Student Support Program

Eshwanth Asok

From May 19-22, 2024, I had the privilege of presenting at the World Environmental and Water Resource Congress (EWRI) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin supported by the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI) student support fund. This marked a significant milestone in my academic journey, as it was my first presentation at an international conference of this scale.

EWRI is the recognized leader within ASCE for integrating technical expertise and public policy in planning, designing, constructing, and operating environmentally sound and sustainable infrastructure impacting air, land, and water resources. The 2024 Congress event featured 12 concurrent technical tracks and approximately over 800 leading engineers, scientists, researchers, and students from different countries attended this event. The conference included diverse programs including technical sessions, workshops, keynote presentations by renowned experts from industry and academia, and panel discussions.

This conference provided a rich platform for exchanging knowledge and ideas in Water resource management and Environmental Engineering. The technical sessions at this conference were particularly related to my research and provided insights into cutting-edge research and innovative practices that are shaping the future of Water and Environmental Engineering. I participated in technical workshops on topics like How to Build Reliability in the Results of Numerical Modeling, and Web-based flood inundation modeling enriched my research and technical skills and provided me with experience with state-of-the-art tools and methodologies. I also attended keynote presentations by international speakers who shared their expertise on global water challenges, policy implications of environmental engineering solutions, application of advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling in water supply and treatment technologies, and the future of renewable energy technologies to help fight water pollution. These presentations offered a broad perspective on the societal impacts of our work as environmental engineers. This event facilitated networking with peers, professionals, and leading researchers from around the world. Engaging in discussions during sessions and networking events allowed me to exchange ideas, establish connections, and explore potential collaborations for future research projects and jobs.

Eshwanth and his advisor Dr. Roger Wang at the EWRI conference 2024 in Milwaukee, WI.

My presentation titled “ Environmental Co-design: Reconfigurable Hydrokinetic Turbine Arrays for Sustainable Energy in the Lower Mississippi Region” was part of the Renewables and Water session on the last day of the conference. It focused on examining the environmental factors affecting the hydrokinetic energy harvesting in the Lower Mississippi region particularly in Baton Rogue. To be precise, I presented my newly developed probabilistic model to estimate the fish collision risk by turbine blades based on the results from CFD modeling of the river channel. Along with it, I showcased the model results based on our ducted turbine design and suggested mitigation strategies based on the local fish population at the site. In return, the audience responded positively to my presentation, engaging in insightful discussions and posing thought-provoking questions. Their feedback and suggestions were constructive, offering perspectives for future research work. It was rewarding to receive recognition for work from experts in the field, reinforcing the relevance and impact of my research endeavors.

Eshwanth presenting his research findings at the Renewables and Water session in EWRI Congress 2024.

This memorable experience helped me gain confidence as a researcher and communicator, sharing my research findings and fostering meaningful connections within the global community of environmental and water resources professionals. I am very grateful for the support of RCEI and look forward to building upon this experience to contribute meaningfully to the field of environmental engineering.

Luncheon networking event with peers, professionals, and researchers at the conference.

Antonio De Chellis

In February 2024, I was privileged to attend the Biophysical Society Annual meeting that was held in Philadelphia with support provided to me by the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute. Having a primarily biochemical background myself, this was a rewarding experience to meet, interact, learn, and gain advice from biophysicists both young and experienced. While at this conference I was able to attend and participate in keynote sessions and attended various lectures covering a wide array of topics in biophysics including a lecture by a Nobel laureate. These sessions provided valuable insights into cutting-edge research and technological advancements in the field that could be applied to my own work. Additionally, while at the conference I had the opportunity to present a poster on my research focused on engineering enzymes for sustainable biofuel production. This poster session was a great opportunity to discuss my research with experts from across the country, as well as network with potential new collaborators. Additionally, there was a wide range of exhibitors present at the conference allowing me to meet with suppliers I’ve interacted with previously, as well as make new connections and be introduced the new and exciting technology in the field.

This conference provided a unique opportunity to advance my career as a researcher. Aside from just learning new information, one of the most valuable experiences was being able to interact with collaborators I work with across the country. In this era of zoom meetings and online interactions, actually being able to meet in person, discuss our results, troubleshoot issues, and brainstorm new ideas for collaboration was invaluable. Additionally, I was able to explain my research to groups that it may have not reached otherwise, thus expanding my network and potential collaborators. All in all, this was a tremendous experience integral to my career development, and I am thankful to the RCEI for their support!

Antonio De Chellis presenting his research on engineered enzymes for biofuel production at the BPS annual meeting poster session

A view from right outside the convention center where BPS meeting was held.

Joe Gradone

The Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute helped support my attendance to the 2024 International Underwater Glider Conference (IUGC) in Gothenburg, Sweden. This conference was a 5-day event where members of the underwater glider community could engage in dialogue, share experiences, and develop best practices to strengthen international collaboration. It was a great opportunity to enhance community efforts and share the latest in scientific research and operational developments. The event included plenaries, workshops, training, break-out, and poster sessions.

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) plays a pivotal role in regulating global climate by transporting about a quarter of the northern hemisphere's atmospheric-ocean heat northward. The Caribbean Sea serves as a vital nexus within the AMOC, where water masses from the North and South Atlantic converge to form the Caribbean Current, a precursor to the Gulf Stream. Recent evidence suggests the AMOC may be slowing, with profound implications for climate stability, including accelerated sea level rise, extreme weather events and biogeochemical processes. Despite its significance, the Caribbean through flow (CTF) has historically lacked sufficient observational data. My research has focused on conducting exploratory autonomous underwater glider deployments throughout the Caribbean Sea to contribute to filling the observational data gap in this region. I have performed a unique comparison of these glider observations with historical ship-based data, revealing notable changes in water mass properties within the CTF. Analysis of temperature and salinity profiles collected in the Caribbean Sea since 1960 shows a decadal upper ocean warming and salinification trend that has significantly increased upper ocean stability.

I was thrilled to be able to present this research in a talk “Exploratory Glider Deployments Reveal Changes in the Upper Oceanic Water Masses of the Caribbean Through-Flow” at the IUGC. This opportunity allowed me build more international collaborations and learn from the greater glider communities. I am grateful to the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute for helping to make this travel possible and supporting a pivotal experience in my education. Tack Tack! (Thank you!)

Top & Bottom, Joe Gradone presenting at the International Underwater Glider Conference.

Model of Teledyne Webb Research's new Sentinel Glider along with members of the team of scientists and engineers assisting with piloting this vehicle around the world.

Setting of the International Underwater Glider Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Austin Grubb

I attended my first (in-person) Ocean Sciences Meeting (OSM 2024) in New Orleans, LA from February 18-23, 2024. OSM is the semiannual flagship conference for the ocean sciences and the larger ocean-connected community, and it connects ocean scientists from interdisciplinary backgrounds, along with others like policymakers and educators.

My dissertation work focuses on phytoplankton, which perform half of the photosynthesis on the planet. As key players in the global carbon cycle, phytoplankton influence the climate. I study a group of calcifying phytoplankton known as coccolithophores, which further impact the carbon cycle by producing calcium carbonate shells. I presented a poster on the cellular investments in calcification using empirical data, mathematical modeling, and transcriptomics, as well as went to a lot of interesting talks/posters about coccolithophores and phytoplankton in general. I also networked with potential future employers and attended talks, posters, and workshops regarding topics that I am interested in pursuing after my graduate work, including remote sensing of the ocean and marine policy.

Prior to OSM, I attended a two-day workshop about marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) projects managed by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP). These are a diverse group of interdisciplinary projects investigating the feasibility and ecosystem impacts of mCDR, which aims to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it long-term in the ocean. This year, I am contributing to one such project investigating the impact of ocean alkalinity enhancement (one mCDR strategy) on phytoplankton––specifically coccolithophores and diatoms. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change considers CDR (which includes marine and non-marine strategies)as an essential approach for limiting global warming to 1.5-2°C. Throughout the two-day workshop, I listened to talks from project leads on the science behind their techniques, what successes and challenges each team was facing, and the prospects of deploying strategies at scale. We also discussed the social and ethical implications of deploying (or not deploying) mCDR at scale as climate change progresses over the coming decades.

Thank you to the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute for financially supporting my travel to OSM 2024!

Graduate Student Austin Grubb with his poster, “ Cellular investments in calcification in the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi” at the 2024 Ocean Sciences Meeting in New Orleans, LA.

Wilson Guillory

I recently returned from a field trip to northeastern Brazil (Dec 3–13, 2024) with my PhD advisor at Rutgers Newark, Marcelo Gehara, and a fellow graduate student, Felipe Coelho. The Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI) student support program generously made this trip possible. The trip was an important capstone to my PhD research, as I was finally able to see the species and environments I have been studying for several years in person, meet many Brazilian researchers I had before only communicated with online, and collect biological material that is critical to future projects in my lab.

Our trip’s primary purpose was to collect a specimen of the lizard Ameivula ocellifera and prepare it for prompt shipment to the US for sequencing a high-quality reference genome, which will be used by my lab group in a variety of future studies examining genome-environment interactions in these lizards at various scales. I in particular will use the reference genome to identify which genes are under environmental selection at multiple spatial scales across the South American Dry Diagonal and the genus Ameivula, which consists of 11 described species. We were fortunately able to collect the sample during a trip to a restinga, a seasonally dry tropical forest habitat localized to sand dunes along Brazil’s eastern coast. Besides finding the Ameivula, this afforded me the opportunity to explore the environment these lizards occupy in real life, along with the plant and animal species they coexist with. I also learned capture techniques for these lizards such as the use of pitfall traps, which passively funnel small ground-dwelling animals into collection buckets.

Myself holding a bush anole (Polychrus acutirostris), a rare species found in the same restinga habitat as Ameivula ocellifera. We caught our Ameivula only a few yards from where we found this lizard.

Besides capturing the Ameivula sample, we also took several more excursions into various habitats in the region, such as the Caatinga dry forest and the Atlantic rainforest. Through these trips I learned more about the various environments and fauna of northeastern Brazil and gained experience in finding and capturing reptiles and amphibians there. We encountered a great number of species that I had before only read about in the literature.

Hiking into the Caatinga, a seasonally dry tropical forest that occupies most of northeastern Brazil.

When not in the field, we spent our time on the campus of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) in the city of Natal, where we were hosted by the lab of Professor Adrian Garda. Through interacting with Dr. Garda and his students, I learned more about Brazilian herpetology and the exciting research being conducted in this area. I also gave a research talk to the lab, entitled “Phylo/genomics/geography and biodiversity drivers in the South American Dry Diagonal,” in which I discussed my dissertation research. In particular I presented two projects, both on reptiles and amphibians from northeastern Brazil, including Ameivula, which seek to identify the environmental drivers of diversification and speciation at various spatial and taxonomic scales. Though initially planned for 25 minutes, my talk lasted almost an hour due to the interest and conversation generated amongst the audience, who are very familiar with the taxa and systems I study. Their feedback was insightful and offered several new ideas for my dissertation research.

Myself presenting my dissertation research to the Garda lab at UFRN, Natal, RN, Brazil.

Overall, this trip was a unique experience that was both personally and academically rewarding for me. Again, I am very thankful for RCEI for their support for this trip, the fruits of which will be instrumental in furthering my career in evolutionary biology.

Souvik Mandal

I attended Gordon Research Conference on Organometallics from July 7-12, 2024, at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. This conference was attended by numerous renowned and early career investigators and industrial scientists in the field of organometallic chemistry.

Organometallic chemistry is an interdisciplinary field of organic chemistry and inorganic chemistry where the focus is on using a ligand (organic) and a metal (inorganic) in a well-defined architecture to form a ‘complex’. These ‘complexes’ are used mostly as a ‘catalyst’ for variety of reactions ranging from synthesis of life-saving drug molecules to the activation of small molecules. In the 21st century we find ourselves confronting the increasingly severe consequences of climate change. As a PhD student in organometallic chemistry, I have the challenge and the opportunity to search for viable responses to this threat. It is imperative that we focus our efforts to combat the urgent threat of climate change, preserving our environment and allowing us to develop a sustainable society for future generations.

I presented a poster on the above work at the Conference in two poster sessions. Overall, the poster sessions were very engaging both for participants and for the presenters. I collected a good amount of suggestions, appreciations and feedback about my work from a diverse group of people. It was invaluable in the pursuit of my current research goals, as well as in developing a career focused on addressing technical challenges relevant to energy and sustainability. Moreover, I met fellow PhD candidates from across the globe, with whom I played soccer together, talked about the culture in those respective countries. Thus made the conference trip extremely enjoyable and enriching, even from a non-academic perspective. This was undoubtedly one of the best conferences I have attended so far. To conclude, I would like to RCEI for supporting me with this award to cover a portion of the cost to attend the conference.

Souvik Mandal with his poster at the Organometallics GRC, July, 2024, Newport, RI.

