The CUNY CREST Bulletin

The City University of New York Remote Sensing Earth Systems Institute 

(CUNY CREST) quarterly bulletin is an initiative to keep you up-to-date on the Institute’s success stories, events, opportunities, highlights, and more. Happy reading!

Dr. Reza Khanbilvardi

CREST hosted its Annual Retreat at the City College of New York's (CCNY) Center for Workers Education (CWE) located at 25 Broadway, Manhattan, NY on October 11, 2024. The retreat was well attended by CREST Board of Directors, Associate Directors, affiliated Center Directors, CREST leadership & management and CREST graduate students. The goal of the retreat was to revisit the CREST’s strategy toward growth, collaboration, and strengthening its role in addressing global and local challenges. During the retreat, attendees had constructive discussions and exchanged ideas, which resulted in the development of a strategic plan, robust ideas to foster cross-pillar collaborations, and a roadmap to fulfilling the institute's mission and purpose. 

On November 5, 2024, the first United University Hub (UNU) in the United States and the world’s first UNU hub uniquely focussed on the use of remote sensing and innovative technologies to work towards the sustainability of urban environments was launched at the City College of the City University of New York. Grove School of Engineering (GSOE) Dean Alexander Couzis and CREST Executive Director, Dr. Reza Khanbilvardi will serve as the executive co-directors of the UNU Hub at CCNY—Remote-Sensing and Sustainable Innovations for Resilient Urban Systems (R-SIRUS). Through this partnership, CCNY and UNU aim to engage in innovative research, training, and policy developments that focus on providing practical solutions to the growing problems of urban cities and regions, including coastal cities, under climate and Anthropogenic changes.

CREST affiliates and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) EPP MSI Cooperative Science Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies (CESSRST II) Director and Distinguished Research Scientist, Drs. Mitch Goldberg and Fred Moshary respectively, welcomed a new Research Scientist, Dr. Mina Kang in July 2024. Dr. Kang’s research focuses on validation of TEMPO L2 data with ground-based observations and atmospheric composition models. Dr. Kang’s research is part of the Joint Centers Research and Development Project (JCRDP), led by CESSRST II. Through her research, Dr. Kang aims to enhance satellite remote sensing research at CCNY and make substantial contributions to its application. Dr. Kang’s research interests include the calibration and validation of satellite and airborne instruments, as well as contributions to the Global Space-based Inter-Calibration System (GSICS) for ultraviolet and visible sensors.

Top-Bottom: Drs. Naresh Devineni and Prathap Ramamurthy.

CREST Faculty affiliate and Professor of Civil Engineering at CCNY, Dr. Naresh Devineni and CREST Faculty affiliate and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at CCNY, Dr. Prathap Ramamurthy have been selected to join the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NYPC) from fall 2024 through Summer 2027. The first panel meeting was held on November 5, 2024. Dr. Devineni brings his expertise on watersheds and droughts while Dr. Ramamurthy is contributing to understanding how climate change will impact extreme heat and air-quality episodes in NYC, to the panel. CREST congratulates its faculty for conducting meaningful research that contributes directly to NYC’s climate response.

CREST Research Scientist and Director of CREST Education & Training Pillar and CCNY Professor, Dr. Tarendra Lakhankar received the President’s Award for Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Service on September 10th, 2024 at the CCNY. The award was presented to Dr. Lakhankar by CCNY President, Dr. Vincent Boudreau and it is a testament of Dr. Lakhankar’s excellence and dedication in teaching at the institution. Dr. Lakhankar has contributed to the CUNY CREST, NOAA CREST (2011-2016) and NOAA CESSRST I & II (2016-present) in various capacities including scientific research, education and training, teaching/ pedagogy and administration.

Left-Right: Drs. Vincent Boudreau, Tarendra Lakhankar, Tony M. Liss.

Dr. Shakila Merchant, CUNY CREST HIRES Director along with CUNY Graduate Center Doctoral Student, NOAA CESSRST II Fellow, and CUNY CREST HIRES Mentor, Richard Rivera, and ESE club Circle K member Mr. Avirup Ray (Senior) participated in the Water’s Edge Beach Revival Activation on August 25, 2024 at the Far Rockaway, New York. This community beach clean up was attended by the CREST’s Living Shoreline and Environmental Justice project team led by Dr. Merchant and was co-sponsored by the institute. During the clean-up, attendees came together to partake in a morning filled with west-African folklore and sound healing.

