Advanced Science Research Center

What Advanced Science Research Center does

The Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) is a public university research center operated within the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center, located in a 200,000-square-foot purpose-built facility at 85 St. Nicholas Terrace in Upper Manhattan. Founded in 2014 as the nucleus of CUNY's "Decade of Science" initiative, ASRC organizes interdisciplinary research across five interconnected initiatives: Environmental Sciences, Nanoscience, Neuroscience, Photonics, and Structural Biology. The center operates 16 shared core facilities — including a 5,000-square-foot nanofabrication cleanroom, 600-800 MHz NMR spectrometers, imaging suites, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, MRI, and a rooftop observatory — accessible to CUNY faculty and students, external academic researchers, and approved government and industry users through a Badger-based reservation system.

ASRC's funding base is anchored by $31 million in annual research awards (2024-2025) drawn from government agencies, foundations, and private sources, supplemented by usage-based core facility user fees (academic and industry rates), private donations to the ASRC General Fund and Student Travel Fund, and affiliate faculty subscriptions. The center employs approximately 226 team members across research, technical, and administrative functions, and is led by an Executive Director (Mark Hauber) with five initiative directors, several holding Einstein Professor or Distinguished Professor appointments.

The center's go-to-market is community-led and event-driven rather than commercial: it engages CUNY's 25 campuses, runs the IlluminationSpace Hub for K-12 and community STEM outreach (3,000+ visitors), and has begun extending into translational and commercialization pathways through partnerships with Gotham Foundry, NYCEDC, the CUNY Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, NASA GISS, and Columbia CCSR. ASRC is not a commercial enterprise — it is a permanent public academic institution with no outside equity investors, no ownership changes, and revenue derived from appropriations and grants rather than product sales.

Name

Advanced Science Research Center

Legal name

Advanced Science Research Center at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Website

https://asrc.gc.cuny.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) is a CUNY Graduate Center public research center in Upper Manhattan that runs five interdisciplinary science initiatives (nanoscience, photonics, neuroscience, structural biology, environmental sciences) and operates 16 shared core facilities serving CUNY researchers, external academics, and approved government and industry users.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Research Universities with Comprehensive Graduate & Professional Schools (EDAHAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

STEM-Focused Research Universities (Engineering & Applied Sciences) (EDAHABAB), Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based) (EDAHAGAI)

Keywords

• Interdisciplinary research services
• Shared research facilities
• Academic core facilities
• Nanoscience photonics research
• University research center

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Funding: ASRC receives $31 million in research awards (2024-2025) from government agencies, foundations, and private sources to support its research programs
2. Core Facility User Fees: Charges for academic and industry users to access ASRC's advanced instrumentation and facilities
3. Private Donations: Gifts to the ASRC General Fund supporting student fellowships, community programming, and interdisciplinary research
4. Student Travel and Programs: Donations to Student Travel Fund supporting CUNY student travel to top conferences and research sites

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) at the CUNY Graduate Center is a university research center that operates five interdisciplinary research initiatives — Nanoscience, Photonics, Structural Biology, Neuroscience, and Environmental Sciences — within a 200,000-square-foot facility in Upper Manhattan. It provides shared access to 16 advanced core facilities and instruments (e.g., a 5,000-square-foot nanofabrication cleanroom, 600-800 MHz NMR spectrometers, MRI, mass spectrometry), supports graduate and postdoctoral training, and runs community STEM outreach through the IlluminationSpace Hub.

