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The Research Foundation of The City University of New York
For almost forty years, Professor Kornblum has stud-
ied the human use of natural areas in metropolitan
regions. His project,
Ethnographic Overview and
Assessment of the Jamaica Bay Unit, Gateway National
Recreation Area,
is a two-year, $95,000, award funded
by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Professor
Kornblum (with assistance from Professor Kristen
Van Hooreweghe at SUNY Potsdam) investigates the
changes that have occurred in certain communities
since the first urban national park, Gateway National
Recreation Area, was created in 1972. He conducts
quantitative demographic analyses using census
reports, interviews and surveys to understand changes
in the population around the bay and examines how
the population utilizes the bay’s resources (waters,
marshland, and beaches). The ethnographic data and
reports generated from his study will assist National
Park Service planners in developing a master plan for
Gateway. “This is a study of how people are intimately
connected to the bay and the natural environment they
find around them and I like to be exactly where these
connections are made and to try to use research to have
some type of impact on the outcomes of the project.”
After serving as volunteer professor for a high school
robotic competition, Professor Zhang was inspired
to design a similar program at his college. He intro-
duced mechatronic technology at the college through
his three-year, $771,000 NSF grant,
Learning Product
Design through Hands-on Mechatronic Projects.
Mechatronics is the integration of mechanical and
electrical engineering and many products we utilize
such as cars or planes are mechatronic in nature.
Professor Zhang focuses on teaching students the
importance of teamwork and collaboration in design-
ing and developing mechatronic products such as
the “Spiderbot,” which climbs up walls. “We have sent
six teams to participate in collegial competitions and
since establishing the Mechatronics Technology Center,
we have many students who want to participate.”
William Kornblum,
Professor, Sociology
The Graduate Center
Andy Shaojin Zhang,
Associate Professor,
Mechanical Engineering Technology
NYC College of Technology