Spring/summer 2007

Rogier Windhorst has spent his entire career thinking big. He has to. He is an astrophysicist. He uses the most advanced telescope systems ever developed to peer into deep space, and essentially back in time. --by Skip Derra

Al Qaeda operatives reportedly substituted the word "wedding" for "attack" in e-mail messages. Finding these kinds of word substitutions has been a hit-or-miss process for federal investigators. It's also tough duty for corporate security pros who try to catch employee collusion. But new research from ASU shows that computer programs are capable of detecting word swaps that conceal the true meaning of e-mail messages.

ASU musicians and poets bring a new kind of healing to severely ill patients in the Mayo Clinic's Palliative Care unit. By sharing their talents, these artists help reduce stress, bring families together, and put smiles on the faces of patients. --by Melissa Crytzer Fry

Why are some parts of the world rich and getting richer? Why are some nations mired in poverty? The questions are among the most fundamental in economics. If economists can discover how economies improve their living standards, then the logical next step is to craft policies to make it happen. --by Carrie Barnett

Diane Wolfthal peeps into people's bedrooms--15th century bedrooms, to be exact. By examining paintings that depict couples and the marital bed, she hopes to learn about how ideas of sex and gender have changed over the years. --by Diane Boudreau

Does praying on behalf of another person's mental or physical health really make a difference? After an exhaustive meta-analysis of research on the topic, David Hodge says the answer is yes. --by Stephen Des Georges

Temperature-sensitive polymer gels may be the solution to a lot of tricky medical problems. By injecting the gels directly into the blood vessels, doctors can treat dangerous aneurysms or deliver chemotheraphy drugs with fewer side effects. --by Melissa Crytzer Fry

"We never tell the contractor what to do, because we're hiring him to know what he's doing," says Dean Kashiwagi, director of ASU's Performance Based Studies Research Group. The group has developed a hands-off approach to managing contractors in the construction industry. The result? Lower costs, faster delivery and a higher quality finished product. --by Melissa Crytzer Fry