Support for the NYC Tech Campus

As Cornell and its partner The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology prepared to submit their proposal for the New York City Tech Campus on October 28, 2011, numerous expressions of support were received from a wide variety of notable entrepreneurs and academics.

"Cornell is a natural fit for a New York City applied sciences and engineering campus. The university's fingerprints are already all over the innovation economy in the city in the form of entrepreneurs and technologists from its enormous local alumni base. Cornell has also demonstrated lasting commitments to excellence in engineering education and to New York City through other permanent campuses and projects here."

– Thatcher Bell '97, principal at DFJ Gotham Ventures, a New York City-based early-stage venture capital firm focused on investments in information technology startups.

"There is no question about the Technion's centrality to Israel's growth and the development of its science and technology-based industry. What was once a good technological institute in the north of Israel, has evolved in the last generation to become a powerful institution of significant international stature. We at the American Technion Society take great pride and satisfaction in helping to make that achievement possible."

– Melvyn H. Bloom, American Technion Society Executive Vice President. The American Technion Society has raised more than $1.6 million since its founding in 1940, the majority raised within the last decade.

"The skills I learned at Cornell and the ideas I conceived there empowered me to found Kaltura and develop the open source video management system now used by 120,000 online publishers worldwide. Bringing Cornell's unmatched academic strength to New York City is exactly what we need in order to train the talent that will drive innovation and entrepreneurship and help establish the city's emerging tech sector as the world's best."

– Dr. Shay David '08, co-founder and vice president of business and community development at Kaltura Inc., an open source video platform providing the first and only open source video solution stack.

"Bringing together two of the finest institutions of higher education in the world, the Technion and Cornell, to form a high-tech entity in New York City is an auspicious endeavor. I have personally witnessed excellence in action at both universities and I am sure that we can look forward to a brilliant collaboration of science, engineering, innovation, and entrepreneurship."

– Carol Epstein, Second-generation Technion supporter, member of the Technion International Board of Governors, former U.S. State Department attorney, bachelor's degree from Cornell University, former president and active life member of the Cornell Club of Washington, a life member of the Cornell University Alumni Council.

"I wasn't accepted to Cornell on my first try. But that didn't stop me. I moved to Ithaca and took classes as a part-time student and worked hard enough to get in the following semester. It was a risk, but the potential payoff of a Cornell education was worth it. Ten years later there is no doubt that the experience I had at Cornell played a crucial part in launching my career as an entrepreneur. The incredible drive and talent of Cornell's local alumni gives Cornell the unique opportunity to build technologies and companies that will shape the future of New York City."

– Joe Essenfeld '01, founder and CEO of JIBE, the fastest-growing social recruiting platform that uses Facebook and LinkedIn to connect companies and job-seekers through mutual connections.

"With Cornell's rich tradition of academic research, its broad diversity of disciplines, and deep ties to the New York area, it stands alone as the institution best poised to make New York City the center of innovation for the next generation of startups. From my first internship at a startup hatched out of a Cornell dorm room, to forming a company right here in New York with two other Cornellians, Cornell has given me and hundreds of other entrepreneurs the skills we need to succeed and thrive."

– Greg Fodor '03/'04, who, along with two other Cornell graduates, founded the retail product ad platform Adtuitive (acquired by Etsy in 2009) and is now an engineer at Etsy, the online marketplace selling handmade and vintage items.

"As someone operating a digital media outlet headquartered in New York City, I know how much the city would benefit from the mayor's proposed applied sciences campus. As a Cornell graduate, I know that Cornell's top-notch education and entrepreneurial spirit would produce just the kind of talented engineering workforce we need to grow the digital media and technology industry in the city."

– Adam Hirsch '04, chief operating officer of Mashable, one of the largest and most popular destinations for news in social and digital media, technology and web culture.

"Cornell's strong New York City network played an important role in helping me build my business and connect with investors. With such close ties to the city, Cornell is perfectly positioned to play a leading role in New York City's growing tech sector. A CornellNYC Tech Campus would be a game changer."

– Michael Horn J.D. '05, founder of Craft Coffee, a Brooklyn-based startup providing monthly Tasting Boxes of premium coffees from roasters around the country.

"The futures of people in Israel and all over the world are inexorably intertwined with the discoveries and innovations resulting from Technion research. The university is a world leader in high technology and other essential fields, and its graduates are key leaders in the global high-tech market. I believe that the whole world will benefit and thrive from this intellectual collaboration between Cornell University and the Technion." –

Larry Jackier, Chairman, Technion International Board of Governors, former president and chairman of the American Technion Society, Second-generation, long-term Technion supporter, Detroit-based attorney.

