Over 200 Guests Celebrate the ASRC’s 5th Anniversary and Interdisciplinary Research at CUNY

Posted on November 22, 2019 in 5x5 Anniversary Feature, ASRC News, Featured News

On October 30, over 200 CUNY science faculty members, students, and postdocs came together with University leaders, funders, local officials, and eminent researchers from other institutions to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Advanced Science Research Center at The Graduate Center, CUNY. The day-long event provided an opportunity for the CUNY community and other stakeholders to celebrate the growth and success of interdisciplinary science across the University during the CUNY ASRC’s first five years.

During the day, CUNY students attended talks by world-renowned physicist and engineer Nader Engheta and cancer biologist and Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus, who shared how an interdisciplinary approach to research has helped advance their work. Science faculty from Hunter College, Baruch College, and the CUNY ASRC also highlighted some of their research that has been facilitated by working across multiple areas of science.

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and Graduate Center President James L. Muyskens kicked off the evening gathering by sharing their thoughts on the CUNY ASRC’s increasingly important role in expanding scientific research within the center’s five disciplines—environmental science, nanoscience, neuroscience, photonics and structural biology—as well as other STEM disciplines at CUNY’s 26 campuses. The evening also featured Engheta and Varmus along with CUNY ASRC structural biologist and Graduate Center Professor Shana Elbaum-Garfinkle and Brooklyn College biogeochemist Jennifer Cherrier in a panel discussion on the future of interdisciplinary research, which was led by CUNY ASRC Executive Director Annette “Nina” Gray. The celebration concluded with a reception.

ASRC leadership speaking in a group at the anniversary reception
L-R: CUNY ASRC Nanoscience Initiative Director Rein Ulijn, Graduate Center President James L. Muyskens, CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, and CUNY ASRC Executive Director Annette “Nina” Gray chat during the post-event reception.

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ASRC Initiative Directors, leaders, and CUNY faculty lstanding in front of presentation screen in the ASRC auditorium
CUNY ASRC initiative directors and faculty from across CUNY who presented during the daytime event. (L-R: CUNY ASRC Environmental Science Initiative Director Charles Vörösmarty; Baruch College/The Graduate Center, CUNY Chemistry Professor Jean Gaffney; CUNY ASCR Nanoscience Initiative Professor Xi Chen; CUNY ASRC Structural Biology Initiative Director Kevin Gardner; CUNY ASRC Neuroscience Initiative Director Patrizia Casaccia; CUNY ASRC Nanoscience Initiative Director Rein Ulijn; Hunter College/The Graduate Center, CUNY Biochemistry Professor Carmen Melendez-Vasquez; CUNY ASRC Photonics Initiative Director Andrea Alù; and Hunter College/The Graduate Center, CUNY Geography and Environmental Science Professor Bill Solecki)

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Professor Melendez-Vasquez presenting in the ASRC auditorium
Hunter College/The Graduate Center, CUNY Biochemistry Professor Carmen Melendez-Vasquez presents her interdisciplinary research on brain elasticity during the daytime program.