Glimpse into CREST’s Center for Climate Risk Applications Planning Meeting
CREST’s Business Development and Entrepreneurship Pillar Director and City University of New York Site Lead of the recently awarded planning grant – Center for Climate Risk Applications Industry University Cooperative Research Center’s (IUCRC), Harry Cikanek led the grant’s first mandatory planning meeting along with other leaders; Luis Ortiz from George Mason University (GMU) and Adam Schlosser from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), on March 3rd, 2025 at the City College of New York.
The meeting was well attended by participants including National Science Foundation (NSF) advisors, keynote speakers; Luis Ortiz, Center lead and GMU site lead, Adam Schlosser, MIT site lead, Harry Cikanek, CUNY site lead, CCNY vice provost for research, Dr. Ishita Mukerjee, Patrick Kelly, Aon Mock Industry Advisory Board chair, as well as twenty-two (22) other industry participants and Forty One (41) faculty and students from the three universities.
The goal of the meeting was to convene prospective industry members with the Center leadership, faculty, and students to present National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) overviews of the program, introduce Center planning and value proposition, showcase candidate research projects and conduct mock industry voting with an eye toward recruiting industry members to support the Center with a letter of commitment, and to refine planning in preparation for developing and submitting a Phase I Center proposal to NSF.
The meeting was structured to have not only formal sessions to conduct all the required business but also social hour at breakfast and lunch and a poster session with drinks and hors d’oeuvres to foster greater interaction and networking between the CCRA academic team and prospective industry members. This allowed a showcase of current relevant research as well as the event enabled greater depth in discussion on industry needs and proposed projects. Mr. Cikanek said, “We were pleased with the level of discussion and interaction, receiving very positive feedback from prospective industry members and faculty. Many comments were received on how much the academic industry discussions were valued. In the mandatory sessions, the CCRA received excellent qualitative and quantitative feedback to our prospective research projects which will be very valuable in preparing Phase I proposal and further industry recruitment.”
Mr. Cikanek believes that creating a research center at CUNY CREST, in partnership with GMU and MIT, will address the practical research needs of a major local industry facing environmental challenges and risks. This initiative will accelerate progress toward turning research into action, strengthen both community and global partnerships, and expand opportunities for students, postdocs, and faculty in remote sensing and Earth system science.
