ASU School of Human Evolution and Social Change

05/27/2026

After 20 years of teaching and research breakthroughs, Michael Smith, professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, is retiring from ASU.

Smith’s contributions have left an indelible mark on our school, including his service as director of the Teotihuacan Research Laboratory for 10 years from 2015 to 2025. The Teo Lab saw numerous breakthroughs under his leadership resulting in a greater understanding of the ancient city.

We thank Smith for his service in teaching, research and mentorship to the SHESC community and wish him a happy retirement!

Read more about Smith’s lasting impact on ASU and the SHESC community here:

When Michael Smith, professor at Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, read a book the summer after his freshman year of college at Brandeis University about the story of the lost city of Atlantis, he was intrigued.

05/21/2026

From having the opportunity to engage in meaningful and interdisciplinary research, learning from world-renowned faculty, to the inclusive, engaging and curiosity-driven environment, our graduating class of 2026 shared some of their favorite things about being a part of SHESC. 🎓

Thanks to all of our students, faculty and staff for making this community so special! 💫

05/20/2026

Earlier this week, Eduardo Amorim, assistant professor in ASU’s School of Human Evolution and Social Change, joined host Ted Simons on “Arizona Horizons” to provide insight into new research that resulted in the largest genomic database on Indigenous peoples across the Americas.

Amorim, who is also a research scientist with the Institute of Human Origins, served as a co-author on the study alongside an international team led by the Institute of Evolutionary Biology with partners at the University of São Paulo.

In the interview, Amorim discusses the team’s research process, what they learned from their analysis, the importance of this new data and next steps for this research.

Watch the segment here:

Research into the genome of Indigenous Americans identified more than 1 million genetic variants that had not been documented previously.

05/18/2026

This month, the Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve and School of Human Evolution and Social Change wrapped up its first cohort of the P.A.S.T. Academy. P.A.S.T., which stands for Pathways in Archaeology, Science and Technology, is aimed at bringing together high school students from across the Valley who are interested in learning more about the science behind archaeology, as well as possible career paths in the field of anthropology.

Across four sessions, the students learned about archaeology, collections management and museum design from experts at SHESC, eventually putting their knowledge into practice. Students designed their own pottery, completed photogrammetry to create 3D renderings of their pottery and then smashed them to pieces to create their own mini museum exhibit to showcase the pottery and information they learned over the course of the camp.

With the first P.A.S.T. Academy successfully completed, the DVPP team is looking forward to the fall semester for their next offering, where they plan to expand the program from four to eight or nine sessions, allowing for richer topics and more time for hands-on exploration.

If you or someone you know might be interested in the P.A.S.T. Academy, visit the link below to learn more about the first cohort, as well as how to be contacted with updates on the upcoming session!

It’s a bright, Saturday morning in north Phoenix as four high school students make their way into ASU’s Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve. But they weren’t there to walk the trail, visit the museum or learn about the thousands of petroglyphs left there by Indigenous ancestors over the last 5,000...

05/15/2026

Today was the good part. 💫 Celebrating our graduates is one of our favorite moments of the year. Congratulations to the Class of 2026! We can’t wait to see what your future holds for you. 🔱💛

05/15/2026

Please join us in congratulating Frida Espinosa on being awarded the 2026 Outstanding Graduate Doctoral Student by the ASU Faculty Women of Color Caucus!

Espinosa is graduating this month with her PhD in global health from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change.

Congrats, Frida!
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05/14/2026

When John Murray saw his first flintknapping demonstration in his Introduction to Archaeology course at Stony Brook University, he was hooked. Today, he is a skilled flintknapper himself and demonstrates and teaches the skill to others.

Even more, he attributes this demonstration as one of the primary reasons he changed his major to anthropology at the time.

“I was a struggling undergrad who was kicked out of university for a semester due to a low GPA. After taking a couple of credits at my community college, I came back in search of a new major and John Shea's demonstration made me instantly say ‘that’s what I want to study.’ I would not be where I am today if I had not experienced that,” shared Murray.

Now, Murray, who is also an affiliated grad student with the Institute of Human Origins, is graduating with his PhD in anthropology from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change this month.

After graduating, he will be doing a postdoc at Purdue University where he will work with SHESC and IHO alum Ben Schoville, continuing his work in experiential archaeology and the analysis of stone tools from the Middle and Later Stone Age of South Africa.

Congrats, John!

Read more about John’s academic journey at the link in our bio.

Photo courtesy of the Arizona Museum of Natural History
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05/14/2026

While basketball has been a big part of Efemena Abogidi’s life, he always knew he wanted to continue to build himself out of the sport as well.

A professional basketball player with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA G League, Abogidi was able to pursue his bachelor’s degree through ASU Online. Balancing the responsibilities of being a professional athlete while pursuing an undergraduate degree is not easy, but he said he appreciated the flexibility ASU Online provided.

“It helped me stay committed to finishing my degree, but beyond that, it also gave me confidence that I’m investing in myself and my future outside of basketball,” said Abogidi. “That’s important to me, because I’ve always wanted to be more than just an athlete.”

Abogidi is graduating this month with his bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change.

He said he realized he wanted to study anthropology as a result of his lived experiences, having lived in multiple countries and through playing basketball, he was constantly around people from various backgrounds and cultures. Being around different ways of thinking and customs made him curious about the world, and he realized anthropology connected with the kind of curiosity he had, helping him make sense of the experiences he’d had and different worlds he had been exposed to.

Congrats, Efemena!

Read more about Efemena’s academic journey at the link in our bio.

Photo by Oscar Ayarzagoita/Rio Grande Valley Vipers
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05/13/2026

Instead of relying solely on the classroom to learn about global health systems, Adrienne Madhavpeddi took a different route while pursuing her PhD in global health, working with multiple organizations such as Project ECHO and ASU’s Center for Healthcare Delivery and Policy to gain real-world experience in the health care field.

She said she realized she wanted to study global health when she recognized the similarities in barriers to care between rural and low-resource settings globally.

“My ‘aha’ moment came when I recognized that many barriers to care – whether in rural Arizona or low-resource settings globally – are rooted in similar structural challenges such as workforce shortages, limited access to specialty care, and fragmented systems. Seeing how models like Project ECHO could bridge these gaps at scale made me realize that global health isn’t confined by geography, but rather about solving shared problems with scalable solutions. That realization shifted my focus from local impact to systems-level change with a more global relevance,” said Madhavpeddi.

After graduating from ASU with her PhD in global health this month, Madhavpeddi will work as an assistant teaching professor in Northern Arizona University’s Doctor of Medical Science program within its Department of Physician Assistant Studies.

Congrats, Adrienne!

Read more about Adrienne’s academic journey at the link in our bio.
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