Convening meetings, workshops, seminars, and public programs is a key part of the mission at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center promoting collaboration between campus-based faculty, ASRC faculty, theorists, and experimentalists across New York City.

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The ASRC offers event and meeting spaces that can accommodate up to 100 guests for your next conference, reception, meeting, workshop, film shoot, or private event.

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The Science Op-Ed Writing

Join us on October 27, 2023, at 2 p.m. for the Science of Op-Ed writing with Deb Stead, a former New York Times op-ed editor and CUNY Journalism School writing coach. Scientists endeavor to reach conclusions that are objective, but science exists in a world driven as much by opinion and perception as fact. Additionally, funding agencies

Four-day BioAFM Workshop at the ASRC

Join the ASRC Nanoscience Initiative in partner with Bruker for this four-day event, where presentations from distinguished research groups as well as Applications Expert, Dr. Ming Ye (Bruker) will be provided, showcasing the unique and powerful capabilities of the technique. We will also provide hands-on demonstrations with Bruker’s NanoWizard V BioAFM. Please see the attached

ASRC-CCNY Seminar Series in Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biodesign: Julien Orts, University of Vienna

Join us for the fall semester ASRC-CCNY Seminar Series in Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biodesign every Wednesday at noon! This week's speaker, Julien Orts, Assistant Professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Vienna, Austria, will be presenting a talk titled, “Lead Generation without an X-Ray Crystal Structure: An NMR Method to Probe

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Same Science/New Look: Refreshing Your Science Visuals for Different Audiences

Join us on Friday December 1, 2023, at 2 p.m. for Same Science/New Look: Refreshing Your Science Visuals for Different Audiences with CUNYSciCom co-founder and Graduate Center Ph.D. candidate Katherine Anderson who will share how she repurposes, refreshes and revises images and graphics for various audiences. Whether you’re in the field or in a lab, scientists conduct

ASRC Community Night Series: Neuroscience

Join us for an evening to learn about what’s happening in the neuroscience initiative with Director Dr. Patrizia Casaccia. Participants can also try out our new EEG headset experience, in our immersive visitor center, which visualizes electrical activity in the brain in real-time!

Fall 2023 Photonics Seminar Series: Margherita Maiuri, Politecnico de Milano

Ultrafast nanophotonics: harnessing light and manipulating matter through femtosecond multidimensional spectroscopies Abstract – Ultrafast manipulation of light-matter interactions in photonic nano-architectures has unlocked unprecedented opportunities in the field of nanophotonics, ranging from high speed signal processing to the control of photophysical material functionalities. Especially, using optical means, e.g. femtosecond laser light pulses, to actively drive

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From Journal Paper to Book Author

Join us on Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. for our next Communicating Your Science webinar, "From Journal Paper to Book Author." From memoirs such as "The Disordered Cosmos" to scientific narratives such as "The Sixth Extinction," scientists and journalists around the world offer up gripping stories that illuminate human nature, the cultural landscape and the STEM

Spring 2024 Neuroscience Initiative Seminar Series

Join the ASRC Neuroscience Initiative for this monthly seminar series welcoming speakers from around the country exploring numerous topics on environmental factors in relation to neurodevelopment, the use of AI in interdisciplinary research and more.

ASRC Community Science Night

Join us for another interactive evening in the ASRC’s Illumination Space to learn about upcoming opportunities at the ASRC and greater Harlem, including events open to the community!

ASRC-CCNY Seminar Series in Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biodesign: Thomas Kurtzman, Lehman College, City University of New York

Join the ASRC Structural Biology Initiative in welcoming Professor Thomas Kurtzman, Lehman College, City University of New York, as the first guest speaker in this Spring 2024 Biochem Seminar Series! This series takes place every Wednesday, with refreshments in the cafe at 11:30 and the seminar to follow in the auditorium at 12pm.

ASRC-CCNY Seminar Series in Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biodesign: Christiane Riedel, École Normale, Supérieure de Lyon, France

Join the ASRC Structural Biology Initiative in welcoming Professor Christiane Riedel, École Normale, Supérieure de Lyon, as this week's guest speaker in the Spring 2024 Biochem Seminar Series! This series takes place every Wednesday, with refreshments in the cafe at 11:30am and the seminar to follow in the auditorium at 12pm.

ASRC-CCNY Seminar Series in Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biodesign: Amy L. Kenter, Univ. of Illinois, College of Medicine at Chicago

Join the ASRC Structural Biology Initiative in welcoming Professor Amy L. Kenter, Univ. of Illinois, College of Medicine at Chicago, as this week's guest speaker in the Spring 2024 Biochem Seminar Series! This series takes place every Wednesday, with refreshments in the cafe at 11:30am and the seminar to follow in the auditorium at 12pm.

ASRC Spring Luncheon: Networking Across ASRC/CCNY

RSVP now to join us for a networking lunch on the terrace! Enjoy the fresh air with friends from around the ASRC, as well as CCNY Engineering and Architecture faculty, on March 28th from 12PM- 2PM on the North Terrace. Lunch provided, with vegetarian options available. This event is open to all ASRC members; please contact

ASRC Brain Awareness Community Science Night

Join us for another interactive evening in the ASRC’s Illumination Space to learn about upcoming opportunities at the ASRC and greater Harlem- this month it's all about Neuroscience!

