For more than a century-and-a-half, the Cooper Union End of Year Show has marked its students’ transition from studios, laboratories and classrooms to the gallery. A time honored tradition, the first recorded exhibition took place in 1860 at the historic Foundation Building, now joined by 41 Cooper Square, the institution’s LEED Platinum academic building. Works on view represent the culmination of each student’s unique experience in Cooper Union’s top ranked programs. Prominent Cooper Union alumni of the past century include Alex Katz (visual art), Daniel Libeskind (architecture) and Russell Hulse (physics). Admission is free and open to the public.

Opening night: Monday, May 21, 2012, 5–9 p.m.

Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture Through June 9, 2012 Foundation Building, 7 East 7th St., b/w 3rd and 4th Aves. An exhibition of student works that explores the role of architecture in contemporary culture and society through conceptual and scaled drawings, detailed three dimensional models and digital renderings. Projects range from the development of new methods of drawing and investigating space to proposals for New York City and sites in Darwin, Australia; a military area on the border between North and South Korea; Lima, Peru; a rural area of Kansas, and other locations. The Cooper Union End of Year Show has become a significant New York City tradition that has consistently showcased innovative and visionary projects by emerging architects, helping to launch the careers of such notable alumni as John Hejduk, Elizabeth Diller, Ricardo Scofidio, Shigeru Ban, Laurie Hawkinson, Diane Lewis, Stanley Allen, Daniel Libeskind, Toshiko Mori and Rolf Ohlhausen.

The School of Art** Through June 9, 2012 Foundation Building, 7 East 7th St., b/w 3rd and 4th Aves. With a commitment to radical and experimental exploration, the School of Art’s experience based curriculum has produced some of the most compelling individual and collaborative projects, year after year. Illustrating the school’s continuing role as an incubator of significant artists from historically influential artists: from Alex Katz, Eva Hesse and Lee Krasner to recent alumni including the Bruce High Quality Foundation and Sara VanDerBeek. A diversity of sculpture, painting, graphic design and video installations will be on view in gallery spaces in the Foundation Building and 41 Cooper Square.

Albert Nerken School of Engineering Through June 3, 2012 41 Cooper Square, 3rd Ave., b/w 6th and 7th Sts. Representing the different engineering disciplines, a dynamic array of projects will be on view for live demonstrations including battling robots, an interactive display for deaf children, a student designed friction welder, a pumpkin chucking catapult, augmented reality interactive posters, and the design and construction of a Formula 1 race car. The installation at 41 Cooper Square, Cooper Union’s LEED Platinum building, showcases the inventive and invaluable outcomes generated by the fields of mechanical, electrical, civil, and chemical engineering.