Product overview

The Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) at the CUNY Graduate Center is a research institution (not a commercial product company) that operates as a hub for interdisciplinary STEM research. Its core offering consists of five interconnected research initiatives (Nanoscience, Photonics, Structural Biology, Neuroscience, and Environmental Sciences) that occupy dedicated floors within its 200,000-square-foot facility. The ASRC provides shared research infrastructure including 16 core facilities with advanced instruments (Nanofabrication cleanroom, NMR spectrometers, imaging equipment, mass spectrometry, MRI), research fellowship and grant programs (Faculty Fellows, Seed Grants, Sensor CAT), and community outreach through its IlluminationSpace Hub. The five research initiatives work collaboratively, with researchers from different disciplines working side-by-side in shared core facilities, advancing scientific discovery across disciplines from biomedicine to environmental science.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nanoscience Initiative A core research program exploring matter at the molecular scale (1 to 100 billionths of a meter) to create new materials and devices advancing fields from biomedicine to energy production. Available to faculty, students, and visiting researchers.
• Photonics Initiative A core research program discovering new ways to control light, heat, radio waves, and sound for next-generation optical computers, ultrasensitive cameras, and cell phone technology. Available to faculty, students, and visiting researchers.
• Structural Biology Initiative A core research program drawing on physics and chemistry to explore biology at molecular and cellular levels to identify new ways to treat diseases. Available to faculty, students, and visiting researchers.
• Neuroscience Initiative A core research program studying how metabolic signals, physical forces, environmental cues, and social experiences induce molecular changes in brain cells to develop diagnostic tools and therapeutic approaches for neurological and psychiatric disorders. Available to faculty, students, and visiting researchers.
• Environmental Sciences Initiative A core research program addressing urgent environmental challenges with cutting-edge research, sensor technology, and interdisciplinary solutions, including affiliate faculty from NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Available to faculty, students, and visiting researchers.
• Core Facilities and Instrumentation 16 specialized shared research facilities including Nanofabrication (5,000-sq-ft cleanroom), Biomolecular NMR (600-800 MHz spectrometers), Imaging, Mass Spectrometry, MRI, MALDI-TOF MS Imaging, and Surface Science, available to academic and industry users on a fee basis.
• ASRC Sensor CAT (Center for Advanced Technology) An NSF-funded Center for Advanced Technology focused on sensor technology research and development, supporting external researchers through grant programs and technology commercialization efforts.
• NanoBioNYC A Ph.D. traineeship program dedicated to developing groundbreaking bio-nanoscience solutions, training doctoral students in nanobioscience research.
• Center for Glial Biology A multidisciplinary research and clinical program focused on glial biology and brain health, linking the neuroscience initiative with broader research activities.
• IlluminationSpace Hub

