The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies (NOAA-CESSRST) hosted an event for the City College community to encourage networking and collaboration with scientists across multiple fields.
NOAA-CESSRST is a cooperative science center with a goal to train US citizen students that are on track to graduate and exhibit the competencies necessary to join NOAA’s mission: “To understand and predict changes in climate, weather, ocean, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.”
A total of 60 attendees online and in person took the opportunity to engage with NOAA scientists at the ‘Building Coastal Research Partnerships with NOAA’ seminar, facilitated by Dr. Nia Rene.
The City College of New York was the lead institution hosted in partnership with an additional 5 universities representing California, Texas, Virginia, Maryland and Puerto Rico. Presenters from line offices within NOAA’s facilities shared their research, their journeys becoming NOAA scientists and sought out ways to engage with students and faculty on new research projects.
The scientists included: Dr. Lonnie Gonsalves representing National Ocean Service (NOS) and National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS); Artara Johnson of NOS and Cooperative Observer Program (CO-OP); Dr. Veeshan Narinesingh with Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), Reyhan Mehran for NOS and Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R); and Lisa Rosman of NOS and Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R).
Attendees had the opportunity to learn in-depth about how the presenter’s work connected to the mission-driven research and how it related to the NOAA-CESSRST program. The townhall style Q&A period along with one-on-one discussions added a crucial component for additional NOAA scientist interactions.
“They asked so many questions, from how to access the data and tools that NOAA has available online, and how to incorporate social science community engagement in the work that’s being done,” said Dr. Rene, “What was really special about it was that participants were able to expand their research topics to include what the professionals were discussing.”
Creating spaces to build meaningful collaborations between industry leaders and students was at the center of this event, which led to a NOAA Experiential Research and Training Opportunity (NERTO) being developed between a panelist and a student and faculty pair.
A major objective of this event and the work conducted at NOAA is to expand research areas and the access that students have to pursue research. One way that NOAA is able to do this is with the NOAA-CESSRST program which includes access to NOAA’s databases and programs, mentorship possibilities with mission-aligned scientists, and funding toward developing deeper research projects.
The NOAA-CESSRST program is one of many intended to prepare students for the blue economy and ensure success in their field of choice. “What NOAA-CESSRST is doing is building a skill set that can code, but also understand environmental science; combining the traditional disciplines with the AI and computer technology skills of today.” elaborated Dr. Rene.
As a student in NOAA-CESSRST you work closely with a faculty mentor to complete additional training in preparation for the NERTO internship. Dr. Rene herself took part in this program in her time as a master’s student working on hybrid green infrastructure. Her work focused on wastewater treatment; she was able to take her findings to the NOAA lab during her internship. While there, she worked on incubations of harmful algae to develop a system to filter our wastewater from homes along coastal regions to reduce the impact of algal blooms in their environment.
“I’ve learned to use more of my communication skills and more of my people skills,” Dr. Rene added. “I’ve also expanded my knowledge because it was very focused on chemistry to understand algae and plant-like organisms because they are impacted by those chemicals that I’m used to studying.”
After working with NOAA’s National Ocean Service as an Environmental Scientist for 4 years, her work with NOAA-CESSRST has continued, building on her experience to expand collaborations, support research initiatives, and strengthen connections between academia, government, and community partners. Her role prioritizes accelerating the process from research to commercialization or implementation across the northeast and expanding engagement with NOAA scientists at CUNY. Dr. René stated: “You don’t necessarily have to be a CESSRST fellow to connect with NOAA scientists,” adding, “NOAA is expansive, and we are looking to reach NGOs, the private sector, CUNY students/faculty, and beyond.”
The next NOAA-CESSRST event is the The Biennial Education and Science Forum taking place at City College of New York from July 20–23, 2026, which also marks the 25th anniversary of NOAA’s Educational Partnership Program (EPP)! The event will bring together NOAA scientists, faculty, fellows, and alumni from Cooperative Science Centers that have partnered with NOAA over the past 25 years. The forum will highlight the critical role that educational partners, including the four EPP Cooperative Science Centers, play in advancing NOAA’s mission. It also supports NOAA’s goal of building a strong, diverse workforce pipeline, having helped graduate over 2,000 students at 20 universities in NOAA-related fields since 2001.