Cornell University

Okay, let’s break down the information about Cornell University and put it together as a resource for Electrical Engineering students. Think of this as a guide to understanding what Cornell is about, especially from an engineering perspective.

Cornell University: An Electrical Engineering Perspective#

Welcome! If you’re looking into universities, Cornell is a big one with a lot going on. Let’s walk through what makes it tick, keeping in mind what might be interesting or important for someone studying Electrical Engineering (EE).

Cornell isn’t just one type of school; it’s a blend. It’s a private research university, meaning it’s not run by the state government, but it also has a unique relationship with New York State, which we’ll get into. It’s part of the prestigious Ivy League group, known for strong academics and research.

It started back in 1865, founded by Ezra Cornell (the guy who helped build the telegraph industry) and Andrew Dickson White (a historian and educator). Right from the start, they wanted it to be open to everyone – co-educational (men and women) and nonsectarian (not tied to a specific religion).

Today, it’s a large place with over 16,000 undergraduate students and more than 10,000 graduate students from all over the US and many countries.

How it’s set up is a bit different too. It has different colleges and schools, and each one pretty much runs itself – they decide who gets in and what courses they offer. This means the College of Engineering, where you’d likely be studying EE, has its own flavor and standards.

A Bit of History with a Tech Twist#

Cornell’s history shows it has always had a focus on applying knowledge, which is pretty neat for engineers.

The founders, Ezra Cornell (who knew his way around technology with the telegraph) and Andrew Dickson White, got the New York State Legislature to establish it as a land-grant institution.

Land-grant university: In the US, these universities were originally given federal land by the government through acts like the Morrill Act. The idea was to fund institutions focused on practical fields like agriculture, science, military science, and engineering, and make education accessible to a wider range of people. Cornell is special because it’s one of only a few private universities with this status.

Ezra Cornell gave his farm in Ithaca and half a million dollars (a huge amount back then!) to get things started. Andrew Dickson White became the first president. The university officially opened its doors in 1868.

Cornell quickly embraced technology. In 1883, it was one of the first universities to get electricity, using a water-powered dynamo right there on campus. This kind of practical application of engineering was part of its DNA early on.

Since 1894, some parts of Cornell have been linked with the State University of New York (SUNY). These are called statutory or contract colleges.

Statutory or contract colleges: These are parts of a private university (like Cornell) that are supported and partly funded by the state government. While they are part of the private university’s structure and grant its degrees, they also have a relationship with the state university system. Students from that state often get a tuition discount.

At Cornell, four undergraduate colleges (Agriculture and Life Sciences, Human Ecology, Industrial and Labor Relations, and the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy) and one graduate college (Veterinary Medicine) are statutory. The College of Engineering, however, is privately endowed, meaning it relies more on private funding and has more independence.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, students were also really into things like debating and writing, showing a mix of technical and liberal arts interests from the start.

The 20th century saw growth and changes, including student activism in the 1960s. Academically, Cornell has consistently been recognized as a top university globally and in the US. For Electrical Engineering specifically, a ranking in 1995 by the National Research Council put Cornell’s EE Ph.D. program as the 7th best in the nation. The College of Engineering overall was ranked 5th. This highlights a long-standing strength in your field of interest.

Into the 21st century, Cornell has expanded internationally and also focused on managing growth and its unique structure.

Exploring the Campuses#

Cornell’s main campus is tucked away in Ithaca, New York, on a hill overlooking Cayuga Lake. It’s quite large, about 745 acres (that’s over 300 hectares). People often say it’s one of the most beautiful campuses, with a mix of building styles from ornate old ones to modern designs.

The campus is spread out and organized into different areas:

Central Campus: This is where most of the academic buildings and labs are. You’ll find buildings here representing lots of different architectural styles because the campus grew over a long time with different plans. The Computing and Communications Center is one of the historic buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, showing the university’s early focus on computing resources.
North Campus: This area is mainly for student housing, particularly for first and second-year students. The buildings here are generally more modern.
West Campus: This area houses upper-level students and uses a residential college system.

Residential College System: This is a setup where students live in residential halls that are also centers for academic and social life. Often, faculty live there too, and there are shared dining halls and common spaces designed to create a strong sense of community and encourage interaction outside of classes.

West Campus has a mix of styles, including some older, Gothic-style buildings.

