“Cornell National Society of Black Engineers has provided a home for me and many other Black engineers at Cornell,” says project ambassador Tiye Selby ’23. “It provides a place for us to evolve academically as well as professionally. I am proud to represent CU NSBE and am eager to continue growing our organization.”
“Cornell Baja Racing has provided team members with the opportunity to take engineering beyond the classroom as we create new car every year from the ground up,” notes project ambassador Jade Meyer ’23. “By offering a space to explore our passions in tech as well as encouraging women in STEM, Baja has brought us unforgettable memories and helped each of us forge a career path that we are truly passionate about.”
This is the first semester that many of these groups have been able to meet in person on campus, and their enthusiasm is apparent. Dozens of student ambassadors from each group have been sending emails and social media updates to alumni and their own friends and families, resulting in more than 550 gifts and over $90,000 raised as of November 15, 2021.
Cornell Seismic Design team
“We hit our $5,000 goal on the very first day, and our team is blown away by your support!” the Cornell Seismic Design: Advancing Earthquake Resilience student team said in an update to donors. “We are so grateful to everyone who donated, as your gift will make a valuable impact on our project.”
Every project had secured at least one gift in the first 24 hours of the campaign, and several met their initial goals within the first week. The projects will continue to fundraise until December 7.
“It’s our goal to help students find the best ways to engage our supportive alumni network, and share their stories of how they are making an impact not just in the Cornell community, but an impact with a truly global reach,” says Jon Gregory, associate director of donor participation and college and unit partnerships for Cornell Alumni Affairs and Development. “We invite alumni to be part of the cause-based missions this generation of students are creating.”
See the projects participating:
Julie Butler Memorial Scholarship: The Julie Butler DVM ’83 Memorial Scholarship for underrepresented veterinary students honors her legacy as a trailblazer and helps advance the profession.
“There’s nothing quite like being a part of all these incredibly passionate, hard-working, and intelligent individuals coming together to create something that seemingly defies such a fundamental constant in our world, gravity.” —Aron Zhao ’23, Design Build Fly team
Veteran Outdoor Programming: Cornell Outdoor Education provides pre-orientation trips and programming throughout the academic year that can make that transition a little easier for Big Red veterans.
AguaClara: This multidisciplinary engineering team develops sustainable water treatment technology that is gravity-powered, electricity-free, and scalable to fit the needs and size of any community.
“As an incoming freshman, Cornell Rocketry provided me the opportunity to work on challenging problems and be a part of something bigger than myself. Without a doubt, my time on Cornell Rocketry was THE formative experience of my time in college and I’m grateful to have been able to contribute.” —Matt Schneider ’21, Cornell Rocketry Team
Cornell Latino/a/x Student Emergency Fund: This project aims to directly support the LSSO/LSP Emergency Fund to address a critical need for emergency support for Latino/a/x students identified by Cornell’s Latino Student Success Office and LSP faculty.
“Thanks to the work of the Cornell Engineers in Action team during the school year, I was able to travel to the site country of eSwatini. During this time, I worked alongside community members to build the final bridge, gaining a second family and—together—being able to say that we changed lives.” —Gopi Ramanathan ’21, Engineers in Action Bridge Program
Cornell Baja: Cornell University’s Baja Racing Team is an undergraduate engineering project team focused on designing and building an off-road vehicle for the Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE) Collegiate Design Series competitions.
“My time on Cornell Seismic Design was and is one of my favorite on-campus experiences. From the outset, the team offered my peers and me unique real-word exposure and technical learning early in our academic careers. As we moved into leadership roles over time, the experience of building and developing a team by recruiting, training, and then working together with bright and passionate students from diverse backgrounds was incredibly valuable and relevant to us whether we eventually went into research, academia, or industry.” —Adarsh Subramani ’19, Cornell Seismic Design team
Cornell Law School Public Service Programs: The Law School Impact Fund for Public Service helps Cornell Law students and graduates enter many areas of public service, equipping Cornellians to pursue justice wherever they work.
Photo: Ryan Young
Speech and Debate: Cornell’s Speech and Debate Society is ready to compete, to host programs, workshops and camps, and to teach the useful tools of speech and debate to the world.
CU Solar Boat: This engineering project team designs and builds a 14-foot, single occupant, purely solar-powered speed boat to compete in the annual intercollegiate Solar Splash Competition.
National Society of Black Engineers 2021: The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is dedicated to the academic and professional success of African-American engineering and technical students and professionals.
“EWB is beneficial to both our members and the communities around us. Our members get hands-on experience using skills we learn in the classroom to create a tangible, beneficial impact for people around the world. We work with communities in order to create long lasting, sustainable solutions to any issue they may be facing, and also help them to prevent the issue from reoccurring.” —Alisha Kewalramani ’22, Engineers Without Borders team
Formula SAE Racing Project: This team designs, manufactures, and builds a Formula One-style racecar for competition (and they’re nine-time world champs).
CU GeoData: This new student-run project team designs, builds, and deploys instrumentation capable of recording a large variety of atmospheric, geologic, and hydrologic data.
“Mars Rover has given me the opportunity to learn engineering skills from my peers in a real-world environment, while we come together to achieve a common goal. We’re so excited to show the Cornell community our work when we compete in the summer!”—Esther In ’22, Mars Rover team
Support a student project
Dozens of Cornell crowdfunding projects are working to imagine—and create!—a better world. Choose a project that aligns with your interests and help students reach their goals.
A gift totaling $25 million from Irwin M. Jacobs ’54, BEE ’56 and the Jacobs family includes a new $15 million commitment, adding to a $10 million commitment in 2023 that helped establish the center.
