CREST hosted its first External Advisory Board Meeting (EAB) on December 3, 2024 at the Grove School of Engineering, City College of New York (CCNY). The meeting was well attended by CREST EAB members, Board of Directors, leadership & management, and graduate students.  

CREST EAB members are: 

  • Christian Braneon, Climate Scientist at National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
  • Frederick Kincheloe, Vice President at Savin Engineers
  • Jingli Yang, Founder and Principal of Earth Resource Technology 
  • Ozlen Ozkurt, Principal at ARUP Inc
  • Soroosh Sorooshian, Director, Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing in the Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine
  • Stephanie Schieffer, Principal Investigator/Scientist, Ball Aerospace
  • Ydanis Rodriguez, Commissioner of New York City Department of Transportation
  • Bojan Bojkov, Head of RS Division at EUMETSAT
  • Everette Joseph, Director, National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research 
  • Jay Lund, Vice Director, University of California Davis

The goal of the meeting was to help the new advisory board members  learn about CREST’s community, its history, operations, collaborations, activities, short and long term strategic plans.  During the meeting, attendees engaged in constructive discussions that resulted in curiosity-driven questions about the institute and preliminary suggestions. The meeting kicked off with opening and welcome remarks by Dr. Alex Couzis, Dean of Grove School of Engineering. followed by CREST’s leadership, Dr. Reza Khanbilvardi and Dr. Shakila Merchant providing an overview of the institute and its strategic plan respectively. Further, the EAB met with the CREST faculty and students to learn about their research, challenges, and goals. They also toured the CREST facilities such as the CUNY CREST Satellite Receiving Station (SRS) and LIDAR, Ocean and Coastal Monitoring facilities within the Optical Remote Sensing Labs. 

In the concluding session for the first half, CREST Research Scientist, Dr. Vartika Saman facilitated a discussion to define roles and expectations of the EAB, focusing on strategies to enhance CREST’s visibility and impact. Key topics included how EAB might support CREST in securing sustainable funding through grants and fundraising, as well as fostering partnerships with industry, academia, and government entities. The session also explored ways to leverage the EAB’s network to broaden CREST’s reach and strengthen its global reputation in Earth and environmental sciences. Additionally, initiatives to improve CREST’s presence within academic and professional communities to advance its strategic goals were discussed and EAB met with the CREST faculty and students to learn about their research, challenges, and goals. They also toured the CREST facilities such as the CUNY CREST Satellite Receiving Station (SRS) and LIDAR, Ocean and Coastal Monitoring facilities within the Optical Remote Sensing Labs.

The second half of the day included a closed door EAB meeting and the board composing their recommendations for the institute’s consideration. 

Several productive ideas and action items emerged from the meeting that the institute plans to work on and develop. Commenting on the success of the meeting, Dr. Khanbilvardi said, “We appreciate the questions by the Board, and their thoughtful recommendations which certainly help us with improving our productivities  in benefiting our society and students”