Stories

Two people examine wood in the belfry of St. James A.M.E. Zion Church in Ithaca.

A 'freedom church' unearths its Underground Railroad history

Every day, in every county in New York, individuals, schools, businesses, entrepreneurs, local governments, families and communities depend on Cornell to turn discoveries into real-world solutions. As the state’s land-grant university, Cornell was founded to create knowledge with a public purpose and help ensure a vibrant, healthy future for all New Yorkers.

Commitment to New York State

Impact stories

Peter & Phyllis Webb.

Rural humanities projects explore NY past and present

The Tompkins County Rural Black Residents Project details where (and how) Black residents in the county lived from 1820 to 1870.

Solar panels.

Upstate residents skittish on building utility-scale solar

As New York prepares for a carbon-free energy future, public support for utility-scale solar farms is much lower than support for smaller solar projects, says new Cornell research.

Preparing for surgery in a summer FARVets clinic.

Veterinary nonprofit expands to NY animal shelters

FARVets, a nonprofit run through the College of Veterinary Medicine to address animal overpopulation, has forged partnerships with animal shelters from the Adirondacks to the Southern Tier.
An ethernet and fiber optic cables.

ILR School develops tool to help NY communities advance digital equity

The New York State Digital Equity Portal is an interactive, online data mapping tool to inform broadband adoption and improve digital equity for millions of New York state residents.

CCE helps NY residents, businesses and communities thrive.

Focus On: Cornell Cooperative Extension

Selema Harris, a food service employee at City Honors School in Buffalo, New York, prepares locally-grown broccoli for the school’s lunch.

Farm to School grows NY ag, sows seeds for healthy eating
Dana Putnam, owner with his wife, Laura, of Finding Home Farms in Middletown, New York, makes a batch of certified organic maple syrup.

CCE connects local farms, foodies through Taste NY
Cornell Cooperative Extension master gardener volunteer Kathy Lewis and block mentor Dorrean Nelson visit with a resident

CCE’s Blocks in Bloom helps communities flourish
Ed Warner heads out to eastern Shinnecock Bay in Hampton Bays.

Ripple effect: Cornell helps restore Long Island's shellfish
Aerial view of a car driving on a road.

Street smarts: Cornell paves the way for safer roads in NYS
Student Mallary Williams suggested the idea of studying rust in space.

4-H'ers prepare 'rusty' experiment for space station

Experts at work

Local Government

Mildred Warner focuses on restructuring local government services to create sustainable and equitable communities.

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Indigenous History

Kurt Jordan uses archaeology and anthropology to understand and connect to North American Indigenous communities around New York.

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Health Equity

Dr. Monika Safford focuses on preventive health care, including responses to health disparities affecting marginalized communities.

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Sustainable Energy

Max Zhang develops systems to make energy and communities more sustainable.

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Health Policy

Isabel Perera focuses on labor’s influence on social welfare and how to bolster mental health policy.

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Health and Nutrition

Roger Figeroa examines factors that affect health outcomes, with a focus on children’s nutrition in underrepresented and low-income communities.

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Animal and Human Health

Gerlinde Van de Walle studies models for fighting diseases in animals as well as humans, including stem cell therapies.

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Food Policy

Christopher Barrett’s research and outreach seeks to make food systems more healthy, equitable and sustainable.

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Labor and Employment Law

Esta Bigler researches workforce issues and steers efforts to lower barriers to employment for those with criminal records.

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For more Cornell experts, contact:

Office of Media Relations

Cornell's Impact on New York State

Cornell research delivers results that matter all around the state.

AgriTech empoyees holding cases of apples.

Hudson Valley lab donates fruit to aid needy

Ulster County

A Cornell AgriTech laboratory donated 47,000 pounds of apples and pears to help families struggling during the pandemic.

Hungry customers outside the West Hertel Academy place their orders at the new Buffalo Public Schools’ food truck.

Buffalo Public Schools using food truck to serve locally sourced meals

Erie County

A food truck, developed in part by Cornell Cooperative Extension, delivers free meals and NY-grown foods to Buffalo-area families in need.

A glass bead.

Artifacts from upstate Indigenous towns digitized, repatriated

Ontario County

A project by Cornell researchers, aided by Indigenous community members, has made Native American artifacts accessible online.

A student learning remotely on a laptop.

Cornell Tech provides CS lessons for kids at home

Bronx County

Cornell Tech created virtual lessons to support K-12 computer science education in NYC public schools during the pandemic.

Cornell veterinarians and students examine one of the zoo’s Asian elephants, Romani.

Conservation, education drive Cornell-zoo partnership

Onondaga County

A longstanding connection between the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse and Cornell provides care for endangered species.

Greg Galvin.

Alumnus creates fast COVID-19 test for NY residents

Tompkins County

Rheonix, led by Cornell graduate Greg Galvin, produced a rapid COVID-19 test, enabling Cayuga Health System to open one of the country’s first drive-through testing sites.

Cornell Cooperative Extension urban agriculture specialists.

CCE sows seeds to grow urban agriculture

Kings County

From the rooftops of New York City to the streets of Buffalo, urban farms are sprouting vegetables, fueling businesses and helping grow vibrant communities across New York.

A business person holding a lightbulb.

CCMR JumpStart program funding three NY companies

Monroe County

Rochester-based Otex Protective is paired with Cornell researchers and facilities to help develop and improve its products.

A New York street with heavy traffic.

Steep NYC traffic toll would reduce gridlock, pollution

New York County

A study by Cornell and the City College of New York demonstrates how to limit urban traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.

Many jugs of milk.

Cornell and DFA donate milk to regional food banks

Wyoming County

Partnering with the Dairy Farmers of America, Cornell donated milk to food banks to help needy families in western and central NY.

A person loads a box of food at a pantry.

Cornell engineers help local food bank improve operations

Steuben County

Cornell systems engineers helped a food bank, which serves six upstate counties, to more efficiently distribute food while also boosting community nutrition.

Alfredo Rodriguez and Qingxuan Sun.

NSF funding to help engineers improve infrastructure, communications

Franklin County

Cornell engineers are helping to design the nation’s first statewide Internet of Things public infrastructure.

Sewing cloth masks.

Cornell leads effort to provide masks for incarcerated people

Dutchess County

Cornell guided a statewide push to provide masks to the prison population, which is especially vulnerable to COVID-19.

Filling a syringe.

Cornell to help train state's pioneering public health corps

Albany County

Gov. Cuomo has tapped Cornell to develop and train workers needed for COVID-19 vaccine distribution and outreach programs.

Shellfish.

Ripple effect: Cornell helps restore Long Island's shellfish

Suffolk County

Cornell Cooperative Extension is restoring native shellfish to Long Island, rejuvenating its coastal waters, economy and culture.