With science and technology a strategic priority for NYU, new school will build on areas of renowned strength and further accelerate the university’s meteoric rise in research and Innovation
NYU Trustees Chair Evan R. Chesler, President Linda G. Mills, Provost Georgina Dopico, and Juan de Pablo—the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Executive Vice President for Global Science and Technology and executive dean of the Tandon School of Engineering—today announced the creation of the Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science. The new school will build upon NYU’s preeminence in mathematics, applied mathematics, data science, computer science, and engineering to further strengthen the university’s leadership at the frontiers of these disciplines; to prepare students more broadly for careers in computational fields; to contribute to the growth of the tech sector in New York and across the United States; and to accelerate NYU’s continued rise as a national leader in engineering and scientific research and innovation.
President Mills said, “Since the days when Richard Courant first created a mathematics institute at NYU—drawing in refugees possessing some of the finest mathematical minds— mathematics, applied mathematics, and computing have been areas of exceptional depth and influence for the university. Courant’s wisdom, vision, and insistence launched an academic enterprise whose participants engaged in incredible collaborations, earned the highest honors offered, and greatly advanced numerous academic fields.
“Today, we take the next step in the path that Richard Courant started us on: the creation of a new school that combines mathematics; the theory and application of computer science; and data science. This is a pivotal moment for NYU, marking a major advance in our strategic commitment to science and technology, and building on the remarkable ascent of NYU’s research enterprise over the past decade.”
Computing and the availability of large data sets have rapidly evolved to occupy a major role in most disciplines, and they continue to alter the way in which field-defining questions are posed, the way in which research is conducted, and how the future of work is being shaped. The launch of the new school represents a pivotal moment for NYU—enhancing focus and strengthening research in vital, inter-related disciplines. It will also mark a major step forward in President Mills’s strategic emphasis on advancing science and technology at the university. NYU’s research enterprise has seen a remarkable ascent over the past decade. According to the National Science Foundation’s annual Higher Education Research and Development survey (December 2024), NYU was named the top university in the state of New York for research funding. Nationally, the university has surged from #43 to #12, marking one of the fastest climbs in research rankings among all universities. Building on this momentum, the university —under the leadership of Executive Vice President de Pablo—expects to soon announce new research institutes, major faculty hires in the sciences, world-leading scientific conferences, and new space for laboratories.
Executive Vice President de Pablo said, “The creation of this new school represents a classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. It builds on NYU’s longstanding excellence in mathematics, data science, computer science, and engineering, and marks a bold step forward in preparing students for a future in mathematical, computational, and data-driven fields. Just as importantly, it will also further place New York as an undisputed international destination for science and technology—accelerating NYU’s remarkable rise as a national powerhouse that is second to none in research and innovation.”
The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences has a storied history, replete with honors, recognition, and scientific breakthroughs. Dating back to the 1940s, Richard Courant recruited world-class mathematicians and conceived of an advanced mathematics institute that would emphasize applied mathematics (the use of mathematical methods and techniques to solve practical problems in other fields, such as physics, medicine, computing, or engineering), collaboration, teaching, and developing generations of leading mathematicians. Courant’s vision was borne out, and the faculty, alumni, and students of the institute he established have been recipients of the Turing Prize, the Crafoord Prize, the Fields Medal, the National Medal of Science, and the Abel Prize, among many other top international awards, while contributing extraordinary advances to mathematical, computer, and data science, including neural networks, large language models, and other forms of AI.
The newly established school emerged from months of widespread consultation with faculty at the Courant Institute, the Center for Data Science, and the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Tandon School of Engineering. The multiple faculty groups involved developed a blueprint that will lead to a new school with unparalleled scholarship, widespread collaboration between areas of study, and a renewed focus on innovation. The new Courant Institute School will include the Department of Mathematics, which will build on Courant’s extraordinary strengths in both applied and pure math; the Center for Data Science; and an expanded Department of Computer Science (CS). The new CS department will link the two computer science departments in Courant and Tandon, enabling transformational cross-school collaboration; faculty in the new CS department will hold joint appointments in both Courant and Tandon.
Gérard Ben Arous—NYU’s Silver Professor of Mathematics—will serve as the new school’s inaugural dean. An international search for the school’s next dean will be announced in short order.