NYU CUSP and COVID-19
CUSP Faculty, Researchers, and Students Respond to COVID-19
Faculty, researchers, and students at NYU CUSP have begun new research to understand the spread, impact, and threats from COVID-19 facing New York City and other cities worldwide. Learn more about our research and how it can be used to help the world to react better to this contagion and others in the future.
National Science Foundation Rapid Response Research (RAPID) Awards
NYU Tandon professors are quickly responding to the need to understand the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and thanks to National Science Foundation Rapid Response Research (RAPID) funding, earmarked for research with severe urgency, field and lab work is already apace for five projects that take advantage of the wealth of data about New York City. Professors Laefer, Porfiri, Torrens, Dvorkin, and Kontokosta are all members of Tandon’s Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP), an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to the application of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the service of urban communities around the globe.
CUSP in the News
More from Our Faculty & Affiliated Research Centers

One Size Doesn’t Fit All - Rumi Chunara
When collecting COVID-19 data and modeling epidemic curves, we need to take more into account—in Africa and elsewhere (via Think Global Health).

A Time for Reform: Philanthropy and the Push for Better State Policymaking - Neil Kleiman
New research outlines in light of COVID-19 how a growing network of foundations, universities and advocacy groups can advance new inter-governmental arrangements that can better support cities and local government (via Inside Philanthropy).

Using crowdsourcing and computer modeling to mitigate the effects of panic-buying - Quanyan Zhu
Professor Zhu's research simulates panic-buying behavior with the aim to provide authorities with information needed to adequately allocate and provide resources (via NYU Tandon School of Engineering).

A breakthrough in estimating the size of a (mostly hidden) network - Maurizio Porfiri
NYU Tandon and CUSP Institute Professor Maurizio Porfiri has given researchers a new tool to understand computing, the spread of diseases like COVID-19, and other complex systems (via NYU Tandon School of Engineering).

Sunlight’s ultraviolet wavelengths have strengths, limitations in disinfecting against the coronavirus - Andrea Silverman
“Sunlight definitely kills things. It’s just really slow,” says Andrea Silverman, who studies the role of sunlight in virus decay such as in natural wastewater treatment pond systems (via The Washington Post).

C2SMART Research on the Effect of COVID-19 on Transportation Systems
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has brought profound changes to almost every aspect of transportation. C2SMART researchers have launched new initiatives to observe how transportation systems are being affected.

The GovLab launches coronavirus resource database
NYU research center The GovLab has compiled a comprehensive global library of apps and initiatives used by city and national governments in fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The repository is part of a call for action from the research group to build a responsible infrastructure for a data-driven pandemic response.

COVID-19 transforms health care through telemedicine: evidence from the field - Rumi Chunara and Oded Nov
A new paper by Assistant Professor Rumi Chunara and Associate Professor Oded Nov provides data on the feasibility and impact of video-enabled telemedicine use among patients and providers and its impact on urgent and non-urgent health care delivery from one large health system at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Using Digital Data to Protect and Promote the Most Vulnerable in the Fight Against COVID-19 - Rumi Chunara
A new paper by Assistant Professor Rumi Chunara and Assistant Professor Stephanie Cook examines the numerous, important ways in which digital data is critical in public health preparedness and response.

Here’s the Latest Good (and Bad) News About the Coronavirus - Yury Dvorkin
Assistant Professor Yury Dvorkin was quoted in New York Magazine about the impact of COVID-19 on the City’s cooling needs.

Researchers tracking COVID-19 in wastewater to join forces on framework for translating data into a public health response
New research by Assistant Professor Andrea Silverman explores COVID-19 in wastewater and its potential transmission, compared to other coronaviruses (press release via NYU Tandon)