3rd Annual CAT Symposium

3rd Annual CAT Symposium This symposium will showcase CUNY-wide academic-industry research and workforce development partnerships that further innovation and entrepreneurship in NY State. Specifically, the event will feature CUNY entrepreneurs and start-up founders in conversation with industry leaders to discuss the present and future of hard technology development and applications to advance human and planetary

3rd Annual Bio-Inspired Green (BIG) Science and Technology Symposium

Bio-Inspired and Green (BIG) Science and Technology Symposium The Bio-Inspired Green (BIG) Science & Technology Symposium is an annual meeting at the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) that brings together researchers who develop solutions to environmental problems. Held during Earth Week, the symposium will highlight advances in science, engineering, and policy that push us closer

Bring Your Friends/Family to Work Day

All visitors must be added to the building access list by noon April 24th. Along with registering for activities, please ensure all non-ASRC members names have been provided to your initiative's admin coordinator or Genevieve Nieson  at <GENEVIEVE.NIESON94@LOGIN.CUNY.EDU>  

ASRC Earth Week Community Science Night

Join us for another interactive evening in the ASRC’s Illumination Space to learn about upcoming opportunities at the ASRC and greater Harlem, including events open to the community!

2nd Annual NanoBioNYC Symposium

Visit the webpage of the 2nd Annual NanoBioNYC Symposium   The 2nd Annual NanoBioNYC Symposium will highlight CUNY student and faculty researchers making advancements in Bio-Inspired Nanoscience. This all-day, in-person event will feature talks from NanoBioNYC mentors and fellows exploring diverse topics from Green Materials and Energy Solutions to Cross-Cutting Computational Research. Join us to learn about

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CUNY Student SciCom Symposium: Communicating Your Science

Wrap up the academic year with CUNYSciCom’s annual Communicating Your Science Symposium where students can win prizes for the best science presentations. The annual symposium challenges student scientists to present and explain their research to two different audiences—their peers and the general public—in short, contained presentations that include contextual descriptions of the work, visual aids,

Photonics Initiative Spring 2024 Seminar Series: Prof. Zhi Ning Chen

Zhi Ning Chen National University of Singapore Date: Friday, June 14, 2024 Time: 10:30am – 11:30am Location: 5th Fl. Data Viz Room Prior-knowledge Guided Machine-learning Enabled Metalens Antenna Design Abstract –  The design of antennas aims to meet the specific requirements of a system. This design relies on materials, fabrication processes, and design methodologies. Besides

Community Science Day

Join us at the Advanced Science Research Center on July 18th from 3-5:30pm for STEAM activities and cold snacks! We will have revolving stations combining art, and science, and our interactive visitor center will also be open for exploration. Come explore the five initiatives with the IlluminationSpace Team!

Neuroscience Special Seminar: Hala Harony-Nicolas, PhD

The ASRC Neuroscience Initiative will host a Special Seminar, featuring Hala Harony-Nicolas, PhD on August 14th in the Data Visualization Room. She will present on the "Neural Circuits of Social Behavior and Their Deregulation in Shank3 Deficiency".

Guest Speaker: Dr. King Hang Aaron Lau, PhD

Peptoid Self-Assembly: from Minimal Peptoids to Cell Membrane Interactions   King Hang Aaron Lau, PhD Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Materials and Bionanotechnology Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK   Abstract- N-substituted glycine “peptoids” are close structural isomers of peptides and can be synthesized with both natural and non-natural sidechains. Their self-assembly is

Seminar in Biochemistry, Biophysics & Biodesign

Come see Associate Professor Reginald McNulty speak on the "Innovative Drug Inhibition and Unexpected Glycosylase Activity for Therapeutic Advancements" Wednesday September 11th.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Ayala Lampel, PhD

Charge-Mediated Interactions Affect Enzymatic Reactions in Peptide Condensates Ayala Lampel, PhD Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Michael Scalora

Light-Matter Interactions at the Nanoscale: Harmonic Generation from Metal/Vacuum Interfaces and Novel Aspects of Radiation Reaction Abstract – In noble metals a patina of free electrons extends out into free space and vanishes within a fraction of an atomic diameter. We discuss the possibility and consequences of the existence of such a free electron layer,

Seminar in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Biodesign

The SBI Initiative of the ASRC presents Benjamin S. Schuster, Assistant Professor of the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, speaking on "Negative noodles, and positive ones too: Engineering intrinsically disordered proteins".

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Guancong Ma

Non-Abelian Braiding with Sound and Light Abstract – Many physics laws and mathematical rules are insensitive to order. For example, the addition of numbers disregards the sequence order, e.g., 1+2+3=3+1+2. However, such a commutative property does not always hold. When the outcomes of a set of operations depend on the execution order, they can become

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Jonathan Pelliciari

Co-sponsored with CCNY. Using Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering to study quantum materials Abstract – Modern light sources like the NSLS-II at Brookhaven National Lab deliver bright tunable photons in a wide range of energies from the THz regime up to 100 keV. This allowed the development of scattering techniques relying on the use of atomic resonances enabling

Guest Speaker: Job Boekhoven, PhD

Regulating molecular assembly with chemical fuels—Spinning ribbons, dissipative structures, and an approach towards synthetic life Job Boekhoven, PhD Department of Bioscience, Technical University of Munich Abstract-Molecular self-assembly is the process in which molecules combine into superstructures held together through non-covalent interactions. Over the last decades, supramolecular chemists have perfected this art, and we can now

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Yakir Hadad

Exact formulation of the mutual particle-cavity dynamics and its use for the study of loss threshold phenomenon under magnetization Abstract – Light-matter interaction plays a pivotal role in pushing forward nanotechnology. A particularly important setup involves a resonating particle, say an emitting molecule or a macroscopic quasi-statically resonating plasmonic or ferromagnetic sphere, that is located

Guest Speaker: Tanja Weil, PhD

Synthesis of Interactive Peptide Nanostructures in Living Systems Tanja Weil, PhD Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Germany Abstract- We explore controlled chemical reactions in complex living systems to generate drug molecules, synthesize peptide nanofibers, or build new cellular compartments. The introduction of bioresponsive groups enables us to control peptide self-assembly inside the living cell.

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Giovanni Toso and Piero Angeletti

Multi-Beam Antennas (MBAs) and Beam-Forming Networks (BFNs) Abstract - Distinguished Speakers Giovanni Toso and Piero Angeletti from European Space Agency, Netherlands will present the state of the art and the on-going development in Multi-Beam Antennas (MBAs) and Beam-Forming Networks (BFNs). They find applications in several fields including communications, remote sensing (e.g. radars, radiometers, etc.), electric surveillance

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Communicating Your Science Series Open House Event

Join us for our rescheduled kickoff of our 2024/25 Communicating Your Science Series, which helps CUNY STEM students, postdocs and faculty bone up on their science communications skills. Sponsored by the CUNY ASRC IlluminationSpace Hub, CUNYSciCom, BRAINE and CUNY Women in STEM, this open house event will showcase the resources CUNY offers to help you

October Community Night

Come join us from 4:30-6:30 for an evening of Spooky Science at the ASRC! There will be trick or treating on every floor and themed activities!

Thesis Defense: Shixiong Yin

Enhanced Light-Matter Interactions in Complex Photonic Systems Mentor: Andrea Alù Abstract Interactions between light and matter are fundamental to breakthroughs in lasers, sensing, imaging, spectroscopy, energy harvesting, and quantum information processing. As a result, significant recent efforts have been geared towards enhancing and controlling light-matter interactions to advance these applications and technologies. Complex engineered photonic

Thesis Defense: Seungri (Victor) Kim

The Effects of Nanoconfined Liquid Properties on the Water-Responsive Behavior of Bacterial Cell Walls   Abstract: Water-responsive (WR) materials have the ability to mechanically swell and shrink in response to changes in relative humidity (RH). These WR materials are used by many biological systems to perform essential tasks; for example, pinecones use WR materials to

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Bing Cheng

Terahertz probes of quantum matter: from pairing symmetry to high harmonics Quantum materials often harbor emergent orders and phases that reveal themselves at low-energy scales, around 1 to 10 meV. To investigate these collective behaviors, we turn to the terahertz energy regime—a crucial window for probing and controlling quantum phenomena. In this talk, I will

NanoBioNYC workshop: A glance at using National Laboratory Facilities

Join us for an informative online workshop on Tuesday, November 19 at 2:00 pm on the application process for using facilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), BNL Center for Functional Nanomaterials and other synchrotron facilities. This workshop will be presented by Dr. Maya N. Nair, Research Assistant Professor and core facility staff at the Surface

Photonics Initiative Seminar: David Burghoff

Nonlinear Photonics in the Mid-Infrared and Terahertz Abstract – Optical sensing at long wavelengths presents significant opportunities and significant challenges. The longwave infrared and terahertz ranges are renowned for their potential to sense molecules in a variety of contexts, such as high-speed chemical imaging, disease detection, and environmental monitoring; however, their promise has yet to

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Boosting Your Academic Career Though Science Communications

Are you looking to elevate your STEM career? Effective science communication is key to standing out as a researcher, securing funding, fostering collaborations, and broadening the impact of your work. Join us on Friday, December 6, 2024, for an engaging panel discussion with Nerd Night Founder Ben Taylor, ASRC Photonics and CUNY Graduate Center Physics

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Mu Wang

Manipulating Light with Optical Metasurfaces: from Classical to Quantum Mu Wang National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China Abstract - This talk focuses on the interaction of electromagnetic waves with metamaterials and manipulating the polarization state of light, which are essential

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Yang Zhao & Yun-Sheng Chen

Imaging, Sensing, and Wearable Devices Using Nanophotonic Platforms Abstract – Personalized health emphasizes prevention and early diagnosis over solely tailoring therapies. My lab's nanophotonic approaches center on developing precision tools to detect biomarkers, imaging molecular interaction functions, and designing sustainable wearable devices. In this talk, I will highlight two research areas: ultrafast optical force nanoscopy