SE Valley Times

Arizona State University (ASU) has been chosen to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in a significant academic research initiative. The university will lead a national consortium aimed at supporting the DOD's Irregular Warfare Center (IWC), located in the National Capital Region.

The consortium's objective is to enhance understanding and response capabilities regarding irregular warfare, which involves unconventional and non-attributable missions. This collaboration seeks to develop expertise that can aid the United States in formulating effective strategies for irregular warfare.

"Arizona State University has been disciplined about developing expertise in this area and we are committed to being of service at the highest level for this important national security assignment," stated ASU President Michael Crow. He expressed gratitude for the support from Arizona's congressional delegation, particularly highlighting Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly.

Irregular warfare encompasses a range of activities beyond traditional battlefield engagements, utilizing various governmental tools to influence global power dynamics. Chris Howard, ASU executive vice president and chief operating officer, emphasized the evolving nature of warfare: "The ways in which nations wage war are changing well beyond how armies face each other on a battlefield."

The consortium will comprise experts from diverse fields such as technology, social sciences, education, law, and history from universities across the nation with established programs related to irregular warfare. Projects will focus on areas like information operations, emerging technologies including virtual reality and artificial intelligence, economic statecraft, and military cooperation.

Sally Morton, ASU Executive Vice President, remarked on ASU's role: “This effort demonstrates ASU’s capacity to contribute to the national security mission by leveraging our innovative organizational strengths.” Nadya Bliss added that ASU's broad disciplinary range would enrich the consortium’s work: "ASU brings with it a range of disciplines and strengths...that we can now bridge to new areas."

ASU's involvement continues its tradition of collaborating with defense entities. The university boasts over $55 million in DOD-sponsored project expenditures across more than 250 projects involving over 200 faculty experts.