Quantifiable outcome

• $31 million in research awards in 2024-2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gotham FoundrycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2025Gotham Foundry is a sustainable materials innovation hub opened in September 2025 with $45 million in funding from NYCEDC. ASRC researchers participate in the Advanced Materials Pitch Competition as part of New York City's strategy to commercialize regenerative materials research. The foundry is projected to generate $5.14 billion in economic output over 30 years while creating over 650 jobs.
• New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2025NYCEDC partnered with Gotham Foundry and provided $20,000 Impact Award for the Advanced Materials Pitch Competition. Part of New York City's strategy to commercialize regenerative materials research.
• Columbia UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2025Columbia University provided $5,000 in funding as part of the $25,000 total award for the Advanced Materials Pitch Competition.
• NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASRC has affiliate faculty from NASA GISS including Susanne Bauer (Senior Research Scientist), Hayoung Bong (NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow), Allegra LeGrande (Physical Research Scientist), Larissa Nazarenko (Staff Associate), Joy Romanski (Senior Research Scientist), Gavin Schmidt (Chief), Nickolai Tausnev (Scientific Programmer). Research collaborations on climate and atmospheric science.
• Columbia University Center for Climate Systems Research (CCSR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASRC has affiliate faculty from Columbia CCSR including Susanne Bauer (Adjunct Senior Research Scientist), Allegra LeGrande (Adjunct Associate Research Scientist), Andrew Robertson (Senior Research Scientist), Larissa Nazarenko (Staff Associate), Joy Romanski (Associate Research Scientist).
• AFOSR MURIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAir Force Office of Scientific Research Multi-University Research Initiative supporting photonics research at ASRC.
• Simons CollaborationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on universal symmetry concepts in wave physics supporting ASRC Photonics Initiative.
• ASRC Sensor CATcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSF-funded center supporting sensor technology research and development at ASRC, with grant programs for external researchers.
• NanoBioNYCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram focused on developing groundbreaking bio-nanoscience solutions with Ph.D. traineeship program.
• Center for Glial BiologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultidisciplinary research and clinical program focused on glial biology, linking neuroscience initiative with broader research.
• NSF NewFoS Science and Technology CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASRC Photonics team part of $30M NSF center established to investigate new frontiers of sound science.
• New York Structural Biology CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJeffrey Kieft serves as Executive Director, connecting ASRC structural biology with the broader structural biology research community.
• CUNY Hub for Innovation and EntrepreneurshipcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocated near the ASRC in Upper Manhattan, this office will fast-track new technologies out of the laboratory and into the marketplace, supporting commercialization of intellectual property and emerging technologies.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Brookhaven National Laboratory: Brookhaven is a DOE national laboratory on Long Island with major facilities in nanoscience, photonics, and structural biology. ASRC's Photonics and Nanoscience initiatives compete with Brookhaven for the same federal grants (DOE, NSF), share similar user-facility models, and serve overlapping researcher communities in the NYC region.
• Rockefeller University: Rockefeller University is a premier NYC-based biomedical research institution with shared core facilities and a tradition of interdisciplinary basic science. While Rockefeller is more biomedically focused than ASRC's five-initiative model, both operate as research-intensive institutes within NYC, compete for the same federal grants and faculty talent, and rely on advanced core instrumentation.
• Princeton Materials Institute: Princeton's materials research institute pursues interdisciplinary work in nanoscience and photonics similar to ASRC's Nanoscience and Photonics initiatives. Both compete for NSF and DOE grants, recruit overlapping faculty talent, and operate as university-based research hubs with shared core facilities — though Princeton's institute is part of a private institution with deeper endowment resources.
• NYU Langone Health Neuroscience Institute: NYU's Neuroscience Institute pursues interdisciplinary brain research with shared imaging and molecular biology infrastructure, similar to ASRC's Neuroscience Initiative. Both institutions are based in NYC, compete for the same NIH and NSF neuroscience funding, and recruit from overlapping neuroscience talent pools — though NYU operates with substantially larger clinical research resources.
• Caltech Beckman Institute: Caltech's Beckman Institute is a multidisciplinary research hub spanning biology, chemistry, and materials science with shared instrumentation facilities. ASRC's interdisciplinary five-initiative model mirrors Beckman's structure, and both compete for top faculty talent and federal research grants, though Caltech's smaller institutional scale and private endowment provide different resource dynamics.
• Columbia University Zuckerman Institute: Columbia's Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute is a large, well-funded interdisciplinary neuroscience research center in New York City. Like ASRC, it pursues cross-disciplinary brain research with shared core facilities and high-profile PIs, but operates with substantially larger private-university resources and is more neuroscience-focused than ASRC's five-initiative breadth.

Direct peers

• MIT.nano: MIT.nano is MIT's dedicated nanoscience and nanofabrication facility offering advanced cleanroom and characterization instrumentation to MIT researchers and external users. Like ASRC's Nanofabrication Facility, it operates as a shared core facility, charges user fees for industry/academic access, and supports interdisciplinary nanoscience — making it one of ASRC's most direct national peers for that capability.
• Stanford Nano Shared Facilities: Stanford's Nano Shared Facilities provide advanced nanofabrication and characterization instrumentation to Stanford researchers and external users on a fee-for-service basis. The facility model — shared cleanroom, electron beam lithography, AFM, mass spectrometry — directly parallels ASRC's Nanofabrication Facility and Imaging core.
• New York Structural Biology Center: NYSBC is a consortium-based structural biology research center in NYC where ASRC's Structural Biology Initiative Director (Jeffrey Kieft) serves as Executive Director. NYSBC shares advanced NMR and cryo-EM infrastructure with multiple NYC institutions and directly overlaps with ASRC's structural biology capabilities, making it the most directly comparable peer for that initiative.

Regional players

• Max Planck Institutes (network): The Max Planck Society operates a global network of independent interdisciplinary research institutes with shared core facilities and director-led initiatives, structurally similar to ASRC's initiative-based model. While geographically distant and publicly funded through the German government, Max Planck Institutes represent a comparable institutional template for how ASRC's five-initiative structure could scale over time.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/asrc_gc
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• Facebookfacebook.com/asrcgc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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