look.
January
The new year started off strong with a Financial Times story (reprinted in ASU Thrive magazine) about how ASU has been the "secret weapon" in bolstering Phoenix’s rise as the U.S. microchip capital. See below for more big headlines from the first month of the year.
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ASU became the first higher education institution to collaborate with OpenAI, the AI research and deployment company behind ChatGPT. It kicked off a year of brainstorming and experimentation, as faculty, staff and students continue to explore the potential of the technology to make a difference in education and beyond.
Photo by Mike Sanchez/ASU Enterprise Technology
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ASU News did a deep dive into the library's archives throughout 2024, highlighting a different collection each month — from youth theater and Indigenous storytelling to pop-up books and global art. Click on the above link to read the first in the series, and find the links to the rest of the installations at the bottom of that article.
Photo by Deanna Dent/ASU
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ASU Health will bring together all of the university’s assets — from research to innovation — to improve health outcomes in Arizona. That was the message aimed at more than 100 community leaders who convened for ASU's annual Sun Devil Advocacy Breakfast.
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A new multi-institutional enterprise, led by ASU, aims to transform climate challenges into economic opportunities that establish the Southwest as a leader in tech and policy-based climate resilience.
February
This month marked 100 years since ASU's first Black graduate, a banner moment for patents and a chance for the Department of Defense to learn about ASU's microelectronics hub. Oh, and the Super Bowl? Yeah, we were there. Read on.
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ASU alumni are making a difference in every corner and community of the world, positively changing the lives of those they encounter. ASU News traveled around the U.S. to profile five of those alums. Click above for the first in the series, a story about Vet Tix, an organization that connects veterans with memorable experiences.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
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A new plastics recycling and remanufacturing “microfactory” — the result of partnership between ASU, the city of Phoenix, Goodwill and Hustle PHX — will convert waste materials into new products, provide skilled job opportunities and create a cooperative business model in Phoenix.
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The same month that ASU's online programs were ranked among the best in the nation, 22 Sun Devils got to experience firsthand the enormous amount of work that goes into planning and executing one of the biggest events in the country.
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For doctoral-granting institutions, ASU ranked sixth overall for faculty awards, with eight awardees, and 21st overall for student awards, with 16 awardees. Of all public universities, ASU ranked fifth.
Photo by franckreporter/iStock
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“The endowment is a vital component of resources that allow ASU to support its charter and change futures," ASU Foundation CEO Gretchen Buhlig said. “The annual payout provides reliable funding for scholarships, research and professorships. The capital also allows for critical strategic investments as well as experiential learning investment programs for students.”
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March
ASU and Deca Technologies partnered on advanced packaging research and development — a collaboration that would continue to bear fruit throughout the year — as the university continued to up its semiconductor game. Technology played a role in many of this month's top stories.
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Karyn Cooks said that by earning a degree, “I was able to put a bow around a lifetime of experience.” Cooks, 60, who earned a master’s degree in nonprofit leadership and management in 2020, is one of thousands of mid-career adults who realized that enrolling in ASU Online could get them closer to their goals.
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First AI graduate degree program at US business school launches, among other tech innovations
While the W. P. Carey School of Business launched a trailblazing new master's degree program in artificial intelligence, other business students were piloting a virtual reality immersive classroom experience (pictured above) to learn about supply chain management, and the latest Mayo Clinic-ASU MedTech Accelerator cohort showed AI's potential with health care.
Photo by RaeAnn Fox/ASU
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The new universitywide initiative is geared toward making Native students feel better prepared for the college experience and fostering a sense of belonging and community.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
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Founded in 2013, this nature-based simulated competition, styled after the NCAA College Basketball March Madness, has been winning over players, learners and educators, growing expansively every year — on track to engage 9,500 educators and over 870,000 learners.
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Some researchers hypothesize that human dispersals from Africa were restricted to “green corridors” formed during humid intervals when food was abundant and human populations expanded in lockstep with their environments. But this study suggests that humans also may have dispersed during arid intervals along “blue highways” created by seasonal rivers.
Photo courtesy https://topographic-map.com, Open Database License (ODbL) v1.0
April
Thirty-four ASU graduate programs ranked in the top 20 in the U.S., ASU Law’s youngest-ever graduate garnered some notice and Pat's Run celebrated two decades. The swim team also may have made a splash ...
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The Sun Devils also broke nine school records and three NCAA records over the course of the four-day competition in Indianapolis. See the rundown — hints of Olympic glory to come a few months later.
