Cornell Energy Systems Institute

2022 Fundraising Priorities and Opportunities

Vision

The Cornell Energy Systems Institute (CESI) works rigorously toward reducing humanity’s carbon footprint through innovations in materials, technology, and systems design and optimization for energy systems. CESI gathers resources and expertise from across Cornell University, including more than 50 faculty experts, to address the grand-challenge technical questions around energy and climate. The Institute supports energy innovation broadly —from developing new materials to translating discoveries into marketable energy solutions.

For the upcoming year, CESI is seeking support in several areas described below:

Capital Projects

CESI’s laboratory research facility in Kimball Hall, the CESI Soft Matter Laboratory (CESI-L), boasts a complete inventory of research tools and unique state-of-the-art instrumentation for soft materials research. As a multi-user, fee-per-use facility, CESI-L is a hub for collaboration and creative problem-solving for research groups and private-sector innovators, united by a common mission.

Built in 2010, the lab requires yearly maintenance in addition to upgrades. Depending on research needs from CESI stakeholders/faculty and students, gifts to this fund will allow investment in new instrumentation to introduce new capabilities or replace aging equipment that is critical to our mission.

CESI Lab upgrade and maintenance                                       $50-100K

Associate Directors Endowment

The goal of CESI is to enhance energy research across the College of Engineering and Cornell through new collaborations and innovations. The intellectual heart of the Institute is the Associate Directors, faculty members from across campus whose research aligns with CESI priorities. Their role is to connect and engage faculty across campus on research themes relevant to the center; cultivate other faculty leaders; and leverage the resources of Cornell colleges with the Institute. Endowing these positions will provide catalyzing resources to attract and retaining top faculty to help lead the Cornell Energy Systems Institute. The problems we seek to solve span disciplines, and it takes a particular type of faculty leader to inspire collaboration beyond traditional academic silos.

Graduate Fellowships

Fellowships for Ph.D. and Master of Engineering students attract and fund excellent applicants, with a particular focus on women and under-represented minorities.

Named Graduate Research Fellowships for 1^st-year Ph.D. Students

Program Support

The CESI engages students and faculty through a range of programs that promote sharing of ideas to seed collaboration and innovation. Programmatic support can be used in various ways: