ASU will take the lead on one of 12 recently announced major projects aimed at providing the U.S. a more secure and resilient power grid. The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded ASU more than $4 million to fund grid modernization work to be supervised by Samuel Ariaratnam, a professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, one of the Fulton Schools. An expert in trenchless technology, Ariaratnam will oversee development of a water-jet underground construction tool to deploy electrical cables and conduits underground as part of a system that will reduce the risk of damaging existing utilities by eliminating the need for a hard drill bit while also reducing costs and construction times.