Bridget Ovall

Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute helped fund my travel for fieldwork in SE Alaska. I study processes at the ice-ocean boundary of marine-terminating glaciers, and we had some pretty ambitious goals for this year’s fieldwork. Our collaborators at Oregon State University have designed a set of autonomous vehicles to collect observations in the high-risk environment of an actively calving glacier, including one experimental platform (known as Meltstake) designed to attach to the submarine ice face. Although the glacier was experiencing an unusually high amount of calving, the expedition was wildly successful. Meltstake achieved its goal of attaching to the glacier face and was able to make the first ever direct observations of submarine melt rates at a marine-terminating glacier. The other near-glacier platforms collected observations with unprecedented resolution at a marine-terminating glacier.

My expertise is in larger scale processes that influence submarine melt rates, such as the novel method for observing velocity within a subglacial discharge plume that I developed and the complexities of fjord circulation near the terminus. This travel grant enabled me to join this year’s fieldwork, lending my knowledge and experience to the near-glacier surveys at various distances from the ice face with the goal of determining the relationship between larger-scale fjord processes and the small-scale melt processes that that they influence. This context is important to connect the novel observations made by Meltstake and the other near-glacier platforms to the set of near-glacier observations that we have pioneered in previous fieldwork and ultimately to a set of observations that is more typically collected at marine-terminating glaciers.

This was also a valuable experience for me and my career development as I took on more of a leadership role than I have in the past. While I played a collaborative and supporting role in the planning and implementation of surveys by autonomous boat very close (0-150 m) to the glacier terminus, I was tasked with co-leading the manned small boat surveying farther (300+ m) from the glacier. Small boat surveys were particularly challenging this year due to the high iceberg volume in the fjord, which has implications for the safety of personnel and equipment as well as feasibility of collecting data and data quality. Looking back on a successful cruise, I can see clearly how this experience has been an opportunity for growth and confidence-building.

Arrival at LeConte Glacier, Alaska.

Setting out on the small boat for surveying.

Small boat surveying with one of the larger ships and the glacier in the background.

Enjoying a rare moment of mostly open water.

Group photo after successful completion of the cruise.

Amara Qureshi

My name is Amara and I attended ASM Microbe (American Society for Microbiology), one of the largest microbiology conferences, held in Atlanta, GA from June 13-17, 2024. The conference featured a range of scientific tracks, including Antimicrobial Agents and Resistance, Clinical Infections and Vaccines, Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity (EEB), Applied and Environmental Science, Clinical and Public Health Microbiology, Host-Microbe Biology, Molecular Biology and Physiology, and Profession of Microbiology. The emphasis on interaction among scientists from diverse backgrounds facilitates exchange of ideas, leading to more creative solutions to microbiology's most challenging problems.

I presented a poster titled “Characterization of Acidobacteriota communities in Finnish Soils” within the EEB track. Forests serve as major carbon sinks, but global climate change affects vegetation and alters soil microbial communities that are essential in nutrient cycling through organic matter decomposition. Understanding microbial diversity is key to ecosystem stability and sustainability, yet mechanisms regulating biodiversity are poorly understood. My research focuses on elucidating mechanisms shaping diverse soil microbial communities, particularly the genetic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity of Acidobacteriota—one of the most ubiquitous yet elusive bacterial phyla in terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. We hypothesized geographic separation and soil type influence Acidobacteriota communities. Our analysis reveals a complex diversity within this phylum that warrants further exploration. During the poster session, I engaged with microbiologists who provided valuable recommendations to enhance my work. For instance, a fellow researcher recommended software tools for correlating soil properties with strain data. The poster next to mine addressed limitations of cooccurrence network plots, a type of analysis I plan to perform. It was helpful to learn that positive correlations are generally more reliable than negative ones.

Attending other presentations throughout the week provided insights into scientific communication. Many presenters effectively balanced audience engagement with scientific detail by clear storytelling, avoiding overcrowded slides, and guiding the audience through their experiments. I plan to implement these techniques in my future presentations.

One of the most inspiring aspects of the conference was the discussion about the intersection of climate stabilization and microbiology. Organizations like HomeWorld disseminate problem statements to mobilize researchers for climate research. Awareness is key; if people aren't informed about a problem, it’s difficult to solve.

Engaging with diverse scientific perspectives has inspired new directions for my research. I am thankful to the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute for supporting my professional growth and contributing to my development as a researcher committed to addressing global environmental challenges.

Amara at the Atlanta Aquarium.

Amara's presenting her poster titled “Characterization of Acidobacteriota communities in Finnish Soils”

Amara presenting her poster titled “Characterization of Acidobacteriota communities in Finnish Soils”.

Amara at ASM Microbe (American Society for Microbiology) 2024.

Kristi Wiedemann

In the summer of 2024, I traveled to Central NY and the Finger Lakes region to conduct fieldwork for my dissertation, which focuses on exploring environmental values in the context of natural (i.e., plant and animal) fiber production.

Over the course of my stay, I met many potential interview subjects who farm and process natural fiber and make and sell textiles and other fiber products. To make those connections, I visited farms, farmers markets, and retailers of local fiber.

The farms I visited employ ‘carbon farming’ by carrying out practices that aim to sequester carbon through managed or rotational grazing, which may help to mitigate climate change.

Angora goats grazing on a farm in the NY Finger Lakes region.

At the farmers markets, I connected with several fiber farmers as well as members of the leadership team of LocalFiber, a nonprofit organization, that aims to build a “vibrant, ethical, sustainable regional fiber and textile economy.”

Weekly Freeville Farmers Market in the NY Finger Lakes Region.

Additionally, I visited retailers including one in Corning NY where I met the owner of a shop dedicated to supporting the local fiber industry that had prominent displays of environmental practices associated with fiber farming.

Lastly, I carried out several exploratory interviews with subject area experts and fiber farmers. During one of my interviews, I got hands on experience preparing fleece for processing through an age-old practice known as “skirting” in which the soiled parts are skillfully cut away to help ensure the material is clean enough to continue to its next step: being turned into yarn.

Having built relationships with a network of potential interview subjects while also being able to carry out several initial interviews, the funding I received from the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute helped to put me in a solid position to return to my fieldwork site this fall to conduct additional interviews and wrap up the data collection phase of my work in preparation for moving to the next stage of writing and completing my dissertation.

Feng Ye

Feng Ye attending the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) annual conference and won IISE Quality Control and Reliability Engineering (QCRE) Best Student Poster Competition.

In May 2024, I traveled to Montreal, Canada to attend the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) annual conference, made possible by the support of the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI).

