Tony Liss, Provost
It is my great pleasure to announce that, after a nationwide search, Interim Dean Stephen O'Brien is now, pending approval of the CUNY Board of Trustees, the Martin & Michele Cohen Dean of Science. Professor O’Brien joined CCNY as an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry (now Chemistry & Biochemistry) in 2009. He served as Chair of that department from 2020 to 2025, becoming the Louis J. Curtman Chair in 2023. He stepped down from the Chairmanship last July to become the Interim Dean of Science.
Dean O’Brien is a materials scientist working at the intersection of nanotechnology, materials chemistry, and applied physics, with a focus on functional nanomaterials for energy and electronic applications. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the US Department of Education, and the NY State Energy Research & Development Authority, among other entities, and he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. In addition to an extensive teaching portfolio at City College and the Graduate Center, Dean O’Brien has supervised 12 PhD and 2 MS students to completion and continues to mentor doctoral and postdoctoral researchers.
Dean O’Brien’s long history as a faculty member, a Department Chair and, finally, Interim Dean will serve him well as we work to rebuild faculty numbers across the College, including the Division of Science, and in so doing, build the Division around its substantial strengths and the new opportunities that will define its future as the premier science program of the University.
Please join me in welcoming Dean O’Brien to the Martin & Michele Cohen Deanship of the Division of Science at City College.