Science —

New science and technology incubator on tap for the Big Apple

New York City will host a brand new science and technology institution before …

On Monday, the City of New York formally announced that it had chosen the winning bids for a new science and technology incubator it wants to see built on Roosevelt Island, a sliver of land in the East River between Manhattan and Queens. The winner was a joint effort by Cornell University and Israel's Technion Institute. The bid was no doubt helped by Cornell's ability to attract a record donation, $350 million from a philanthropic foundation founded by a former graduate. Its med school is also right across the river, and houses some of its students on the island.

The planned campus will eventually host 2,500 students and 300 faculty, with the first facilities planned for completion in 2017. The facilities will also provide housing for high-tech startups. Compared to areas like San Francisco and Boston, New York hasn't managed to leverage its high concentration of academic institutions to create a vibrant startup culture, possibly because of the high cost of real estate in the area. The city is clearly hoping the new campus will change that, while Cornell and Technion are undoubtedly excited about getting their names on what may become a world-class research institute.

As a New Yorker, I'm personally excited by the prospect of more science in the city, regardless of who's running it.

Channel Ars Technica