Columbia University
Columbia University is a leading Ivy League research university in New York City, founded in 1754. It comprises undergraduate and graduate programs across 17+ schools, a world-renowned medical center, nearly 200 research centers and institutes, and extensive campus-life and student-services resources. Columbia supports broad disciplinary research (examples in the new content: extensive faculty-hosted publications and CVs such as those for Dustin R. Rubenstein), interdisciplinary initiatives (Columbia Climate School, Columbia Global Centers), and public events, conferences and workshops. Faculty labs and departmental pages host teaching and research materials (lecture notes, method papers, and open-access PDFs). Columbia also preserves and documents its technological and computing heritage: the IBM 650 Magnetic Drum Data Processing Machine was the first general-purpose computer installed and used at Columbia (Watson Scientific Computing Laboratory, installed beginning August 1955), and important early software work (e.g., the SOAP assembler) and intensive computing courses were developed and taught on these machines. Recent leadership transitions and active public programming continue alongside ongoing research expansion and global engagement. (Overview synthesized from Columbia University pages, faculty-hosted materials, and the Columbia Computing History archive.)
Columbia University
90 Morningside Drive (office); 851-854 Schermerhorn Extension (lab)
Patents
Gene therapy for diseases caused by unbalanced nucleotide pools including mitochondrial DNA depletion syndromes
2025-09-23 • US-12419970-B2
View DetailsCompositions and methods for visible-light-controlled ruthenium-catalyzed olefin metathesis
2025-08-05 • US-12377407-B2
View DetailsWhat We Do
Online courses, programs, and events available through Columbia’s Columbia+ platform.
University news and multimedia content showcasing research, campus life, and impact (includes YouTube channel "Columbia Today and Beyond").
Statistical snapshot of the University — enrollment, facts, and institutional metrics maintained by the Office of Planning and Institutional Research.
University events and calendars (lectures, conferences, exhibitions, and community events) coordinated across campus units.
Graduate-level lecture notes on continuous-time Markov chains (CTMC): formal CTMC definition, exponential holding times, transition rate matrix (Q), embedded discrete-time chain, Chapman–Kolmogorov equations, Kolmogorov backward equations P'(t)=Q P(t) with solution P(t)=e^{Qt}, balance equations and stationary distributions, and worked examples (Poisson process, M/M/1, M/M/c, M/M/∞, birth-death processes, Jackson networks). (Lecture notes authored/hosted by Karl Sigman.)
Focused lecture/notes on the gambler's ruin problem (solution formula for hitting probabilities, limit behavior as N→∞, insurance and risk examples, random walk hitting probabilities and worked examples). Useful for courses in stochastic processes and applied probability.
Psychological and Cognitive Health and Performance
Key People
Thomas Hunt Morgan Professor of Conservation Biology; Professor, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology; Director / Principal Investigator, Rubenstein Lab (Columbia University)
Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (author of FCLT review; coauthor of CTMC hedge-fund lockup paper)
Author (Gambler’s Ruin / Stochastic Processes lecture notes), Columbia-affiliated
20th President (named 2023; first female president) — former
Chief Executive Officer, Columbia University Irving Medical Center; appointed Interim President (Aug 2024) before returning to medical center leadership
Board of Trustees Co-Chair; appointed Acting President (Mar 28, 2025)
News & Updates
Dustin R. Rubenstein appointed Thomas Hunt Morgan Professor of Conservation Biology at Columbia University (endowed professorship).
Named a Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer (2025).
Dustin Rubenstein was named a Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer for 2026–2028 (Rubenstein Lab announcement).
Dustin R. Rubenstein elected a Fellow of AAAS in recognition of contributions to science.
Recipient of Columbia University's Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Award.
Named a National Geographic Explorer in recognition of research and field work.