Cooper Union

Institutes and Centers

Institute for
Sustainable DesignThe Cooper Union Institute for Sustainable Design was created in the Spring of 2009, with grant funding from The Jack Rudin Foundation, as a resource for education, research and public understanding of the principles and methods of sustainability in all design disciplines.
Center for Innovation and Applied TechnologyThe Center for Innovation and Applied Technology is an interdisciplinary research and educational resource that provides answers to our technological and productivity challenges. We link bold and innovative concepts with successful planning and practical implementation strategies.
SEA²M³The Center for Sustainable Engineering, Architecture and Art – Materials, Manufacturing and Minimalism, is envisioned as a space where true cross-disciplinary conversation and reciprocal learning generate real solutions that can be imagined, created and implemented. SEA²M³ seeks to develop an awareness of solutions to engineering problems that preserve the integrity of the commons.
S*PROCOM²S*ProCom² is a new research center at The Cooper Union dedicated to cutting edge research in Signal Processing, Communications, and Computer Engineering.
Center for Urban
InfrastructureThe Center for Urban Infrastructure is operated under the auspices of the Civil Engineering Department. The research focus of the Center is on New York City and its infrastructure, with special emphasis on renewal and rehabilitation and capacity expansion of the City’s urban systems.

Institute for Urban
SecurityThe Institute for Urban Security is housed within the Center for Urban Infrastructure and operated under the auspices of the Civil Engineering Department. The research focus of the Institute is on protective design strategies to enhance the security of the City’s buildings and structures, transportation systems, water supply and wastewater disposal systems, and other infrastructure against car and truck bombings and other man-made threats.

Maurice Kanbar Center
for Biomedical EngineeringThe Center provides a venue for research in biomedicine, including orthopedic biomechanics, medical imaging and minimally invasive surgery.

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.