Collegetown: Right next to campus, this area has a mix of apartments, shops, and places to eat.

The natural setting is a big part of the Ithaca campus experience. It’s bordered by two gorges, Fall Creek and Cascadilla Gorges, which are scenic but also come with safety warnings. The Cornell Botanic Gardens are right there too, covering a massive 2,800 acres for research and enjoyment.

Thinking Sustainably (Relevant to Power & Energy Engineers!)#

Cornell is serious about being green. They’ve got several cool projects directly related to energy and sustainability:

A gas-fired combined heat and power facility. This means they generate electricity and use the waste heat for campus heating – much more efficient than doing them separately.
An on-campus hydroelectric plant. Using the power of water to generate electricity is a classic renewable energy source.
A lake source cooling system. They use the cold water from deep in Cayuga Lake to cool buildings, saving a ton of energy compared to traditional air conditioning.
Multiple solar farms provide significant power (28 megawatts as of 2020).
Developing an enhanced geothermal system called Earth Source Heating to meet campus heating needs. This involves tapping into the Earth’s heat deep underground, a cutting-edge form of renewable energy.

They’ve set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2035 and were the first US university to commit to Kyoto Protocol emission reductions. There’s even a Climate Solutions Fund supported by donations, focusing on research into climate issues – an area where EE can play a huge role, from renewable energy grids to efficient systems.

Beyond Ithaca: NYC and Qatar#

Cornell isn’t just in Ithaca. It has important outposts, especially in New York City:

Weill Cornell Medicine (NYC): Located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, this is the medical school and graduate school of medical sciences. It’s affiliated with big hospitals like NewYork-Presbyterian and research centers like Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Rockefeller University. They even have a Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program, which could be interesting for EE students interested in bioengineering or medical technology.
Cornell Tech (Roosevelt Island, NYC): This is a major recent development. Cornell teamed up with Technion – Israel Institute of Technology to build a state-of-the-art campus on Roosevelt Island. The idea was to create a hub for tech entrepreneurship and job growth in NYC. Instruction started temporarily in Google’s NYC space before the first phase of the island campus opened in 2017. This campus is focused on graduate-level tech programs and research, designed to be closely connected to the tech industry – very relevant for EE students looking at careers in software, hardware, data science, etc.
Other NYC Programs: Cornell has various offices and programs in the city. One relevant example for EE students interested in the business or applied side is the College of Engineering’s Operations Research Manhattan office in the Financial District. They focus on using mathematical modeling and analysis for decision-making, applied in areas like finance and public health logistics – areas that often require strong computational and analytical skills developed in EE/CS.
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar: Located in Education City near Doha, this was the first US medical school established outside the US. It’s a joint project with the Qatari government and replicates the New York medical school curriculum. It also has an undergraduate pre-medical program. While primarily medical, large international research collaborations like this often involve technological infrastructure and support that could involve engineering expertise.

Research Facilities Off-Campus#

Cornell also runs several research spots away from Ithaca. For those interested in specific fields that might touch upon EE, here are a few:

Shoals Marine Laboratory: A marine field station off the Maine/New Hampshire coast. Could involve environmental monitoring tech.
Arecibo Observatory (until 2011): Cornell operated this massive radio telescope in Puerto Rico. This is a significant link to EE, specifically in fields like signal processing, radio astronomy, and large-scale antenna systems. Even though Cornell no longer operates it, it was a major part of their research history in areas relevant to EE.
Various Agricultural and Horticultural Research Laboratories around New York State: While focused on plants and farming, modern agriculture heavily relies on sensors, automation, data processing, and control systems – all areas where EE plays a role.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Research on birds. Often involves acoustic monitoring, tracking technology, and data analysis.

These facilities show that Cornell’s research reach goes far beyond the main campus and into diverse scientific areas.

How Cornell Works: Organization and Structure#

Understanding how Cornell is put together helps explain why things work the way they do.

Cornell is set up as a nonprofit, but it’s quite decentralized. Remember those colleges we talked about? The 12 privately endowed ones and the four state-supported statutory colleges? They have a lot of freedom to manage their own affairs – admissions, curriculum, advising, even granting degrees. This means the College of Engineering sets its own path to a large extent.

