Announcing recipients of Principled Innovation Research and Teaching Grants

Ernesto L. Abeytia, Project Manager, Responsible and Sustainable Innovation, Global Futures Office of Research Development and Strategy in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory on May 6, 2026.

The Rob Walton College of Global Futures is excited to announce the recipients of its 2026 Principled Innovation^© Research and Teaching Grants. These grants support new projects that advance student learning and impact through Practicing Principled Innovation, ASU’s ninth Design Aspiration, which “places character and values at the center of decisions and actions." The funded projects demonstrate thoughtful and deliberate engagement with Principled Innovation and include project-based activities that broaden student learning opportunities, emphasize immersive learning experiences, advance next-generation leadership development and position students to practice Principled Innovation beyond the classroom.

As climate challenges facing our communities become more complex and pressing – from deadly climate extremes, such as excessive, record-breaking heat and intense, widespread flooding, to severe water scarcity and irreparable environmental degradation – the need for character-centered and values-based civic engagement, applied problem-solving and action is more urgent than ever. Supporting projects that encourage our students to apply Principled Innovation practices in how they engage in diverse collaborations, design innovative solutions and prepare to be next-generation leaders is one way the Rob Walton College of Global Futures is addressing this need.

Projects funded for award period May 2026 – December 2026 included:

Timiebi Aganaba, Assistant Professor, SFIS

• Engineering Trust Under Scale: A Space Governance Lab Workshop for GETS 2026
• $4,200

Datu Buyung Agusdinata, Associate Professor, SOS, and Kris Hartley, Assistant Professor, SOS

• Energy Transitions in ASEAN: Systems, Policy, and Innovation
• $8,000

Janna Goebel, Clinical Assistant Professor and Faculty Lead for Community Engagement, SOS

• Land, Labor, Water, Soil, Energy and Community
• $8,000

Susanne Neuer, Founding Director and Professor, SOF, and Alli Cramer, Assistant Professor, School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences

• Where Desert Meets Ocean: An Immersive Student Expedition
• $7,800

Jennifer Vanos, Associate Professor, SOS, and Mary Muñoz Encinas, Research Coordinator, HeatReady

• Heat Resilience at ASU: From Classroom to Community
• $6,000

Thanks to generous support from the ASU Office of University Affairs and the Kern Family Foundation, the Rob Walton College of Global Futures is developing programs and opportunities that encourage practicing Principled Innovation in sustainability, ocean futures, conservation futures, complex and adaptive systems and the future of innovation in society, equipping students with the durable skills and knowledge to lead in fields and careers that drive positive and meaningful impact.

For more information on Principled Innovation in the Rob Walton College of Global Futures, please contact Ernesto L. Abeytia at [email protected].