Since its founding in 2014, the ASRC has emerged as a center of scientific excellence within the CUNY system, New York City, and beyond, as evidenced by the caliber of our faculty and their published research, our grant income, and the development of unique interdisciplinary approaches to address the most pressing research questions as well as urgent societal challenges.
During its first five years of operation, the ASRC made strong progress toward realizing its ambitions, as illustrated by these achievements.
The ASRC has recruited 18 tenured and tenure-track faculty members who represent the highest caliber of academic distinction, as documented by their hundreds of career and peer-society awards, their research results published in top-tier scientific journals, with more than 150 peer-reviewed publications in 2018 alone and more than 400 since its inception, and their growing recognition in the United States and worldwide.
ASRC faculty have fared exceedingly well in securing external funding within a very short time span. Hundreds of proposals have been submitted to federal agencies, companies, and private foundations. With an annual funding growth rate of nearly 40%, the center has received 127 awards and $62 million in sponsored grants.
Through 15 individual core facilities, the ASRC today hosts an outstanding collection of cutting-edge technologies and expertise available to academic and industrial users. More than 1,000 researchers have already used or been trained on ASRC instrumentation, much of which is unique to our region. At least 13 other CUNY campuses are represented among the active users of ASRC core facilities. The user base and corresponding income generated by these facilities is growing at a rapid pace.
The working relationships developing among the researchers in the center’s five initiatives—including senior and junior faculty, post-doctoral scholars, and students from traditionally distinct academic backgrounds—make the ASRC a unique research institution, leading the way to interdisciplinary research of the highest caliber.
The ASRC has engaged with and supported researchers across CUNY through over 100 co-authored grant submissions, 58 seed grants awarded to non-ASRC CUNY faculty, and other collaborative activities, including co-mentorship of students, co-organizing and hosting scientific events and seminar series, and sponsoring faculty to conduct research during short-term residencies at the ASRC.
ASRC faculty contribute directly to CUNY’s broader mission of education and upward mobility by training graduate and undergraduate students in cutting-edge research practices sought after by industry. Currently, the center is home to approximately 50 CUNY doctoral students, 10 master’s students, and dozens of undergraduate students.
The ASRC is deeply embedded in outreach activities, from engagement of local schools to community-based events to major regional, national, and international symposia that have cumulatively drawn thousands of participants. Our IlluminationSpace is a particular draw for visitors. We have partnered with nearly 20 local middle and high schools as well as Borough of Manhattan Community College, LaGuardia Community College, Macaulay Honors College, New York City College of Technology, World Science Festival, Math for America, Girls Who Code, and the New York Hall of Science to teach a broad range of New York City students about STEM education. Graduate and undergraduate students also gain valuable experience teaching and communicating science by participating in and leading many of these interactions.
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