Other Highlights
CREST Members Participated in the Future of the Higher Education Workshop Hosted by The Indus Entrepreneurship (TiE) and MIT World Peace University, India
On Oct 9, 2025, Dr. Shakila Merchant and Dr. Tarendra Lakhankar were invited to participate in a joint Global Visioning Conference titled 𝗖𝗼-𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, held by Dr. Vishwanath Karad MITWPU (Maharashtra Institute of Technology World Peace University, India) in collaboration with New Jersey Institute of Technology, TiE New Jersey and Choose New Jersey, Inc.. The event brought together Engineers, Scientists, Education, Technologists and Entrepreneurs from India and US to discuss critical topics related to growing academia-industry innovation ecosystems; urgency on developing skills in the age of AI; and transdisciplinary approaches to higher education.
As an outcome of this event, CUNY CREST Entrepreneurship Innovation and Venture Pillar is embarking on a partnership with TiE NY and TiE NJ to create a series of Entrepreneurship seminars in 2026 on Introduction to Entrepreneurship: Industry Speaker Series by TIE-New Jersey, that will comprise of 4 different topics focusing on how to build a successful research to entrepreneurial venture in the field of Earth System Sciences and Technology.
TiE Global, world’s largest community of Entrepreneurs, is a worldwide non-profit shaping the future of entrepreneurship through mentorship, education, and funding. TiE reach is across 12 countries across the world including USA, and it has been the bridge that connects dreamers to doers, ideas to execution, and ambition to action.The TiE New York and Tie New Jersey Chapter brings together entrepreneurs, investors and mentors to build meaningful relationships and expand networks that support individuals in their startup journey.
Dr. Shakila Merchant, CUNY CREST Deputy Director Invited to Serve as Chair of the UCAR Research Application Lab (RAL) Science Advisory Board, Boulder CO
Dr. Merchant was invited to serve as UCAR’s RAL Science Advisory Chair in October 2025. The 2-day RAL Science Advisory Panel meeting was held on October 28-29, 2025, at UCAR, Boulder CO. The 9-membered panel had the opportunity to learn about the incredible research and innovations that RAL Scientists and Engineers conduct that ranges from weather and transportation resilience, flood prediction, hydrology, air quality, convergent science to application of emerging technologies ranging from satellites to drones to AI/ML – all designed to bridge science and society.
The work conducted in RAL is not only world class and truly aligns with the NCAR’s mission of National Resilience by building a robust Earth System Science Society and Global Community by translating Earth system science into actionable community impact, strengthening partnerships across academia, government, and industry and Cultivating the next generation of scientists and mentors. The Panel concluded on a positive recommendations briefing and applauded the amazing work UCAR RAL does that benefits many Academic Institutions, Researchers, Students and early career professions across the world, the US, including CUNY and CREST Institute.
The Panel members include world class experts from academia, govt and industries Rex J Alexander – President, Five-Alpha LLC; Michael Barlage – NOAA/Global Systems Lab; Carol Anne Clayson – Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Liping Di – Director, Center for Spatial Information Science and Systems, George Mason University; Shakila Merchant, M.Phil, PhD., PMP – Research Professor, and CUNY CREST Deputy Director, City College of New York; Luke Peffers – CEO, Nexus Weather and Climate; Anil Rao – Senior Scientist, Aeris LLC; Astrid Suarez, Ph.D. – Chief Scientist of Weather, US Air Force; Volker Wulfmeyer – Professor, University of Hohenheim, Germany.
