Counting down The College’s top stories of 2025
Armstrong Hall. ASU photo
Virtual reality in college chemistry classes, the idea of artificial intelligence as therapists and a Nobel Prize-winning study were among the highlights of The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ research efforts and collaboration this past year at Arizona State University.
Here are The College’s top stories from 2025 across its humanities, natural sciences and social sciences divisions.
No. 10: The investigation behind bacterial interactions
A new study, senior-authored by School of Molecular Sciences Assistant Professor Glen D’Souza, explored how, under nutrient-scarce conditions, certain bacteria resort to grim measures, such as the Type VI secretion system (T6SS) becoming something like a "molecular weapon" — stabbing and killing their bacterial neighbors to survive.
This research can help scientists better design probiotics, improve models of Earth’s climate system and develop new disease-fighting tools.
No. 9: Learning college chemistry with a virtual reality lens
After a year of pilot courses and success within biology classes at ASU, Dreamscape Learn’s virtual reality experience became available to students in CHM 113: General Chemistry I and CHM 114: General Chemistry for Engineers this fall.
Known as NeoChem, these sessions engage and immerse students in narratives to make connections to real-world applications of hands-on wet lab experiments.
No. 8: The history of Black fashion and its role in the 2025 Met Gala
Mitchell Jackson, the John O. Whiteman Dean’s Distinguished Professor in the Department of English and 2021 Pulitzer Prize winner, sat down to discuss the history behind Black influence on fashion.
In his interview, he discussed fashion at the intersection of war, civil rights and cultural conformity and previewed this year’s New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Met Gala with the theme of "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
No. 7: Analyzing heat risk in Arizona and America’s Southwest
In a state plagued with extreme heat and concerns about the future, ASU’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning houses the Southwest Urban Integrated Field Laboratory (SW-IFL), where researchers and students are collaborating to mitigate the impact of heat.
ASU News spoke to David Sailor, SW-IFL and the school’s director, about his work with the lab, the drivers of extreme heat and how the laboratory is guiding policymakers as they explore the range of potential solutions to these rapidly evolving environmental changes.
No. 6: Emotional support chatbot? ASU psychologist urges caution
As artificial intelligence continues to show up in new industries, Clinical Associate Professor Matthew Meier from the Department of Psychology warns against complete reliance in the realm of professional psychotherapy.
“Until there are safeguards in place, I do not recommend the use of AI chatbots as an alternative to human-provided therapy. However, as a component of mental health treatment from a licensed professional, chatbots can be helpful,” Meier said in the interview.
No. 5: Highlighting the history of Claudette Colvin
Nine months before Rosa Parks’ historic refusal to give up her bus seat, there was 15-year-old Claudette Colvin, who took the same action. However, Colvin’s story has since been forgotten.
Assistant Professor Katherine Bynum from the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies examined why Colvin didn’t receive the same notoriety and recognition that had ultimately turned Parks into a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement.
No. 4: Celebrating the tree of life through March Mammal Madness
Not to be mistaken with the NCAA’s championship tournament in the spring, March Mammal Madness (MMM) has been taking classrooms by storm since 2013. The animal-themed tournament engages students of all ages across the country to deepen their understanding of ecosystems, animal adaptations and human impact.
This year’s theme honored the 10th anniversary of Regents Professor Anne Stone’s launch of the Genetics Team within MMM.
No. 3: New insight into human evolution through fossil discovery
Through the Ledi-Geraru Research Project, new fossils at a field site in Africa indicate that Australopithecus and the oldest specimens of the Homo genus coexisted at the same place in Africa at the same time, between 2.6 million and 2.8 million years ago.
The team concluded that these fossils are a new species rather than belonging to Australopithecus afarensis (better known as “Lucy”) and confirmed there is still no evidence of Lucy’s kind younger than 2.95 million years ago.
No. 2: Retraining perceptions of a dog’s emotions
If you thought you recognized your dog’s emotions, you’re wrong. Research from the Department of Psychology's PhD student Holly Molinaro and Professor Clive Wynne outlined experiments they ran to show that humans are actually misperceiving their dog’s emotions.
The results showed that humans don’t have a good grasp on understanding the emotional state of their dog, often because they judge the dog’s emotions based on the context of the event they witness.
No. 1: Nobel-winning research originates at ASU
Key discoveries made at ASU by former Assistant Professor Omar Yaghi have contributed to his team’s research that won a Nobel Prize in chemistry this fall. The honor recognized the work accomplished that had established a new field known as reticular chemistry.
The team developed metal-organic frameworks with large, porous structures that can store and release different types of molecules.