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 City College of New York (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, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) CREST (2011-2016) and NOAA Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies (CESSRST I & II) (2016-present) in various capacities including scientific research, education and training, teaching/pedagogy and administration.
Dr. Lakhankar with CCNY President, Dr. Vincent Boudreau
Over the years at CCNY, Dr. Lakhankar has designed and led three major field campaign sites and helped several graduate students conduct their research. These sites include- Snow-SAFE, Caribou, ME, Soil moisture field campaign (CUNY-SMART at Millbrook, NY and PR-SMART at Puerto Rico). As part of the Charles B. Rangel Infrastructure Workforce Initiative, Dr. Lakhankar teaches skills like Excel, GIS, Google Earth Mapping and StoryMap to historically underserved communities in order to provide them in-demand digital and operational skills. Additionally, since 2008, each summer, Dr. Lakhankar engages in organizing NYC wide workshops/courses to teach Geographical Information System (GIS) to a wide variety of students through summer programs.
Dr. Lakhankar has taught various courses at City College including GIS for Water Resources Engineering (CE-G0800), Introduction to Satellite Remote Sensing and Imaging (ENGR 30100), Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (ENGR 59910), Environmental Systems Science (SCIE 4104E), and GIS in Water Resources and Environmental Engineering (CE G0800). He has also delivered several seminars and lectures related to weather and climate issues. Dr. Lakhankar’s passion for teaching, research and community service is praise worthy. Read more about Dr. Lakhankar’s story in his own words here.
