Center for Optical Sensing and Imaging (COSI)

NASA COSI brochure (pdf)
NASA COSI Student Opportunities (pdf)

The Center for Optical Sensing and Imaging (COSI) is a University Research Center funded by NASA at the City College (CCNY) of the City University of New York (CUNY). The primary goal of this five-year, $6 Million interdisciplinary center is to develop improved sensing and imaging instruments and techniques, contributing to NASA research and future NASA missions. COSI is also designed to attract and train underrepresented minority students in related science and engineering disciplines.

COSI’s scientific and technological goals are to develop optical techniques and instruments for:

• Investigating and monitoring the atmosphere, oceans, and land;
• Imaging targets and transmitting optical signals through clouds, fog and ice;
• Laser radar, remote sensing and optical communications;
• Sensing microorganisms (e.g., bacteria) in the environment.

COSI researchers collaborate closely with NASA scientists and engineers, as well as industry partners such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and GER Inc., in order to maintain focus on NASA needs and to facilitate transfer of resultant technologies to the marketplace. The technologies under development by COSI scientists and engineers are expected to result in widespread real-world gains in the environmental, aeronautical, public security and military fields.

COSI has established a strong research, education and outreach program to recruit, train, mentor and graduate minority students in the sciences and engineering, expanding CCNY’s efforts in this area. COSI faculty provide graduate and undergraduate students with hands-on experimental training and is developing a vigorous K-12 science education program to train teachers and students at local middle and high schools. Our goal is to help train the next generation of scientists and engineers for the workforce, who are capable of bringing important research to new frontiers.