Dr. Shakila Merchant, represented the institute at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Geoscience Research Experiences for Undergraduates workshop (GEO REU) and Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/ Hispanics and Native Americans in Science’s (SACNAS) Annual National Diversity in STEM (NDiSTEM) Conference in Phoenix, Arizona from October 29-30 and October 31-November 2, 2024 respectively. During the GEO REU workshop, Dr. Merchant participated in several activities including workshops, and group discussions on topics such as recruitment, admission process & practices, mentorship, and running successful REU programs. During the SACNAS conference, Dr. Merchant participated in sessions such as poster and oral presentations, dialogues, and engaged in the NOAA CESSRST II recruitment booth along with Dr. Faun Rockcliffe, CESSRST II Education Expert.

CREST attended the 2024 Heroes of High Ridge Walk/Run & Family & Community Resource Fair organized by the New Pathways Academy in NY on November 23, 2024. Dr. Shakila Merchant, CUNY CREST HIRES Director along with CREST members; Mr. Cesar Ortiz, Office Manager, Dr. Vartika C. Saman, Research Scientist, and Ms. Srishti Tyagi, Communication Manager participated and CREST HIRES Mentor and NOAA CESSRST II graduate fellow, Mr. Richard Rivera. During the District 9 resource fair at the Roberto Clemente State Park Gymnasium, CREST conducted outreach through its booth.

Distinguished scholars and researchers from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) visited the CCNY of the CUNY from October 31-November 1st. Researchers included Dr. Jan-Peter Weiss Director, UCAR COSMIC Program, Dr. Ying-Hwa (Bill) Kuo Director, UCAR Community Program (UCP), and Dr. Jiahua Zhang Project Scientist, UCAR COSMIC Program. During the first day of their visit, the UCAR UCP visitors participated in two crucial sessions followed by technical discussions and dialogues with CREST, NOAA CESSRST II, and CCNY faculty and members. The initial session included an informational seminar on internship and fellowship opportunities at NSF NCAR, UCAR, & UCP. The later session was part of the CREST Deliver, Dialogue, Discuss, and Discourse (D4) series where the visitors delivered a seminar on Global Navigation Satellite System Remote Sensing of the Earth's Atmosphere, Ionosphere, and Surface. On the second day of the visit, Drs. Weiss, Kuo, and Zhang toured the CREST facilities at CCNY.

CREST Faculty affiliate and Professor of Civil Engineering at CCNY, Dr. Naresh Devineni received two grants this fall. The first grant is entitled ‘Accelerating Research through International Network-to-Network Collaborations (AccelNet)’ and is sponsored by the NSF. For this project, researchers from North Carolina State University, CUNY, Columbia University, Texas A&M University (TAMU) and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) collaborate to build international network of networks to bolster sub-seasonal to seasonal (S2S) forecasts (NSF AccelNet), which will help protect infrastructure and natural resources in a changing world. The second grant is titled ‘A Global Synthesis of Flood Impacts: Understanding the Country- Level Vulnerability and Causes’ and is sponsored by the United States Geological Survey. Dr. Devineni hopes to leverage CREST’s access to remote sensing data and its products to conduct the synthesis research on flooding.

Top-Bottom: Harry Cikanek, Maria Tzortziou, Marzi Azarderakhsh.

CREST’s Business Development and Entrepreneurship Pillar Director, Harry Cikanek, CREST’s Research and Application Pillar Co-Director, Maria Tzortziou, CREST’s Environmental Justice & Social Science Pillar Co- Director, Marzi Azarderakhsh, and Akira Kawaguchi along with several other faculty from CUNY campuses received funding for: “IUCRC: Planning Grant: City University of New York: Center for Climate Risks Applications (CCRA).” Mr. Cikanek is the Site Lead and Principal Investigator and Drs. Tzortziou, Azarderakhsh, and Kawaguchi are Co-Principal Investigators on this grant. The researchers received $20,000 from the NSF for this project to build the Center. Funding began in September 2024 and will end in August 2025.

Thanksgiving Potluck

Members of the CREST, CESSRST II, & CCNY family got together over a potluck to celebrate the spirit of thanksgiving and reflect on the wonderful year they’ve had!

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.