NEW YORK—Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology won the Applied Sciences NYC campus call for proposals, announced Mayor Bloomberg on Monday.
“Today will be remembered as a defining moment,” said Bloomberg at a press conference. “History will write that this was a game-changing time in New York City.”
Applied Sciences NYC is the city’s initiative to stimulate economic growth, maintain global competitiveness, and meet the local demand for top scientists and engineers. Last year it challenged top institutions around the world to submit proposals for a new or expanded applied sciences and engineering campus in New York City.
The partnership between Cornell and the Technion bested six other qualifying responses from 17 world-class institutions, including a solo entry from Columbia University and a global six-university partnership headed by New York University.
The 20-million-square-foot, 11-acre Roosevelt Island campus will incorporate green landscaping—rain gardens, green roofs, and reforestation—both solar and thermal power provided from a four-acre geothermal well field, and will be open no later than 2017. By 2018 it aims to serve 300 students and 70 faculty. When fully operational, the school will have 2,000 students and 300 faculty members.
Classes at an off-site location will begin in early 2012.
A new applied sciences degree and a dual degree from both universities will be offered along with more traditional science, math, and technology degrees.
The city will put $100 million toward the campus construction. It will create nearly 20,000 temporary construction jobs and 8,000 permanent jobs. The new school will spawn more than $23 billion in economic activity over the next three decades, with $1.4 billion in total tax revenue, and spin out around 600 new companies.