As a PhD candidate in Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) with a second degree in Statistics, I presented my poster titled “DeepMIDE: A Multivariate Spatio-Temporal Deep Learning Method for Ultra-Scale Offshore Wind Energy Forecasting”. My research showcases an innovative approach to enhancing wind energy forecasting accuracy at multiple heights and locations by integrating statistical and deep learning techniques. This pioneering effort addresses the critical challenge of characterizing the spatial, temporal, and height dependence within high-dimensional wind data, significantly contributing to the field of renewable energy analytics.

I am truly honored to be selected as the winner of IISE Quality Control and Reliability Engineering (QCRE) Best Student Poster Competition for our work. I am very grateful for the guidance of my wonderful advisor Dr. Ahmed Aziz Ezzat and Dr. Michael Stein, and to my collaborator Xinxi Zhang. Besides, I presented two of our research: DeepMIDE for Ultra-Scale Offshore Wind Forecasting and a Physics-guided Kernel Method for Ultra-short-term Wind Forecasting, and received some really helpful feedback. I am also excited to chair two sessions: “Predictive Analytics for Wind Power Generation” in the IISE Energy Systems (ES) and IISE Data Analytics and Information Systems (DAIS) tracks, and “Unique Directions in Energy Research” in the IISE Energy Systems (ES) and IISE Quality Control and Reliability Engineering (QCRE) tracks. These sessions sparked inspiring discussions and highlighted innovative solutions.

The participation in this conference was made possible through a travel funding award from the RCEI. I am immensely grateful for the support, which enabled me to present my research, engage with fellow scholars, and gain new perspectives in the field of renewable energy.

Gejia Zhang

I’m a fourth-year PhD student in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department. With support from Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI), I attended the INFORMS Annual Conference in Seattle, where I delivered a presentation and poster on optimizing control strategies for distributed energy resources (DERs) in power distribution systems. My work addresses the pressing challenge of enhancing system reliability while managing operational costs in the face of aging infrastructure and increasing electricity demand. All my work is supervised by Prof. Robert Mieth.

In the session "Advanced Decision Strategies: Integrative Approaches from Machine Learning to Practical Applications," I presented research that aims to enhance distribution system reliability by optimizing control setpoints for various grid-edge devices, such as distributed generation units, battery energy storage, and demand response resources. The approach I presented integrates a cost-reliability enhancement model (CRM), which considers how control decisions impact the probability of system failure, thereby providing a framework for reliability-aware decision-making in distribution systems. Key elements included the model’s objective of minimizing operational costs while internalizing failure probabilities linked to component usage and environmental context.

In addition to the presentation, I participated in the poster session, where attendees were particularly interested in the cost savings achieved using the CRM and the corresponding improvement in system reliability. Discussions focused on the model’s ability to reduce the expected cost of unserved energy by over 11%, illustrating how a relatively small increase in operational cost—optimized through control setpoints for DERs—can substantially enhance overall system robustness. Additionally, there was significant interest in scaling up the model for larger systems, with conversations around adapting it to the complexities of real-world power distribution networks.

The support from RCEI made my attendance and participation at the INFORMS Annual Conference possible, and I have truly enjoyed this experience. The feedback and collaborations initiated during the conference will directly enhance my ongoing research, with promising potential for real-world applications in energy reliability and climate resilience solutions. I am sincerely grateful to RCEI for the support!

Presentation at the session: “Advanced Decision Strategies: Integrative Approaches from Machine Learning to Practical Applications”

Lois Anderson

The Rutgers Climate Institute fund helped support my attendance of the 2023 ACDC-GRISO Summer School on “Past and Future Changes in Greenland Climate,” a two-week program jointly hosted by the University of Bergen Advanced Climate Dynamics Courses (ACDC) and Greenland Ice Sheet Ocean (GRISO) science network. This course housed a small cohort of graduate students and postdocs from a wide range of disciplines at the Arctic Station in Qeqertarsuaq, Kalaallit Nunaat (known to some as “Greenland”). The course syllabus consisted of a mix of lectures, student research presentations, ship-board field activities, and small group projects that challenged us all to work on a problem well outside of our research discipline.

Some sights and new friends from my time studying in Ilulissat & Qeqertarsuaq, Kalaallit Nunaat. (Top) Fellow students and I (rightmost in photo) used a bit of free time to hike up to what remains of Lyngmark glacier. (Bottom) Incomprehensibly large icebergs at different stages in their transit from Sermeq Kujalleq, a marine-terminating glacier responsible for ~10% of the Kalaallit Nunaat ice sheet’s calving. The ACDC-GRISO program brought together a small group of students studying different aspects of Kalaallit Nunaat’s climate for two weeks of lectures, field activities, and mini-group projects. These photos provide a peek into our lives those weeks – work aboard the Arctic Station’s Porsild (red ship), a talk on atmospheric dynamics at the station, and lunch breaks filled with icebergs and sled dog puppies.

At Rutgers, my PhD work is focused on improving our understanding of the exchange of heat and freshwater between tidewater glaciers and the coastal ocean through Kalaallit Nunaat’s fjords – fjord oceanography in short. While important and ever-growing, this fjord-scale work is done by a relatively small pocket of the larger physical oceanography community. Attending the ACDC-GRISO summer school was likewise a wonderful opportunity to both meet other budding scientists in this subfield and gain insight into how our work may figure into other questions about the changing Arctic. This was also my and many others’ first time in Kalaallit Nunaat, an enormously impactful aspect of the school. Existing in Qeqertarsuaq, even briefly, afforded all sorts of experiences that just cannot be approximated in a classroom setting: witnessing icebergs flip, break, and melt from day to day at the shore, talking to residents about how much has changed since here since childhood – warmer winters, changing hunting and fishing practices, and huge upticks in cruise-ship tourism – and so on. Some of the most fruitful conversations and insights had during the program were answers to the sensory prompts all around us – simply going outside, or in town, and asking “why is ___ this way?” Now back in New Jersey, these experiences are reshaping how I think and speak about Kalaallit Nunaat.

In these ways, attending the ACDC-GRISO program helped me to build a more holistic view of my own work and of the changing Arctic, as well as a valuable and lasting peer network. I am grateful to the Rutgers Climate Institute for helping to make this travel possible and supporting a pivotal experience in my education. Qujanaq! (Thank you!)

Manasa Bollempalli

The RCI student support fund enabled me to present my doctoral research at the 16th Biennial Meeting of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), 10-14 July 2023, Barcelona, Spain. The theme of the conference, “Authoritarianism & Genocide: Narratives of Exclusion,” was an ideal meeting ground of scholars working on the historical and future implications of mass atrocities and genocide. In this context, the environment and climate change have massive ramifications for mass atrocity events, acting as a stressor for displacement, conflict, genocide, ethnic cleansing and competition. In my dissertation, I examined inclusive and exclusionary policy outcomes for climate displaced populations through four case studies. At IAGS, I presented findings from my paper (based on my US case study), (In)security and Climate Change: Displacement at the Door.

