Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
The Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability is the hub of collaborative sustainability research at Cornell University, forging vital connections among researchers, students, staff, and external partners. The center’s funding and programming accelerate groundbreaking research within and across all of Cornell’s colleges and schools. In turn, the center is the university’s home to bold ideas and powerful new models that ensure people and the planet not only survive, but thrive. History. Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability grew out of the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future (CCSF), which was established in 2007  as a pilot program with support from alumnus David R. Atkinson '60 and his wife Patricia following a multiyear, cross-campus discussion about energy and sustainability. In 2010, the Atkinsons endowed the center with an $80 million gift, making it the largest gift ever received from an individual at Cornell University at that time. Recognizing that sustainability solutions cannot be limited to one field of inquiry and that discovery in one area may affect other parts of the whole, the center is home to 514 Faculty Fellows representing 12 Cornell University colleges and 90 departments. By providing startup  funding for cross-college collaborations, time-sensitive research, and external partnerships, the center supports pioneering discovery with real-world impact in food systems, energy transitions, climate, behavior, the built environment, and the linkages between human and environmental health. Research Support. The Atkinson Center supports Cornell University researchers through multiple funds and fellowships: Partner Organizations. Partner organizations include but are not limited to: