The CUNY CREST Bi-Monthly Bulletin

The City University of New York Remote Sensing Earth Systems Institute (CUNY CREST) Bi-Monthly Bulletin is an initiative to keep you up to-date on the Institute’s success stories, events, opportunities, highlights, and more.

Dr. Reza Khanbilvardi

CUNY CREST HIRES Director, Dr. Shakila Merchant participated in the State-Wide Natural and Nature- Based Feature (NNBF) Symposium held at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC), New York on April 30, 2024. This event was part of an initiative by the Science and Resilience Institute, Jamaica Bay (SRIJB) in collaboration with New York Sea Grant that aims to apply and share emerging knowledge about NNBF.

The symposium aimed to ‘coordinate across the state of New York to learn, share and inform challenges and success of shoreline planning, design, and management practices and was hosted  concurrently in four different locations.

CREST launched its Deliver, Dialogue, Discuss, and Discourse (D4) Series with a kick-off seminar on May 14, 2024 at the City College of New York and virtually. Dr. Santosh Kumar, former Senior Advisor, National Institute of Disaster Management, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India was the speaker. His talk focussed on Enhancing Global Disaster Resilience with Innovations & Opportunities and a Review of India’s Approach to Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy. Attendees gained insights into several important topics such as India's holistic Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies, methodologies, gender sensitive approach to DRR, community-based initiatives & role of local communities in disaster preparedness and response.

Sor Bello and Jose Armando Keppis are the recipients of the 2024 National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI) Undergraduate Scholarship (USP) Awards. They began the internship in May 2024 at Silver Springs Maryland and will continue until May 2026. Sor and Jose are currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Earth System Science and Environmental Engineering at the CCNY.

Sor’s research focuses on Using Satellite Data to Evaluate Equity Power in Power Restoration After Extreme Weather Events. She is mentored by CUNY CREST HIRES Director, Dr. Shakila Merchant from CCNY and Dr. Julie Hoover, Sr. Communications and STEM engagement Specialist from NOAA. Jose’s research focuses on Using VIIRS Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity to Compare and Contrast the Effects of Urban Heat Islands (UHI) on Socially Vulnerable Populations Living in Urban and Rural Settings. Jose is mentored by Dr. Natasha White from the NOAA Office of Education.

CREST Team with CREST & NOAA CESSRST Alumna, Ashley Bailey (2nd from left)

Dr. Shakila Merchant, CUNY CREST HIRES Director, Mr. César Ortiz, CREST Office Manager, Dr. Liubov Kreminska, Associate Director for Administration and Advising, Earth System and Environmental Engineering (ESE) Program at CCNY, and Ms. Srishti Tyagi, CREST Communication Manager participated in the NYSCI Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) Career Expo held in New York, NY on May 17, 2024. CREST team, through its booth, engaged with several high-schoolers and professionals. They informed and educated them on several opportunities within CREST, City College, ESE, and NOAA Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies (CESSRST II). 

CUNY CREST HIRES Director, Dr. Shakila Merchant attended the American Society of Civil Engineers Gala that celebrated Cities of the Future:a giant-screen film experience held at the Brooklyn Tech High School in New York, NY on May 18, 2024. During the event, Dr. Merchant participated in activities such as various engineering lab visits. She interacted with several BTSS students and potential college students who were very much interested in the CUNY HIRES summer program. 

CUNY Graduate Center Doctoral Student, NOAA CESSRST II Fellow, and CUNY CREST HIRES Mentor, Richard Rivera participated in the community outreach event on incorporating equity and justice into National Weather Service (NWS) products on May 18, 2024. The purpose of this event was to engage with the community to gather information on their knowledge of weather and its related phenomena/topics. Richard gained useful insights by talking to the attendees about the past, current, and anticipated weather patterns in Brooklyn.

CREST and the Earth Systems & Environmental Engineering degree program at the City College of New York (CCNY) co-hosted the Earth Systems Science & Environmental Engineering External Advisory Board (EEAB) Inaugural Meeting at the CCNY on June 12, 2024 at the Grove School of Engineering. New board members and CREST & ESE members attended the meeting.

The Board membership is composed of representatives from various organizations, including federal and regional governmental agencies, private, public and academia, who employ Earth system professionals and environmental engineering graduates and/or are involved in engineering education and research. Its role entails providing inputs and guidance to the ESE Executive Team. This new development is an important step forward to fulfill the mission of the ESE degree program.

CREST co-sponsored the Lidar/Radar workshop held at the City College of New York on June 13, 2024. The workshop was organized by NOAA CESSRST II and led by Melvin Felton, Deryck James, David Ligon, Huaqing Cai, and the team from Army Research Laboratory along with CREST Research Scientist, Dr. Tarendra Lakhankar. The workshop was attended by 2024 National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for undergraduates (REU) Interns, NOAA CESSRST II students, and CUNY CREST students.

Dr. Pei presenting his research at the AGU 2023 Conference

Dr. Te Pei joined the CREST institute as its affiliated faculty member in Spring 2024. Dr. Pei is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering. He teaches Geotechnical Engineering/Geomechanics. Dr. Pei’s research currently focuses on integrating geotechnical engineering with advanced machine learning techniques to enhance landslide prediction accuracy and our understanding of landslide triggers. Dr. Pei is dedicated to interdisciplinary collaboration and the integration of teaching and research. He received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 2023.

CREST congratulates its students who graduated this semester and wish them a bright future ahead. In the picture above, Dr. Luba Kreminska, Associate Director for Administration and Advising, Earth System and Environmental Engineering (ESE) Program at CCNY is seen along with (left to right, sitting row) Sameeha Malikah; Kuan Li Phang; Ibrahim Jajere; Abouelker Mohamed & (left to right, standing) Nakya Stewart; Sahib Mostafa; Rony John; Mariel Aracena Firpo; Alexander Klaver; Faal Baba ; Andrew Dixon; and Arman Mridha.

The institute is excited to engage in yet another summer filled with learning, research, field trips, workshops, and more!

Welcoming HIRES Students and Parents/Guardians at 

HIRES Networking Reception

On June 20, 2024, CUNY CREST High School Initiative in Remote Sensing of the Earth Systems Engineering and Sciences (HIRES) welcomed its students and their parents/guardians to the networking reception at the Grove School of Engineering, CCNY. The interactive event helped attendees gain important details on the HIRES program and the opportunity to network. It also provided the participants a chance to ask questions and share their thoughts!

Summer Programs Begin!

The institute kicked off the Summer Bridge and the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program on June 10, 2024 and the CUNY CREST HIRES program on June 27, 2024.

 Stipend Overview and Paperwork Session being Conducted by CREST Office Manager, Cesar Ortiz

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies (NOAA CESSRST) II is one of the four Cooperative Science Centers. The program is funded by the NOAA Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving institutions (EPP/MSI). It provides the education and training for graduates to form a pathway to workforce opportunities within NOAA and the NOAA mission enterprise. 

About the CUNY CREST Institute

The CUNY CREST institute was officially approved in June 2010 and inaugurated on November 29, 2010. It is a collation of interdisciplinary researchers across CUNY system who are passionate about addressing grand societal challenges through advanced Earth System Sensing technologies, raising awareness, engaging secondary & postsecondary students & community outreach. The institute is designed to provide a collaborative environment for faculty and scientists from various CUNY campuses to engage in the field of Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing. This environment helps create opportunities to attract external funding and bring in new resources for the faculty, students, and CUNY as a whole. For additional information, visit crest.cuny.edu.