Armando A. Arias, Ph.D., Abbreviated Vita (In-Progress)

Armando Arias, Ph.D.
Dr. Armando Arias is an interdisciplinary pioneer, systems thinker, and social entrepreneur whose career spans more than four decades of innovation at the intersection of behavioral science, technology, medical education, and global development. A founding architect of California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), he helped transform the former Fort Ord military base into one of the most innovative public universities in the United States. As Founding Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Founding Dean of multiple divisions—including Social & Behavioral Sciences, Arts, Humanities, and Creative Technologies—Dr. Arias shaped the university’s academic vision, the Service-Learning Institute, and the Leon Panetta Institute for Public Policy.

A global strategist and educational reformer, he has led national and international projects across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Mexico, and Africa, including early Internet-based higher education networks (BESTNET), pioneering online learning decades before its time. His leadership in building universities and cross-border research institutes has redefined higher education as an instrument for social transformation and environmental renewal.

Currently Professor of Social & Behavioral Sciences and Global Studies at CSUMB, Dr. Arias continues to advance groundbreaking research merging neuroscience, AI, and social systems theory. His forthcoming book, Capturing & Modeling Pre-Thoughts in Real-Time (Oxford University Press, 2026), introduces Active Knowledge Models (AKMs)—a revolutionary framework that uses neuro-symbolic AI to predict and model pre-conscious thought, offering transformative applications for dementia, chronic pain, and cognitive health.

An award-winning author and recipient of the International Latino Literary Book Award, Dr. Arias’s work bridges science, technology, and culture—creating new paradigms for understanding thought, education, and the human condition.

Selected Publications

• Arias, A. (2025). AI: Global Solution for the Dementia Crisis. Monterey Bay: Global Solutions Dementia Project Press.
• Arias, A. (2026, forthcoming). Capturing and Modeling Pre-Thoughts in Real Time: Active Knowledge Models. Oxford University Press.
• Arias, A. (2020). Theorizing César Chávez: New Ways of Knowing STEM – A Treatise in the Social Psychology of Scientific Thinking in Everyday Life. Somos en Escrito Literary Foundation Press. (Winner, International Latino Literary Award for Best Non-Fiction).
• Arias, A., & Harris, R. (2017). “China’s South-South Cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean.” Journal of Developing Societies.
• Arias, A. (2025, forthcoming). Active Knowledge Models and Systems Engineering for Re-Engineering Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
• Arias, A. (2026) BESTNET to Brain: A Historical White Paper on Armando Arias’s Active Knowledge Model Lineage-from Binational Networking to Real-Time Dementia Research, Google AI Initiative https://researchprofiles.csumb.edu/en/publications/bestnet-to-brain-a-historical-white-paper-on-armando-ariass-activ

KEY POSITIONS WHILE SERVING CSU MONTEREY BAY
Founding Associate Vice for Academic Affairs
Founding Dean, School of Creative Arts & Technologies
Founding Dean, School of Social & Behavioral Sciences & Global Studies
Co-Founder of the Service Learning Institute
Founding Academic Director, Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy
Founding Director, Big Sur Environmental Institute
ASEC Senator (4 Terms)
CAHSS College Policy Committee (2 Terms)
WASC Accreditation Coordinator (3 Reviews)
 
UNIVERSITY-WIDE GRANTS (Selected List)
AmeriCorps - Leon Panetta Institute for Public Policy (PI)
Ronald E. McNair (Original PI)
Pew Leadership Award for the Renewal of Undergraduate Education (Original PI)
Ford Foundation’s Space for Change Program (PI)
Land for Public Trust (Big Sur Environmental Institute)
United States Forest Service (PI)