Campus update: While we've worked hard to preserve the possibility that students could return, the remainder of the spring semester will be conducted online. Staff will work remotely until at least April 20. See the Coronavirus / COVID-19 Updates page.

C.V. Starr Research Foundation

The Foundation

The C.V. Starr Research Foundation at The Cooper Union, whose forerunner was established in 1976 as The Cooper Union Research Foundation, is a wholly owned, not-for-profit corporation that manages the full life-cycle of externally funded research projects throughout the college. By encouraging and supporting the research ecosystem, the Research Foundation augments the educational opportunities for students, enhances professional development of faculty and promotes multidisciplinary interactions throughout the campus.

Participation in research activities by faculty and students is essential to the vitality of The Cooper Union’s educational programs. The Research Foundation plays an important role for faculty and students having the time and talent to pursue externally sponsored projects individually or in concert with other faculty and students These relationships are supported via facilitated collaboration with other universities, hospitals, corporate and government entities.

Members of The Cooper Union faculty serve as team leaders for our funded project work, with the balance of the project team comprised by fellow Cooper Union faculty, peers from other institutions, outside consultants, undergraduate and graduate students of The Cooper Union.

The C.V. Starr Research Foundation supports all academic programs at The Cooper Union, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, by providing real-life research projects throughout the curriculum. To this end, several inter-disciplinary research centers have been made available to our students and faculty. Each of these centers draws upon the varied faculty expertise and laboratory resources throughout the college as deemed necessary by the scope of each project.

Our research sponsors and collaborators include, but are not limited to: National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Columbia University, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Defense (Army, Navy, NAVSUP, Naval Postgraduate School and Air Force), MaXentric Techologies, NYSERDA, University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, EdX, IEEE, ASME, Pepsico and Revolutionary Cooling Systems.

The C.V. Starr Research Foundation also manages all of the college’s intellectual property and technology transfer activities. The Research Foundation has a proprietary interest in several technologies, which include fully issued domestic and international patents, and patent applications that are patent-pending. A majority of the content covered in these issued patents and patent applications was conceived at The Cooper Union by the college’s faculty and students.

Current Projects

 Research Centers

Foundation Staff

C.V. Starr Research Foundation
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
41 Cooper Square
Suite 205
New York NY 10003
(212) 353-4305
 

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.