Kurt Paterson

College Catalyst

Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering

As an engineer, it’s easy to find the joy in innovation. Professionally, there is much pride in what engineering innovation has done for modern society. But we know innovation alone is not sufficient these days. We need to do better, using more appreciative opportunity-finding, thoughtful design, and collaborative solution-making. Principled Innovation (PI) offers a way forward in these matters.

Using The Polytechnic School as a prototyping platform for the Fulton Schools of Engineering, we are exploring how PI can modernize our curricula, strengthen our research, improve our operations, and enrich our professions. Based on an institutional change model, we have launched many interconnected initiatives to discover what helps drive PI adoption for engineering students, faculty, and staff. Our most effective practices will be replicated across the other seven ASU Schools of Engineering and shared across national engineering networks. Through this work, ASU can help lead an era of character-driven engineering with even better outcomes for Arizona, the nation, and the world.