"I launched Qualcomm's first international R&D Center in Haifa, Israel, in 1992, staffed entirely with Technion graduates and purposely located near the campus to take advantage of its great education and research. Technion, with its many contacts, was a great help in our subsequent worldwide expansion. The Technion's demonstrated success in translating basic and applied research to job creation complements Cornell's deep academic strengths and translational activities, providing an extraordinary partnership for the benefit of New York City. Technion and Cornell, working in close collaboration on the new campus, will inspire a next generation of entrepreneurs to pursue innovations by forming start-ups and expanding existing businesses."

– Irwin Jacobs, the founding chairman and CEO of Qualcomm and Cornell alumnus.

"Like many student entrepreneurs, I was faced with the tough decision of where to relocate my company after graduation. Cornell's presence and network in almost every industry in this city made the decision easy. This is the same reason I believe Cornell is uniquely positioned to partner with New York City in this exciting venture."

– Matthew Kochman '09, New York City general manager of Uber, a car service accessed through smartphone app.

"As an entrepreneur, I know that New York City's competitive advantage over Silicon Valley has always been entrepreneurs' proximity to real customers in media, advertising, fashion and finance. Cornell's incredible alumni network in New York City – in the tech sector and across all industries – will allow Cornell to activate New York City's unique tech ecosystem and establish the city as a world leader in technology innovation."

– David Lifson '05/'06, co-founder and CEO of Postling, a social media management tool for small businesses, and NYC Scout for Angelist, a community of startups and investors making fund-raising efficient.

"I'm delighted to hear this news, as Technion is a second home to me. I studied at Technion and received all of my degrees there – and Cornell is where I started my career – so this partnership is the best of both worlds. Technion and Cornell are two world-class institutions, which house the world's best scientists. This partnership stands for a very strong collaboration."

– Dr. Michal Lipson, MS Technion 1995/Ph.D. Technion 1998, Cornell Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and 2010 MacArthur Foundation "Genius Award" winner.

"I caught the entrepreneurial bug as an undergrad at Cornell and since have co-founded three businesses with Cornell alumni. Now, as an entrepreneur and an investor that has seeded over 35 companies in New York City, I see every day how Cornell alumni are starting the businesses that create the high-tech jobs that are driving New York City's tech renaissance. Cornell's presence in New York City will be a critical hub to build on and expand the city's large and growing entrepreneurial ecosystem."

– Micah Rosenbloom '98, who started his first business as a Cornell undergrad and today is chairman and CEO of his third start-up, Novophage Inc.; as well as a founder partner at Founder Collective, a leading seed stage investment fund, and an advisor to TechStars NYC, one of the foremost startup accelerators in the world

"What the Technion has to offer New York City is renowned excellence in engineering and applied sciences, and a collective belief in pushing beyond what others believe is possible. The minds nurtured at the Technion have played a definitive role in establishing Israel as a technology capital of the world. I have no doubt that bringing the Technion and Cornell, two great research institutions together for an unprecedented academic partnership will bring the same spirit of innovation to New York City, and establish New York City as a global leader in science and technology."

– Dan Shechtman, BS Technion 1966/MS Technion 1968/Ph.D. Technion 1972, Winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Philip Tobias Professor of Materials Science at the Technion.

"Cornell's excellence in computer science and engineering is world-renowned, and they are truly thought leaders when it comes to the interdisciplinary education and research necessary to build the tech companies of tomorrow. Combining this approach with Cornell's deep roots in New York City's tech sector, the CornellNYC campus will produce the next generation of innovative leaders."

– Bill Trenchard '97, founder partner of Founder Collective, a leading seed-stage venture capital fund, and co-founder and executive chairman of ReadyForce, a company connecting job-seekers and employers.

"This is excellent news for New York City and for these leading universities. Cornell's and the Technion's vast research expertise, their history of successful entrepreneurship and technology transfer, and the opportunities for meaningful collaborations will put this city at the center of the global technology universe. The possibilities are boundless."

– Sandy Weill, New York philanthropist and financier, Cornell alumnus and chair of the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medical College.

"I received two engineering degrees from Cornell, founded a startup in New York City with a fellow Cornell graduate and continue to hire Cornellians to help me grow my business. Cornell is already producing New York City's investors, innovators and entrepreneurs, and the CornellNYC campus will provide the space for them to collaborate and create, driving New York City's tech sector into the future."

– Cheryl Yeoh '05/'08, co-founder and CEO of CityPockets, a personal daily deal organizer that automatically imports all your daily deal vouchers from various deal sites into one spot.