National Center of Excellence SMART Lab

Promoting use-inspired research is one of the eight design-imperatives of the New American University, in which the advancement of knowledge and the transformation of society are fundamentally intertwined. Funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Center of Excellence on SMART (Sustainable Materials and Renewable Technologies) Innovations for Urban Climate and Energy is a premier laboratory for developing materials that contribute to a sustainable urban environment. In the SMART laboratory, researchers create solutions to address the issues, such as the urban heat island effect, that rapid urbanization raises. These researchers develop cool pavements, building materials, and roof technologies. The SMART laboratory played a leading role in developing the pervious pavement that covers the ASU Art Museum’s parking lot.