In my paper, I examine how among the 100 million refugees and displaced persons in 2022, the category of “climate refugees” has become more salient, yet countries still don’t know how to handle it. I specifically focused on “climate refugees” increasingly visible among Latino/Hispanic peoples from Mexico and Central America (Specifically, the Northern Triangle countries - Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala) fleeing multi-year drought conditions to the US Southwest border. In response, the entire asylum cycle was dehumanized with tiered regulatory measures and framed Latino immigration as a threat to American National Security. Here climate refugees are clubbed with economic migrants and face similar violations of their human rights, the principle of non-refoulment, and other obligations of the Geneva Convention. During the conference, I presented my findings on how US climate- and migration-security legislation conceptualize climate refugees at the southwest border, and how their different conceptual categories spills over into policymaking. Using computational network analysis and interviews with experts and practitioners, I demonstrated the variation in rationales and strategies to address Latin American climate displacement at the US Southwest border.

Attending conferences and engaging with experts in my field is a key aspect of academic life. Not only did presenting at IAGS introduce me to a variety of critical perspectives, but it also broadened the audience for my own scholarship and led to enriching collaborations. These opportunities are particularly critical for early-stage researchers such as myself. As a citizen of the global south, attending a conference in Barcelona meant navigating the stringent and long-winded immigration regimes in the US and in the EU, which are also fiscally exorbitant. The RCI student support fund helped ease some of this burden, and for that I am very thankful.

Photo: Manasa Bollempalli presents at the 16th Biennial Meeting of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), 10-14 July 2023, Barcelona, Spain

Katherine Cann
2023

In October 2023, I traveled to Montreal, Canada to attend the Adaptation Futures conference with support from the RCI Student Support Fund. Adaptation Futures brought together approximately 2,000 scholars and practitioners working on confronting vulnerability to climate-related risks. I attended a variety of sessions, including one focused on adaptation in practice, where Dr. Robin Leichenko (Associate Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Rutgers University) presented research on small business resilience in New Jersey and New York, a project on which I have supported data collection and analysis. Other influential sessions included panels and participatory workshops on transformational adaptation, understanding and reframing vulnerability, and critical perspectives on metrics and indicators for measuring effective and equitable adaptation. This research will allow me to bring emerging theory and relevant case studies to my dissertation research questions on climate justice and adaptation interventions in communities in the urban Northeastern U.S.

In addition to engaging with current research on adaptation, attending Adaptation Futures allowed me to forge new networks and strengthen existing connections with colleagues pursuing similar research questions from around the world. Meeting researchers from a variety of sectors including government, international development institutions, NGOs, and academia provided insight into the diverse perspectives and influential actors working in climate adaptation.

Katherine Cann travels to a conference in Canada.

Katherine Cann contributed to research on small business resilience in New Jersey and New York that was presented by Rutgers Professor and Associate Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Robin Leichenko at the Adaptation Futures Conference both attended in Montreal, Canada in October 2023.

2022

Katie Cann at COP 27 in 2022

Funding from the RCI Student Support Fund enabled Katherine Cann, a PhD student in the Department of Geography, to attend the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in November 2022. At COP27, Katherine was able to see firsthand the complex process of international climate negotiations between world leaders and national climate delegations. “It was an incredible experience to witness how international climate policy gets made, and to see activists from around the world come together to lead a global push for climate justice,” said Cann, in reference to advocacy that led to a landmark announcement from the international community to establish a loss and damage fund dedicated to climate finance in vulnerable countries at COP27.

In addition to observing negotiations, Katherine met with educators from universities across the United States and other countries to learn about strategies for bringing climate education into university curriculums and encouraging student-led climate action on campus. She also attended several side events where researchers and local government leaders shared best practices for urban-centered mitigation and adaptation projects, lessons she will bring back to her research on coastal adaptation interventions on the Jersey Shore.

Alexis Faulborn

Graduate Student Alexis Faulborn with her poster, “Mycobiome associated with Sphagnum moss in New Jersey Pine Barrens Ecosystem,” at the 2023 Mycological Society of America Conference at Little America Hotel in Flagstaff, AZ.

I attended my first ever Mycological Society of America (MSA) annual business conference held at the Little America Hotel in Flagstaff, AZ from July 29th to August 3rd, 2023. MSA was founded in 1932 and is a group open to mycologists, students, and any person with interest in fungi. Members of MSA come from forty different countries and various backgrounds, ranging from academic to industrial. The society’s purpose is to promote mycology and foster education in mycology in all its aspects. I had the opportunity to present my work “Mycobiome associated with Sphagnum moss in New Jersey Pine Barrens Ecosystem” during Poster Session #1 in Ballroom A. My poster highlighted the fungal communities that I was able to culture and identify from NJ Pine Barren-collected mosses; it also focused on validating higher percentages of Leotiomycetes in both vascular and non-vascular plant communities. I was able to connect with fellow mycologists to explore accomplishments and potential pitfalls of my work. I networked with some bright individuals, who offered chemical approaches to test on my studies and advance my fungal interaction work. I was also able to interact with fellow scientists and help them in their own personal studies; a few collaborators were interested in some of my plant soil stock to advance their data pool, and I agreed graciously to send them any samples I have that might help.

My work also tries to tackle the immersive topic of climate change by implementing a multiple-state field plan. My study specifically investigates the impact of climate variation on mycobiome dynamics along a latitudinal transfect from Maine to Florida. Each pine barren environment has varying levels of micronutrients, with similarly low pHs; therefore, it is important that the soil and environment are documented as a dependent factor in my studies. In the study so far with the limited data I have on hand, we traveled to Florida, where the soil pH was acidic, and the soil composition was mostly phosphorus. We were able to culture and identify a limited mycobiome that provided potentially new species, in comparison to the slightly more composed NJ pine barren soil(s). With such drought affecting the pine barrens, and it only increasing in intensity over time, it is crucial to culture the beneficial fungi that promote continued plant growth before we lose the ability to study them altogether.

This was the 91st installment of the MSA conference, with this edition showcasing the ways in which fellow researchers are specifically elevating mycology. There were two opportunities to participate in an excursion to the Grand Canyon, as well as multiple socials, events, and interactive auctions to help the society continue to thrive. Each day there were up to six parallel sessions, with the choice to attend whichever related to our research more. The same situation applied with the few featured symposiums each day, followed by discussion and refreshments. I attended “Fungi and Global Change,” “Fungal Interactions of Biological Soil Crusts in a Changing Environment,” “Systematics and Diversity 2,” “Fire and Fungi,” “The Agents of F.U.N.G.I.B. (Fungi Underscoring Novel Gains in Biocontrol,” “Soil Fungi and Nutrient Cycling,” “Animal Associations,” and “Burning Topics.”

