CREST participated in the American Meteorological Society’s (AMS) 104th Annual Meeting held in Baltimore, Maryland from January 28 to February 1, 2024. CREST leadership including Dr. Reza Khanbilvardi, CREST Executive Director, Dr. Shakila Merchant, CUNY CREST HIRES Director and; staff including Mr. César Ortiz, CREST Office Manager and Dr. Liubov Kreminska, Administrative Director of the Earth System and Environmental Engineering (ESE) Degree Program at CCNY; students and affiliates participated in the event. As the co-chair of the 33rd Education Conference, Dr. Shakila Merchant helped convene 18 sessions, 3 joint sessions and one presidential session.Other CREST faculty and pillar members who attended included Drs. Regginald Blake and Hamidreza Nourouzi.
The theme of the meeting was Living in a Changing Environment and the goal was to ‘leverage the society’s collective strengths so that our broad community can define the steps and scientific advances necessary to minimize the impacts of climate change, and to engage policy makers and the public in that work.’ The meeting provided a great opportunity for participants including educators, scientific community, academic community etc., to learn about and address several aspects of climate science and services through discussions, panels, workshops, posters, and networking sessions, booths. Learn more about the conference here.
Dr. Shakila Merchant, who serves as the AMS Education Symposium Committee Co-Chair contributed to forwarding the goal of the meeting through co-chairing crucial sessions such as the Presidential Session PD14A -Unearthing Truth: Combating Disinformation in the Earth Sciences through Education and Communication. This session, brought together current leaders in the weather-water-climate enterprise and youth changemakers–the leaders of tomorrow. It included a highlight message from Dr. Richard Spinrad, NOAA Administrator, perspectives from Mr. Terris King II., environmental education and justice advocate and Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel, Chief Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists. NOAA’s new Youth Changemaker Ms. Jillian Stanton, also shared her eeBLUE Young Changemakers Fellowship projects related to climate change and its impacts on their local communities. Dr. Merchant co-chaired this session with Staci M. DeSchryver, Cherokee Trail High School Aurora and Lauren Gibson, NOAA. This session was a great opportunity for attendees to gain valuable insights on topics within the weather-water-climate enterprise. The session was moderated by eeBLUE youngchangemaker Ms. Jillian Stanton.”
Additionally, CREST helped attendees gain information on the institute and NOAA CESSRST program by participating in the pre-AMS student conference recruitment booth on January 27th and 28, 2024 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Maryland. Mr. Ortiz and Dr. Kreminska served as CESSRST II and ESE program recruiters. Over sixty students approached the CREST table to learn about the opportunities available. Over sixty (60) students exhibited interest in the CESSRST fellowship grant funded by NOAA EPP/MSI and the ESE undergraduate and graduate programs offered at the CCNY, Grove School of Engineering. CREST engaged with students from other states within the US, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and international educational institutions. Mr. Ortiz commented, “Such recruitment events allow us to engage with students who may not be well informed about opportunities like environmental sciences and fellowships opportunities. Attending this conference enabled us to showcase the CREST Institute as a hub of opportunities for college-bound students. It can be instrumental in engaging K-12 communities in connecting Engineering with their future educational plans.”
Further, CREST students gained invaluable opportunities for professional development, networking, and presenting their research at the Poster Session through this meeting.
Yanna Chen, Dr. Khanbilvardi, Dr. Norouzi, Sorbello Melendez (REU Scholar), Arhum Aamir (REU Scholar), Ethan Peters (REU Scholar), Dr. Reginald Blake, Dr. Brandon Jones (NSF/AGU), Kestor Todd (REU Scholar), Taseen Islam (REU Scholar), Aisha Malik (REU Scholar), and Julia Rivera
The meeting was engaging and a valuable experience for several CREST leaders, members, and students.