Decentralized structure: In a university context, this means that different schools, colleges, or departments have significant autonomy and control over their own operations, academic programs, and finances, rather than everything being tightly controlled by a central administration.

The university is governed by a large Board of Trustees (64 members!). This board includes people appointed by the state governor, alumni, faculty, students, and staff. The president of the university is the chief executive, chosen by the board. A cool historical detail: the eldest living lineal descendant of Ezra Cornell is a lifetime member of the board, continuing the founder’s link.

In terms of academics, Cornell has a ton of programs across its colleges. For undergraduates, the largest college by enrollment is Arts and Sciences, but Engineering is the second largest, showing its significant size within the university. This means a big community of engineering students and faculty.

Cornell also has an online learning platform called eCornell for professional development, and it participates in federal “grant” programs beyond just land-grant: sea-grant (focus on marine research/education) and space-grant (focus on aerospace/space-related research/education). Until 2014, it was also a sun-grant (focus on sustainable energy/agriculture). These statuses highlight Cornell’s engagement with federally funded research and education across a wide spectrum, including areas relevant to EE like aerospace, energy, and environmental monitoring.

Money Matters: Fundraising and Financial Support#

Like many universities, especially private ones, fundraising is crucial. Cornell has a large endowment.

Endowment: This is a university’s accumulated financial assets that are invested. The university uses the income generated by these investments to support its operations, programs, and research in perpetuity. A larger endowment generally provides more financial stability and resources.

Cornell’s endowment is over $10 billion, one of the largest in the US. Big donations have made a huge difference, often naming specific schools or funding major initiatives. For instance, significant donations have supported Weill Cornell Medicine, the Johnson Graduate School of Management, and importantly, **Cornell Tech**, with a massive$ 1 billion gift from alumnus Chuck Feeney dedicated partly to funding that campus. Another large gift established the Atkinson Center for Sustainability, funding research on environmental challenges, which often involves engineering solutions. This shows strong donor support for key areas, including technology and sustainability.

What You’ll Learn: Academics#

Cornell is known as a “Very high research activity” university (classified as “R1”). This means research is a big part of what happens here, not just teaching. For an EE student, this is great news, as it means opportunities to get involved in cutting-edge projects.

It runs on a standard academic calendar with fall and spring semesters and a short winter session. The university has been accredited for a long time, meaning it meets quality standards.

Getting In: Admissions#

Getting into Cornell is competitive. The acceptance rate is quite low, indicating a high number of applicants for the available spots. Students admitted tend to have strong academic profiles, with high test scores like the SAT and ACT.

Cornell aims for a diverse student body, looking at factors beyond just grades. They have increased the proportion of students who identify as underrepresented minorities and students of color in recent years. They also admit a significant number of first-generation college students.

For US applicants, Cornell uses need-blind admission.

Need-blind admission: This is an admission policy where a university evaluates an applicant’s qualifications without considering their ability to pay tuition. If the student is accepted, the university then determines their financial need and provides a financial aid package that meets that need.

This means whether you can afford it doesn’t impact the decision to admit you.

Paying for It: Financial Aid#

Cornell has a commitment to access dating back to its founding charter, which mandated free instruction for one student from each Assembly district in New York state.

Like other Ivy League schools, Cornell provides need-based financial aid, meaning aid is given based on how much a family can afford, not on merit like athletic scholarships. They committed to matching financial aid offers from other Ivy League schools, MIT, and Stanford for accepted students, showing they want to make it financially feasible for admitted students to choose Cornell.

They also have initiatives to reduce student debt, like replacing loans with scholarships for lower-income families. While there was a dip during the 2008 financial crisis, the university worked to continue this support.

Seeing the World: International Programs#

Cornell offers many ways to get an international perspective. You can major in fields focusing on specific regions or languages, or take advantage of study abroad programs on six continents.

They have specific agreements, like one allowing students in the China and Asia-Pacific Studies program to spend a semester at Peking University in Beijing. Their work in the Middle East often focuses on biology and medicine (like the Qatar campus) but also includes initiatives like the Bridging the Rift Center near the Israel-Jordan border, which involves creating a “Library of Life” database – a project that could potentially involve large-scale data management and computing challenges.

Cornell also has joint degree programs, like an Executive MBA with Queen’s University in Canada, and is part of international networks for management education. While these might not be directly EE programs, they show Cornell’s global connections, which can offer valuable context in an increasingly interconnected engineering world.

