Introducing a New Anchor Institution for the Center for Climate Solutions

Pro­grams, Research, and Activ­i­ties at The Exchange

The Exchange will host a diverse range of edu­ca­tion­al and train­ing pro­grams for all New York­ers, as well as research ded­i­cat­ed to devel­op­ing and deploy­ing cli­mate solu­tions to com­mu­ni­ties in New York City and around the world. High­lights include:

• Edu­ca­tion­al pro­grams that will pre­pare stu­dents at all lev­els for careers focused on cli­mate change across sci­ence, pol­i­cy, and advo­ca­cy. Pro­grams include a cli­mate solu­tions ​“semes­ter abroad” inten­sive pro­gram, fel­low­ship and intern­ship oppor­tu­ni­ties, con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion, and a com­mit­ment to offer­ing addi­tion­al career path­ways to stu­dents at the Urban Assem­bly New York Har­bor School through a New York State Path­ways in Tech­nol­o­gy (P‑Tech) program.
• Work­force Devel­op­ment and Jobs train­ing pro­grams, deliv­ered in part­ner­ship with local orga­ni­za­tions, includ­ing Green City Force, NYC Employ­ment and Train­ing Coali­tion, Non-Tra­di­tion­al Employ­ment for Women, and SolarOne, as well as a com­mit­ment to devel­op­ing a pro­gram with the New York State Build­ing Trades and Con­struc­tion Coun­cil that will offer con­struc­tion trade train­ing pro­grams focused on cli­mate resilient and sus­tain­able build­ing technologies.
• Research and Tech­nol­o­gy Accel­er­a­tor, with com­pet­i­tive­ly award­ed lab­o­ra­to­ry and demon­stra­tion space to aca­d­e­m­ic and entre­pre­neur­ial teams work­ing on research ini­tia­tives and cli­mate solu­tions that deliv­er imme­di­ate impact to front­line communities
• Cli­mate Tech Incu­ba­tor that will pri­or­i­tize minor­i­ty and women-owned busi­ness­es (MWBEs) and draw upon the exper­tise of busi­ness part­ners, includ­ing IBM, and BCG
• Grant oppor­tu­ni­ties and part­ner­ships with com­mu­ni­ty-based organizations.
• Pub­lic pro­grams, exhibits, spe­cial events, talks, and art, open to Gov­er­nors Island vis­i­tors to engage with the work of The Exchange

The Exchange’s Core Research Themes

• Envi­ron­men­tal jus­tice and inclu­sion: The Exchange will be ded­i­cat­ed to find­ing cli­mate change solu­tions that rec­on­cile glob­al inequities, reduce bur­dens, dis­trib­ute ben­e­fits more fair­ly, and redress past dis­crim­i­na­to­ry practices.
• Ener­gy, water, and food sys­tems: Instead of find­ing sus­tain­able cli­mate change solu­tions in frag­ment­ed silos, The Exchange will empha­size the inter­de­pen­dence of water, food, and ener­gy systems.
• Sus­tain­able urban envi­ron­ments: The Exchange will lead by exam­ple, as it will be unique­ly suit­ed to devel­op­ing and demon­strat­ing sus­tain­able, afford­able solu­tions for coastal and island communities.

The Phys­i­cal Campus

The design of The Exchange’s com­plet­ed Hub will enhance the exist­ing nat­ur­al, cul­tur­al, and edu­ca­tion­al resources that make Gov­er­nors Island unique. The ini­tial phase of the project will encompass:

• Aca­d­e­m­ic, research, and con­ven­ing spaces show­cas­ing sus­tain­able build­ing practices
• A blend of new con­struc­tion and thought­ful­ly restored his­toric buildings
• An addi­tion­al four acres of new pub­lic open space, enhanc­ing the Island’s exist­ing 120 acres of open space. 

The Hub will serve as a mod­el for sus­tain­abil­i­ty, deploy­ing ener­gy-pos­i­tive design strate­gies, includ­ing mass tim­ber con­struc­tion, a solar canopy, and adap­tive reuse of exist­ing build­ings. Skan­s­ka USA, recent­ly tapped as con­struc­tion man­ag­er, joins a team of world-class archi­tects, engi­neers, and project lead­ers, and oth­er indus­try lead­ers that The Exchange has assem­bled to cre­ate this inno­v­a­tive project.

About Stony Brook University

As one of the nation’s pre­mier research uni­ver­si­ties, Stony Brook Uni­ver­si­ty has been at the fore­front of dis­cov­ery in a num­ber of fields that will be cru­cial in the work of The Exchange. SBU’s School of Marine and Atmos­pher­ic Sci­ences has been a leader in severe storm research, weath­er pre­dic­tion, cli­mate change research, and mit­i­ga­tion efforts. SBU’s Renais­sance School of Med­i­cine con­ducts a broad range of inter­dis­ci­pli­nary research that address­es deter­mi­nants of health and ill­ness and the caus­es of health dis­par­i­ties. SBU’s Advanced Ener­gy Research Cen­ter is a leader in green ener­gy research. The Depart­ment of Ener­gy’s Brookhaven Nation­al Lab­o­ra­to­ry, which SBU man­ages, pur­sues inno­v­a­tive ener­gy research with a focus on effi­cien­cy, con­ser­va­tion, renew­able ener­gy, and nan­otech­nol­o­gy appli­ca­tions for new and nov­el sources of ener­gy. In The Exchange, Stony Brook will col­lab­o­rate with oth­er out­stand­ing aca­d­e­m­ic insti­tu­tions and phil­an­thropic, com­mu­ni­ty, and cor­po­rate part­ners to pool exper­tise, expe­ri­ence, and insights to bring inno­v­a­tive cli­mate solu­tions to market.