Photo by Mia Jones/Sun Devil Athletics
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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a law this spring that guarantees mobile-home owners’ right to install cooling measures, thanks in large part to the work of an Arizona State University team.
Photo by Christopher Goulet/ASU News
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Don “Donze” Mullett has supported ASU’s hockey program since its club days in 2000 when his youngest son played for the team. In 2014, Mullett and his wife, Barbara, were instrumental in elevating the team to NCAA Division I status through their philanthropic support.
Photo courtesy the ASU Foundation
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ASU has revamped its general studies requirements to better reflect the interdisciplinary knowledge that students need to be successful today — including requiring all students, regardless of major, to take a three-hour sustainability course.
Photo by Deanna Dent/ASU
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As microchips become more powerful, “advanced packaging” becomes a critical part of their design and manufacture — and ASU is poised to be a major player in this next breakthrough of technology. Learn more in the story above and on our special microelectronics spotlight page.
Illustration by Alex Davis and Alex Cabrera/ASU
May
Researchers developed a special microphone to help detect deepfakes, and the month was filled with major milestones, from sports to law to online learning.
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ASU first started offering online degrees in 2006. Now it’s the largest public not-for-profit university offering online degree programs. ASU Online students can be in Barrett, The Honors College, and have access to undergraduate research, study abroad, in-person labs, student organizations and class trips.
Photo by FJ Gaylor/ASU
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Visiting scholars, on an invite from the Arizona Book History Group, have discovered the third known English-language book to include the handwritten reading notes of John Milton, the English author of the 1667 poem "Paradise Lost."
Photo by Bruce Matsunaga/ASU Department of English
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ASU launched the Earned Admission program with an eye toward those for whom the historically exclusive college admissions processes have meant college is not an option. Since then, more than 5,000 individuals have earned their way into a four-year degree program at ASU.
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The same week that the Thunderbird School of Global Management was named the world leader in international trade in a separate ranking, ASU was ranked in the top 1% of nearly 21,000 universities worldwide for education, employability, faculty and research in the 2024 Global 2000 list by the Center for World University Rankings.
Photo by Deanna Dent/ASU
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The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at ASU announced a groundbreaking set of partnerships with the Navajo Nation and Diné College. These collaborations establish the world’s first tribally affiliated legal education by packaging four comprehensive law degrees uniquely tailored to meet the evolving legal needs of the Navajo Nation.
Photo by FJ Gaylor
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The ASU alum and sports business veteran brings a focus on revenue, sponsorships and stability, and he'll lead a new athletics leadership team in fundraising, partnerships and the new world of name, image and likeness licensing.
Photo by Bruce Racine
June
The Thunderbird School of Global Management welcomed a new director general and dean, and ASU scored big on QS World University Rankings — as well as took the top spot for global impact with U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. And do you know which country an ASU alum was elected president of? Scroll the gallery below to find out.
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Former NBA great Earvin "Magic" Johnson spoke about what Martin Luther King Jr.'s words and life mean to him during an ASU event celebrating the 60th anniversary of King's Tempe campus visit. Johnson also awarded $25,000 each to three ASU students in attendance to further their education.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
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![Halla Tomasdottir addresses supporters in Reykjavik [Halldor Kolbeins/AFP]](https://news.asu.edu/sites/g/files/litvpz161/files/styles/asu_news_gallery_image/public/2024-06/halla_tomasdottir_addresses_supporters_in_reykjavik_halldor_kolbeins_afp.jpg?itok=6h7NEfYk "Halla Tomasdottir addresses supporters in Reykjavik [Halldor Kolbeins/AFP]")
Halla Tómasdóttir, who earned her master’s degree in international management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in 1995, brings a wealth of experience and a legacy of leadership to her new role as her country’s highest-ranking official.
Photo by Halldor Kolbeins/AFP
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With significant developments in ocean health, biodiversity, water security, food systems and sustainable economic development in the past year alone, ASU has further established itself as a global leader in how a university can address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
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A study by ASU researcher Charles Perreault and doctoral graduate Jonathan Paige concludes that humans began to rapidly accumulate technological knowledge through social learning around 600,000 years ago.
See story for image credits
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In the Joaquin Bustoz Math-Science Honors Program, high school students from underrepresented backgrounds devote six weeks to a specialized STEM course at ASU — getting college credit and a taste of university life.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
July
It was another record-setting hot summer. Instead of just turning our fans higher and being cranky, we launched a heat spotlight page highlighting the research and expertise of faculty. A few weeks later we gave the same red-carpet treatment to artificial intelligence, as explained below.
