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SOLS Sustainability

“Sustainability is at the intersection of environmental, economic and societal stewardship. The field of sustainability may, in large measure, determine whether life will be possible on Earth in a century or more, but the field is so new that it has yet to be defined.” - Michael M. Crow, President, Arizona State University

The concept of sustainability is multifaceted, touching on issues such as urban growth, conservation and environmental management, societal inequities, clean energy, public health, renewable resources and the complexity of ecosystems. At a macro level, sustainability research in the life sciences spans disciplines such as, conservation biology, ecology, biodiversity and restoration studies, but of equal importance is the strong scientific understanding at molecular and organismal levels. Advances in biotechnology have created tools and opportunities to enhance or investigate systems that impact national security to global health. For example, the photosynthetic process provides an efficient medium for conversion of solar energy to readily usable forms of bioenergy, while genetic manipulations of microbe and plant genomes offer new avenues in detoxification and vaccine research.

Strong interfaces between the life sciences and other relevant disciplines (environmental ethics, policy, geography, etc.) and between life science research and education are also critical for the university-wide sustainability initiative. Fortunately, because of the broad range of expertise contributed by this faculty, the School of Life Sciences (SOLS) is well positioned to play a leading role in interdisciplinary studies focusing on sustainability. The vision of SOLS is to further enhance connectivity with other programs at ASU and to become an even more relevant cornerstone in the study of biological systems as they live in, interact with and modify their environment. We invite you to read about our faculty, their research and the efforts of our SOLS programs.

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