Richard has been part of CREST since April, 2023. He has made significant contributions to the Institute’s mission. Richard began his Ph.D. degree in Earth and Environmental Science from the CUNY Graduate Center in fall 2023. His research will focus on, Microclimate, Coastal Flooding and Impacts on Communities in the Floodplains. The purpose of the research is to gauge projections on coastal impacts by sea level rising and subsidence. The end result is expected to incorporate weather station information to provide microclimate information, modeling of predicted sea level rise in New York City (NYC) and also provide information to support advising low income communities about climate change impacts. Richard began his NOAA EPP/MSI CESSRST II Fellowship in Fall 2023 under the mentorship of Dr. Reza Khanbilvardi.