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An exoplanet located a mere 64 light-years away, with a reputation for its extreme weather conditions, is now known for something else — a distinctive rotten-egg odor. A team of astronomers has used data from JWST to uncover a surprising aspect of the Jupiter-sized gas giant HD 189733 b: It has an atmosphere rich in hydrogen sulfide.
Image courtesy Roberto Molar Candanosa/Johns Hopkins University
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Elva (Wingfield) Coor — passionate about the community, politics and outdoor activities — worked tirelessly to connect the greater community with the university and its students. She died July 2 at 85.
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ASU’s move from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 was announced in August 2023, but it became real when the conference gathered for a two-day media extravaganza in Las Vegas. We also put together some tips and trivia for new visitors to ASU.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
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The university is embracing generative AI, not as a replacement for human intelligence but as a tool to enhance our collective creativity and problem-solving. In July, ASU News put together a special report looking at what AI could mean in education, health care, sustainability and much, much more.
AI-generated image by Alex Davis/ASU
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ASU swimmer Ilya Kharun comes by his athleticism naturally — his parents were Cirque du Soleil acrobats, after all. Before Kharun headed to the Paris Olympics this summer (where he would win two bronze medals), ASU News gave readers the rundown on Sun Devils who would be competing in Paris, reporting from the Games, interning for the Olympic committee and helping keep teams organized.
Photo by Deanna Dent/ASU
August
ASU set multiple enrollment records as the fall semester began, and Sun Devil football players from throughout the decades shared their memories of Camp T. August was also quite a month for generosity — read on for stories about three impressive gifts.
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ASU alumna Dorene McCourt saw a story on ASU's insectary and thought of her late brother-in-law who died in 2021 from West Nile virus. On his birthday, July 29, the lab was named in his memory.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
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The W. P. Carey Foundation and the W. P. Carey School of Business are partnering to expand the scope, strength and reach of the school's real estate programs. The $25 million gift will bring the W. P. Carey Foundation’s lifetime commitment to more than $100 million.
Photo by Shelley Valdez/W. P. Carey School of Business
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The number of jobs requiring STEM knowledge is set to grow by more than 10 million in the next six years. To meet that demand, educators must engage students in a way that makes science accessible and relevant enough that more students — maybe especially students who don’t think of themselves as scientists — want to pursue it. Enter NeoBio.
Photo by Sabira Madady
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Retirement isn't yet in the cards for these professors — an elite club of only three faculty members who have worked at ASU for at least 50 years. Learn about the talent, discipline and love for their jobs that have entrenched these Sun Devils for most of their lives.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
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Longtime donors Sue Hart-Wadley and Searle Wadley have always loved PBS — so they're ensuring it continues to inspire future generations with their latest gift, which will fund a new broadcast tower, a national science-based program and educational outreach throughout the state.
Photo by Sydney Burdick/Arizona PBS
September
Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Dean Carole Basile testified before a U.S. House committee about the merits of a team-based staffing model, while in local politics, the university detailed the impact of $24 million in state cuts. But not all news was somber: ASU continued its innovation streak, and one special building marked a big anniversary.
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The ‘"hackademics" of Shellphish, an ethical hacking group that includes ASU faculty and students, are developing a cybersecurity system powered by AI. Their solution — an AI-based system called ARTIPHISHELL — can automatically analyze the code that runs a piece of software, correct any security vulnerabilities found and then retest the system.
Photo courtesy of Jackie LeFevers/ASU
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The iconic venue designed by Frank Lloyd Wright has stories to tell, from celebrity visits and big show logistics to the quirks of the architecture and chicken wings — yes, really — onstage. Take a peek behind the curtain and learn more.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
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As the Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program celebrated its 40th anniversary in September, the ASU community learned about another matriarch — the "Mexican Mother of Tempe" who contributed to the founding of what would become ASU.
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October
An architect was named dean of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, and on the other side of the country, ASU faculty shared their expertise in emergency management as two hurricanes hit within two weeks, one delaying the long-awaited Europa Clipper launch. But launch it eventually did; see below for the special ASU connection to the mission.
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With students from all 50 states and more than 150 countries, ASU’s students, alumni, faculty, staff and visitors come from virtually every background and walk of life, and hold a wide variety of beliefs and opinions.