How Good is it? Rankings#

Cornell is consistently ranked among the top universities globally and nationally. These rankings look at things like research impact, reputation, and student outcomes. While overall rankings are good, it’s the specific program rankings that matter most for you.

As mentioned, the 1995 ranking put the EE Ph.D. program at 7th nationally and the College of Engineering at 5th. While specific department rankings change over time and depend on the source, Cornell Engineering generally maintains a strong reputation.

Beyond EE, other programs like Architecture, Business, and International Relations are also highly ranked, indicating strong academic quality across different fields at the university.

Resources for Learning: Library and Publications#

Cornell University Library is huge – one of the largest academic libraries in the US, with millions of physical items and extensive digital resources. Fun fact: it was the first US university library to let undergraduates borrow books. For research, especially in fields like physics and computer science (which overlap with EE), the library operates arXiv.

arXiv (pronounced “archive”): This is a free online repository (like a digital library) where researchers can upload and share pre-prints of their scientific papers before they are formally published in peer-reviewed journals. It’s very popular in physics, mathematics, computer science, and related fields, allowing for rapid dissemination of research findings. Cornell operates and largely funds it as part of its library services.

This is a major contribution to the global scientific community and a direct link to the research fields connected to EE.

Cornell also has its own publishing house, Cornell University Press, which was the first of its kind in the US. They publish many academic books. Various academic units and student groups also publish scholarly journals and magazines, covering a wide range of topics. Notably, Physical Review, a highly respected international journal in physics, was founded at Cornell in 1893.

What’s Happening: Research#

Cornell is a powerhouse of research, spending over a billion dollars a year on R&D, ranking high nationally. They are known for producing graduates who go on to get Ph.D.s, especially in engineering and natural sciences.

For Electrical Engineering, the Science, Technology, and Engineering research section is where the most relevant work happens:

Physics & Particle Accelerators: Cornell has a long history here, dating back to the Manhattan Project connection with faculty like Hans Bethe. They built early cyclotrons and were pioneers in studying synchrotron radiation.

Synchrotron radiation: This is the electromagnetic radiation emitted by charged particles (like electrons) when they are accelerated in a curved path, typically in a particle accelerator or storage ring. It’s used in many scientific fields, from materials science to biology.

Cornell’s Electron Storage Ring (CESR) was once a world leader for colliding electrons and positrons. Their groups are involved in designing future international accelerators like the International Linear Collider. This involves complex electrical systems, high-power electronics, vacuum technology, control systems, and detectors – all areas EE is essential for.

Computing Technology: Cornell has been involved in advanced computing for decades, including deploying early supercomputers and establishing a National Science Foundation (NSF) supercomputer center. More recently, they developed Red Cloud, a cloud computing service for research, now part of the NSF’s national supercomputing program (XSEDE). This is directly relevant for EE students interested in computer architecture, networking, cloud infrastructure, and high-performance computing.
Space Exploration: Cornell has a history with NASA, involved in Mars missions since the 1960s and playing a key role in the Mars Exploration Rover Mission (where an alumnus was the principal investigator). They also operated the Arecibo radio telescope (relevant for deep space communication and radar). Space research involves a huge amount of EE: satellite design, communication systems, sensor development, data processing, and power systems for spacecraft.
Automotive Safety: The Automotive Crash Injury Research Center (founded 1952) was groundbreaking. While maybe sounding more mechanical, improving vehicle safety involves designing and testing impact sensors, control systems for airbags and stability control, materials science, and data acquisition systems – all requiring EE expertise. Using crash test data led to crucial findings about seat belts and other safety features.

Cornell’s philosophical research is also notable, with the Sage School being highly ranked, particularly in areas like value theory and history of philosophy. While not directly engineering, it highlights the university’s strength across a broad range of disciplines, fostering interdisciplinary thinking.

Life Outside Class: Student Life#

Cornell is a lively place with lots of ways to get involved. There are over 1,000 student organizations covering just about everything you can imagine, from academics and hobbies to sports and social causes.

For EE students, there are likely engineering-specific project teams, clubs related to computing, robotics, or specific technologies. The Cornell Astronomical Society, which runs public viewing nights at the Fuertes Observatory, could be interesting for those also into astronomy or related instrumentation.

