Cornell wins ‘genius’ contest, to team with Technion for N.Y. campus

Cornell University will collaborate with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology for a new science campus after winning a competition to build New York City’s next “genius” school.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was expected to make Cornell’s victory official on Monday at the Weill Cornell Medical College in Manhattan.

The Ivy League school will receive free land on New York’s Roosevelt Island, as well as $100 million in city subsidies, to build a state-of-the-art science campus with Technion. The program is scheduled to begin in September at a temporary location.The campus is expected to take more than a generation to build.

Cornell, which received an anonymous $350 million grant, beat out six other universities and consortiums that submitted bids.

The campus will accommodate 2,000 students and include 2.1 million square feet of building space with classrooms, science laboratories, a conference center, housing and other facilities. It will feature environmentally friendly solar energy and geothermal wells.

“I am thankful and proud that this extraordinary individual gift will support Cornell’s goal to realize Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s vision for New York City,” Cornell President David Skorton said.