Photo by Samantha Chow/ASU
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A crucial part of medical education is hands-on learning within a hospital, and this affiliation ensures that ASU students will have access to high-quality hospital facilities.
Photo by Samantha Chow/ASU
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The late Professor Ron Greeley presented the Europa proposal 17 years ago — and on Oct. 14, the Europa Clipper spacecraft finally lifted off, on its way to that icy Jovian moon.
ASU photo
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What do a venture capitalist, a policy advisor and an insurance authorization specialist have in common? They all were humanities students at ASU.
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ASU has been selected to work closely with the U.S. Department of Defense to provide reputable academic research support to deepen the understanding of current and emerging global trends in nontraditional warfare. ASU will lead a national consortium supporting the DOD’s Irregular Warfare Center in the National Capital Region.
Photo by sankai/iStock
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The honor coincided with the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the West Valley campus. The effort to create the campus goes back as far as 1963 and includes a time when 525 acres of land were gifted for the school by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company — and then ungifted.
Photo by Samantha Chow/ASU
November
As ASU again was named a top-ranked university for graduate employability, two big anniversaries arrived: The ASU Charter marked 10 years, and the university celebrated a half-century since the game-changing discovery of the "Lucy" skeleton in Ethiopia. And oh yeah, there was a little something about a movie premiere this month ...
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As the basketball season kicked off with an enhanced game-day experience, ASU News talked with Adair about her journey, from a career-derailing injury to her mindset as a coach.
Photo by Deanna Dent/ASU
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A team of ASU students created an inflatable lunar landing pad as part of NASA's 2024 BIG Idea Challenge — and won the Best Systems Engineering award, one of two awards given, at a forum in Las Vegas.
Photo by Samantha Chow/ASU
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Just a few weeks after he was honored by the Edison Awards, ASU President Michael Crow was named to the 2024 TIME100 Climate list of leaders and innovators driving real climate action. ASU has transformed into a powerhouse of climate-related action under his tenure.
Photo by Deanna Dent/ASU
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Judy Robles was 16 when she found out she was pregnant with her first child who would later be born with only one leg. As Anthony Robles grew, his mom realized that he defied limitations, and he went on to become an NCAA champion wrestler at ASU. His life story is the focus of a new Amazon Prime movie, “Unstoppable," which had a screening at the ASU MIX Center in November.
Photo by Samantha Chow/ASU
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Team Limelight Rainforest, which includes four ASU professors, spent five years developing and refining their solution to help save the rainforest — a project that uses bioacoustic recordings and machine learning to measure biodiversity. They took home the XPRIZE's grand prize of $5 million to further develop their solution.
Photo courtesy of Team Limelight Rainforest
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The project will drive innovation in the domestic microchip packaging ecosystem, expand capacity for domestic advanced packaging and help regain U.S. leadership in microelectronics while strengthening national security.
Photo by Samantha Chow/ASU
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Once a fledgling research school, ASU soon will hit $1 billion in annual research funding, placing the university into a rare category reached by just 33 universities across the nation.
Photo by Deanna Dent/ASU
December
The first two degree offerings from ASU Health were announced, and the Chandler Innovation Center looks back at its first year of entrepreneurial support. Plus, the football team finished their stellar turnaround season with a shiny trophy — several of them, actually.
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A snake slithers onto your back porch one sunny morning. Do you call a relocation expert, grab a shovel and try to kill the reptile, or do nothing? That moral quandary is at the center of research co-led by two ASU professors.
Photo by iStock/Getty Images
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For the first time, new research shows even brief contact with a common weed killer can cause lasting damage to the brain, which may persist long after direct exposure ends.
Graphic by Jason Drees/ASU
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This Humanities Lab course has learners ranging from first-year students to an 80-year-old Mirabella at ASU resident, the senior living community on the Tempe campus.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
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One year removed from a 3-9 season, and in Kenny Dillingham's second year as head coach, the Sun Devils are in the College Football Playoff. So, how did we get here?
Photo by Samantha Chow/ASU
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When Byron Scott left ASU without a diploma in 1983, he made his mother a promise: He would finish his education one day. Then life got in the way — the good life. After a 14-year NBA career and later coaching until 2017, he decided to fulfill that promise to his mom.
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When Nancy Shevell McCartney was inducted into the W. P. Carey Alumni Hall of Fame at ASU, she brought along her spouse — who is pretty famous in his own right. Paul McCartney — Sir Paul in the U.K. — attended festivities on the Tempe campus in support of his wife.
Photo courtesy of W. Scott Mitchell
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