There’s an active outdoor community through Cornell Outdoor Education, offering courses from climbing to sailing – a great way to de-stress and explore the beautiful Finger Lakes region.

Cornell has a large Greek life system (fraternities and sororities), with many chapters being historically significant (like Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Black Greek organization, and pioneering Latino Greek organizations founded there). About a third of students are involved.

Students run various publications, including the independent daily newspaper The Cornell Daily Sun, a conservative paper, a humor magazine, and the official university newspaper, The Cornell Chronicle. They also operate a commercial radio station, WVBR-FM, which is owned and run by students – offering experience in broadcast engineering, management, or media.

Where You’ll Live and Eat#

First-year students typically live on North Campus, which has modern residence halls. Upper-level students often live on West Campus in the residential college system, designed to build a tighter community. There’s also housing in Collegetown and special interest housing options. Some students live in fraternity or sorority houses.

Cornell’s dining program is highly rated, with many different dining halls, cafes, and eateries across campus, offering a variety of food options, including specialized kosher and multicultural meals.

Sports and Outdoors#

Cornell’s sports teams are called the Big Red and compete in NCAA Division I. As an Ivy League school, they don’t offer athletic scholarships. They are known for strong teams in sports like wrestling, lacrosse, and ice hockey.

Beyond varsity sports, Cornell Outdoor Education (COE) is a huge program, serving thousands of people with classes in everything from backpacking to climbing. It even counts for physical education credit.

Cornell Traditions#

Like any old university, Cornell has its own lore and traditions, collectively known as Cornelliana. These include things like Slope Day (a big end-of-year celebration) and Dragon Day, where first-year architecture students build a giant dragon and parade it around, often playfully taunting the engineering students! There are also campus legends and pranks (like putting things mysteriously on the clock tower).

The university colors are carnelian (a shade of red) and white. The unofficial mascot is a bear.

Health and Safety#

Cornell provides health services, including counseling and medical care through Cornell Health. They also have a student-run Emergency Medical Service (EMS) that responds to emergencies on campus.

The campus police are classified as peace officers, giving them the authority of city police officers to ensure safety around the clock.

Who You’ll Learn With (and From): Notable People#

Cornell has a vast network of alumni and faculty who have achieved remarkable things. Over 250,000 living alumni!

This includes many Nobel laureates, Turing Award winners (think computer science’s highest honor), and leaders in government, business, science, arts, and athletics.

For Electrical Engineering, the notable people list is particularly interesting:

In Business/Tech: Many alumni have founded or led major tech and business companies like Qualcomm (founder Irwin M. Jacobs, also a major donor), Hotels.com, PeopleSoft, Priceline.com, Y Combinator (a famous startup incubator), Nintendo of America, and various telecommunications companies like Sprint and Verizon. These are companies where EE graduates often find themselves working or leading.
Inventors: Cornellians invented the pacemaker (Wilson Greatbatch - a classic EE device!), the iPod (Jon Rubinstein - involves hardware, software, design), Freon (Thomas Midgley Jr. - chemistry/engineering link), and the universal joint (Clarence W. Spicer).
Science/Aerospace: Several alumni have been NASA astronauts. An alumnus was the lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover mission. Another directed the program that developed the first US intercontinental ballistic missile – involving massive EE systems for guidance, control, and power.
Faculty: Beyond the Nobel winners in physics and chemistry (many of whom worked on projects like particle accelerators relevant to EE), faculty contributions include inventing the first method for sequencing DNA (Ray Wu - a foundational technique now leading to bioengineering applications that rely on computing and data analysis), and developing the Pap smear test (Georgios Papanikolaou - another link to medical technology). James L. Hoard, involved in the Manhattan Project, was a chemistry professor whose work in crystallography is relevant to materials science important in EE.

These examples show that Cornell has a history of attracting and producing people who make significant technological and scientific contributions, many of which are directly in or related to the field of Electrical Engineering.

So, that’s a look at Cornell University, highlighting the parts that might stand out to an Electrical Engineering student – from its tech-friendly history and strong research programs in computing, physics, and aerospace, to its unique structure, notable faculty and alumni in tech, and campus resources. It’s a place with deep history, broad academic strengths, and a significant footprint in areas crucial to modern engineering.