I am grateful for the networking opportunity and connections I made along the way in attending this conference. I look forward to attending future conferences, with the next one scheduled to be in Toronto, and the one after that in Wisconsin. For my next conference, I intend to expand my knowledge and have a tentative paper formed, so that I can give an oral presentation on top of the poster. I cannot wait to see how science evolves along my journey to become a well-rounded scientist and researcher.

Dhruv Gangadharan

Rutgers Climate Institute supported my preliminary fieldwork on India’s Blue Economy in the southern state of Tamil Nadu from May-August 2023. With a broad focus on the Gulf of Mannar region in the Bay of Bengal, I visited the coastal districts of Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram to scope coastal fishing villages and approach the intersection of community economies with ecologies. This was my entry point to see how maritime activities such as industrial marine fisheries, coastal aquaculture, coastal infrastructure and marine protected areas are now integrated and produced as “sustainable” blue economy engagements – thus constituting an oceanic influence on economy. In terms of method, I spoke to a broad range of actors from fishers to aquaculture practitioners, different representatives of the state bureaucracy, environmental activists, researchers and NGOs towards a critical ethnography of coastal geographies in these two districts.

Since this preliminary fieldwork was conducted during the annual 61-day trawl fishing ban period on India’s east coast, many fishers readily conversed on issues ranging from state policy, historical shifts in coastal activities, and emerging spatial and technological conflicts with coastal aquaculture and deep sea fisheries, climate change and marine conservation. For example, a representative from the Thoothukudi District Trawl Fishers Union asked “What’s the logic behind decimating the oceans and now asking us to grow shrimp in artificial ponds?”. He explained that the steady decline in shrimp found in the Gulf of Mannar was due to unregulated trawling, small mesh-size in these nets that catch all eggs and fry in the near-shore region, using bright lights while fishing. He also pointed to other polluting industries and the presence of windmills near the shore that were altering coastal ecologies in Thoothukudi. “There’s no space for the fisherman in Indian law; we’re clubbed with agriculture instead!,” he said. In the two shrimp aquaculture businesses that I visited around the Vaippar region of Thoothukudi, I observed how massive coastal infrastructures like artificial ponds and pipes were set up to grow shrimp and draw water straight from the Gulf of Mannar. According to them, however, all environmental laws (e.g. the Coastal Regulation Zone Rules) were being followed to ensure the production was sustainable and climate resilient. To further understand how fishers were represented in other Blue Economy sectors in Thoothukudi, I also visited one private and one government-run ecotourism enterprise that focused on climate literacy and outdoor recreation at sea. While fishers were employed to some degree, what prevailed was a view of the ocean as pristine, and a static idea of fishing as an activity that needs to be controlled.

Coastal infrastructures of shrimp aquaculture in Thoothukudi

In my second study area in Ramanathapuram, a fisher in the Pamban region squarely responded to this view by responding to the fluidity of oceans and fishers: “We are like turtles; we come ashore only to mend our nets,” In the eyes of a Forest Department official I interviewed, such a dynamism was an area of concern, given how fishers are subjected to discourse of legality in the trade of protected species of sea cucumber, and how fishers would need to participate in dugong (D. dugon) and coral reef conservation at sea. However, one of my interlocutors in Rameshwaram harbour, stated that “People who [didn’t] know about the life of fishers or the oceans are making laws for fishers. Come see this ocean; come on our boats… Understand our lives.” I also observed the impacts of shrimp aquaculture in Rameshwaram island as an explicitly spatial conflict between a marginalized artisanal fishing community, freshwater and unregulated shrimp production around Ariyankundu – and in contrast to the businesses I observed in Thoothukudi. According to a local activist who guided my visit here, shrimp aquaculture had degraded the island’s water, fishers’ intimate attachments with this area, and threatened their well-being. Yet, what also existed in the island was other forms of blue economic activities such as seaweed aquaculture (by women) and marine cage culture (of sea bass, L. calcarifer, based on one site that I observed).

Seaweed culture and marine cage culture (featuring Ajith) in Olaikkuda Village, Rameshwaram

Farmed shrimp in Pamban fishmarket

Shrimp aquaculture in Ariyankundu, Rameshwaram

Apart from visits in these two districts, I also benefited from conversations with academics at the French Institute of Pondicherry (Puducherry) and Madras Institute of Development Studies (Chennai). While my summer work confirmed earlier readings on shrimp aquaculture as a “wicked problem” as referred to in the marine social sciences, my main finding was on how this is enacted on simultaneous terrains of struggle – from the environment, to water, to the seafood itself. I thank the RCI partially supporting my preliminary fieldwork, which is now helping me ground such theoretical openings towards future work on how these conflicting registers may help compose community differently, towards “other” blue economies based on conviviality.

Nina Grant
2023

Attending the 2023 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco was a fantastic experience that has greatly impacted my research journey and professional development. A major highlight was the positive reception my poster received, sparking engaging discussions and attracting considerable interest. The feedback I received not only validated my research efforts but also provided valuable insights for refinement. I also connected with researchers who could potentially be future collaborators.

On the professional development side, exploring some of the internships and job opportunities at AGU Central was eye-opening and a workshop on finding the right career path proved to be extremely helpful. It stands out as one of the best career-focused workshops I've attended, offering practical guidance and actionable advice for finding a job that suits one’s interests, values, skills, and motivators. Reconnecting with colleagues added a warm and supportive element to the conference. Building these connections goes beyond just work; it makes the whole journey more enjoyable.

Lastly, my biggest highlight of the conferences was joining a lunch meeting to organize a collaboration between Andrew Ng, a prominent machine learning researcher, and climate intervention researchers, providing a platform to contribute ideas, brainstorm, and potentially collaborate with influential figures in the field. This aligns perfectly with the niche I'm aiming for in my research and the chance to be part of this initiative was truly invaluable.

The AGU Fall Meeting was a significant chapter in my academic and professional journey. The connections, insights, and opportunities gained during the event have propelled me forward, and I'm eager to channel this momentum into my ongoing research endeavors. Thank you to the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute Student Support Fund for their generous travel support which made my participation in this conference possible.

Nina Grant presenting her research poster on the impacts on Indian agriculture due to solar climate intervention at AGU23.

Nina Grant presenting her research poster on the impacts of solar climate intervention on Indian agriculture at AGU23.

Picture of Exhibit Hall F at AGU23.

Art of the floor at AGU23 showing a waterfall.

2022

This past December, I was able to attend the Fall AGU Meeting in Chicago, IL thanks in part to the support of the RCI Travel Fund. This was my first AGU meeting. It was definitely overwhelming, but ultimately I loved the experience. This was my second in-person conference ever, and it was very different from the first one I attended. That one was a small conference dedicated to my specific subfield of climate intervention, so going to AGU with thousands of people from all of the Earth sciences was a big adjustment. While the AGU Fall meeting was a lot to take in, I also loved just how much there was to do. It was impossible to see and do it all, which meant crafting my schedule took some meaningful planning. This year I focused primarily on the oral sessions (in my field of interest) and science policy career events. It was nice to see some of those I met at the previous conference again and to see how their work had progressed since the summer. It was also very exciting to hear about the latest scientific work and publications. I often found myself jotting down papers or names to further investigate as they related directly to projects I was working on at the time.

One of my favorite sessions was the Union Session called Standards to Fuel New Climate Solutions: Establishing an Ethical Framework for Climate Interventions. It was very exciting to hear that AGU is beginning to take a bigger role in the conversation about climate interventions, and I was so happy to see that the ethical considerations were front and center. The other sessions I really enjoyed were the ‘Skills for Science’ career development workshops. I attended most of the sessions on science policy and learned about many useful resources. As a young graduate student, I have been thinking a lot about how I want to use my degree. It was very helpful learning about some of the different options available and how to get started. I look forward to future conferences and the chance to network with those in my field. With this first AGU Fall meeting under my belt, I feel much more equipped and even more excited for the next one, and I am very appreciative of this travel support that allowed me to participate.

Mahjabeen Rahman (left) and Nina Grant (right)

Nina Grant (second from right) with Professor Alan Robock and other RICSI lab members (current and former) during AGU 2022.

Koustav Halder

The Earth Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (ESRI) is a joint effort of Princeton University, the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) at Stockholm University, and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). This initiative has helped solder together an interdisciplinary coalition of scholars to help address some of the most challenging environmental questions facing humanity in the Anthropocene. These questions include the resilience of the Earth system to climate change, biodiversity loss, and meditations on balancing food, water and energy security for all while ensuring the sustainability of a growing urban population that is in balance with the ecosystems that sustain it.

An important theoretical device that is widely used to delve into these questions comes from the field of Complex Systems, particularly through the lens of Non-Linear Dynamics and Transitions. Several phenomena of global interest - the weakening of the Gulf Stream, the potential collapses of the Amazon rainforest and the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet, and the expansion of deserts worldwide, among others - can be modelled using this framework. The fourth ESRI Critical Transitions Workshop, held at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany between the 18th and 20th December, 2023, was designed to bring together climate research, physics and biodiversity scholars together to discuss, learn about and collaborate on the myriad ways in which these fields make use of this common lingua-franca of mathematical theory to further their research.

As a PhD candidate who regularly makes use of theoretical models utilising Non-Linear Dynamical theory in my doctoral research investigating the increased prevalence and effects of desertification due to climate change, this workshop proved to be a very illuminative and enriching experience for me. I was exposed to the different - and innovative ways - researchers from other fields were using theory to address questions pertaining to the climate crisis as well as present my own work there. I managed to connect and network with several researchers, with whom I had very meaningful and helpful conversations about our work and mutual scientific interests. This workshop also provided me the opportunity to collaborate with many of these researchers going ahead on active projects pertaining to non-linear transitions and their applications to the ecological and environmental sciences, and thus help resolve the very thorny and open-ended issues related to climate change in my own, small way.

In conclusion, I am very thankful to the RCEI Student Support Program for helping fund my travel for this workshop, grateful for the opportunities and connections this has helped foster, and respectfully acknowledge that any presentation, poster, talk or publication that results from this support will recognize in writing the support of the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute.

Koustav Halder presenting a flash talk about his research at the ESRI workshop.

The entire cast of participants at the ESRI Workshop.

Mashun Oti

I am a second-year anthropology Ph.D. student working with East African migrants who have been affected both by the civil war and climate crisis and consequently traveled through different countries and used various means to reach Eastern Turkey. During the summer 2023, I conducted a preliminary field research in Eastern Turkey, Turkish-Iranian borderland, and also in Central Anatolia, in the city of Konya.

During the preliminary filed research, I first focused on the 96-kilometer-long border wall and two ditches constructed by the Turkish state throughout the Turkish-Iranian borderland. I attempted to understand the impact of the border wall and ditches, militarization of the borderland, and the criminalization of the migration in the discursive level on the actual process and of migration. I also tried to collect official data regarding the demographic information of the East African migrants. Furthermore, I did observations in public places such as cemeteries, bus stations, border areas, and urban centers to understand the mobility and incorporation experience of East African migrants in Kurdish and Turkish cities in Turkey.

The preliminary field research enabled me to examine the mobility and incorporation process. Consequently, I start focusing on the concepts of waiting and hope and their significance for the migrant life. Similarly, while focusing on the waiting and hope, I also started questioning the concept of personhood. As a result of the preliminary filed research, I came up with a set of questions which guide me to develop my research proposal. The questions are as follow:

What are the impacts of civil war and climate crisis on the migrant’s life, process of mobility, and incorporation?
What are the ways in which the uprooted subject, who is being deprived from her/his political/economical/social rights, keep the hope and continue producing her/his life within the precarious conditions?
Where and when does personhood for someone deprived from his political rights and cultural chains ends?

Based on the discussions and questions that I develop during my preliminary filed research; I would like to develop my research proposal and apply for external fundings.

In this regard, I am grateful to the RCI for their Ph.D. student travel grant which enabled me to cover some of the filed related expenses for my summer 2023 filed research.

Photos by Mahsun Oti based on Summer 2023 field study:

Photo Title: Care After Death - 2023
Place where the photo taken: Northern Kurdistan – Eastern Turkey
Explanation of the photo: The Cemetery of the Nameless where “irregular migrants,” who died while attempting to cross the Turkish-Iranian border, decorated with a border wall and two ditches, seek peace in the afterlife. The cemetery is the place where personhood ends not because life ends but rather because of the absence of care for the dead and grave.

Photo Name and the year taken: Irregular Graves – 2023
Place where it is taken: Northern Kurdistan – Eastern Turkey
Explanation: The Cemetery of the Nameless where even the afterlife is irregularly organized.

Photo Title and the year: Numerology of the irregular migrant Death-2023
The place the photo taken: Northern Kurdistan – Eastern Turkey
Explanation: No personal identification tags are present in the Cemetery of the Nameless; no name, family name or date of birth. There are two numbers written on the tombstone, one of which is the date the dead body was found in the border area. The second number is provided by the Directorate of the Cemeteries Affairs of the city Municipality which serves as a bureaucratic archival method.

Mahjabeen (Mim) Rahman
2023

Graduate Student Mahjabeen Rahman with her poster, Sensitivity of crops to ultraviolet radiation from Stratospheric aerosol injection, at the June 2023 AgMIP Conference at Columbia University.

I am thrilled to share my enriching experience attending the AgMIP9 conference held at Columbia University from June 26th to 30th, 2023. AgMIP (Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project) is a global initiative that aims to improve the understanding of agricultural systems and their responses to climate change, as well as enhance food security and sustainable development worldwide. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to present my work on "Sensitivity of crops to ultraviolet radiation from Stratospheric aerosol injection" in front of a diverse and knowledgeable audience comprising experts and scientists from around the world. The presentation focused on exploring the effects of ultraviolet radiation on crop growth and production, specifically in the context of potential climate engineering interventions. I shared my findings, methodologies, and conclusions with a knowledgeable audience, including fellow researchers, scientists, and experts in the field. The presentation generated significant interest and sparked insightful discussions, providing valuable feedback that will undoubtedly contribute to the further development of my research.

Throughout the conference, I had the privilege of engaging with renowned professionals, exchanging ideas, and receiving valuable feedback on my research. The insights and perspectives shared by experts in the field have immensely contributed to the advancement of my work. I am grateful for the stimulating discussions and the opportunity to learn from the diverse range of experiences present at the conference.

The conference showcased the latest advancements in agricultural modeling, climate change adaptation, and mitigation strategies. It was inspiring to witness the collective efforts of researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders in finding innovative solutions for the pressing issues faced by our food systems. Attending various dialogues, presentations, and plenary sessions was a highlight of the conference. The variety of dialogues, presentations, and plenary sessions offered at AgMIP9 were truly enlightening. I actively participated in sessions such as "Improving model and integrated assessments," "Utilizing New Tools to Address Food System Challenges," "Improving crop models to capture extreme climate responses," "Synergizing Adaptation and Mitigation Along the Value Chain," "Machine learning for agricultural applications," and "Strengthening Science-Stakeholder-Policy Linkages for Future Systems." Each session provided unique insights and fostered an atmosphere of collaboration and innovation.

The platform AgMIP provided me to meet the experts and scientists around the world and address critical challenges facing global agriculture was truly remarkable. I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Rutgers Climate Institute for their unwavering support in funding my participation in this conference. Their financial assistance played a crucial role in making this incredible opportunity a reality for me. Without their support, attending and presenting at such a prestigious event would not have been possible. Their investment in my professional development and research has been instrumental in my growth as a scientist.

Attending AgMIP9 has not only expanded my professional network but also provided me with a fresh perspective and renewed enthusiasm for my research. I look forward to applying the knowledge gained from this conference to further enhance my work and contribute to the sustainable development of agriculture.

2022

Mahjabeen (Mim) Rahman

Mahjabeen Rahman traveled to the American Geophysical Union Conference in December 2022 which included her participation in the Community Earth System Model (CESM) workshop noting, “That was a very helpful start of using CESM2 needed to conduct my research.” She also attended sessions on stratospheric aerosol interventions, marine cloud brightening, water-energy-carbon interactions, urban air quality, and climate change impacts on agriculture which Mahjabeen noted helped her “enhance my knowledge depth on my research topics.” She also explained that, “AGU was a great opportunity for me in a number of ways, such as it provided me access to new data and techniques, gave me the chance to discuss my work with experts in my field and also helped me to find collaborators for my project. I also had a poster presentation on ‘Impacts on Ultraviolet Flux from Stratospheric Aerosol Intervention on Agricultural Production’ at AGU. In that poster session, I could share my work with a wider audience, received feedback from experts in my field, and build connections with other researchers.”

Mahjabeen also noted that the AGU meeting also gave her the opportunity to attend informal sessions regarding journal article writing which was particularly helpful as she is from Bangladesh, a non-English speaking country in South Asia and “these [sessions] helped me to enhance my journal article writing skills.”

Laurian Rosa Rosa

In the summer of 2023, I conducted preliminary fieldwork in Puerto Rico for my dissertation project, focusing on environmental justice movements and climate change issues. This entailed an examination of the rationale behind beach privatization, motivations driving anti-privatization movements, and concerns regarding coastal erosion and storm surges. My aim was to explore the historical and contemporary aspects of the environmentalist movement striving to preserve public beaches and its alignment with climate change discourse, specifically rising sea levels.

During my stay, I interviewed community leaders from the northwest region of the island and analyzed environmental articles from El Mundo and Claridad newspapers dating back to the 1970s. In the conversations with community leaders, they identified climate-related hazards and community needs, such as mitigation strategies for erosion, accessible public transportation, food security, etc. My archive review led me to conclude that the fight for preserving public and undeveloped beaches, which originated in the 1970s, was initially driven by nationalist and anti-colonial ideals. In the present, this cause is further supported by the evidence of coastal erosion (around 60% of the island’s coasts experiencing this phenomenon) and its life-threatening implications. Additionally, during my stay in Puerto Rico, I conducted field visits to coastal areas in the island's northwest region experiencing erosion.

The RCI grant allowed me to establish connections with key stakeholders and potential dissertation committee members. I’m thankful to the Rutgers Climate Institute for funding my Puerto Rico fieldwork, enabling critical insights into environmental fights and climate change struggles on the island.

Structures on the coast of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

Pasquinade with the slogan “Beaches for the People” (1971) by José Alicea

Newspaper article titled: “Government accused of promoting beach privatization” (May 28th, 1987) by Luis Cabán

Christopher Terra

This past December I flew to San Francisco to attend the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Annual Meeting. This conference is one of the largest geoscience conferences in the country and brings together students and experts from a wide array of disciplines to connect with each other and present their research. During my time in San Francisco, I was able to support the research conducted by my peers as well as present my own research about improving the accuracy of coastal electrical geophysical investigations. My poster focused on how factoring in certain dynamic coastal forces (i.e. saltwater inundation flooding the survey and sediment transport shifting the position of electrodes) can result in a more accurate interpretation of these geophysical datasets. Additionally, I was able to talk to a significant number of students and experts in the nearsurface geophysics, hydrology, biogeochemistry, and natural hazards sections who are performing research adjacent to my own, allowing me to further my understanding of the multitude of processes at play that impact saltwater intrusion on a variety of coastal sites and refine my data processing and inversion methods. Through these talks, I was also able to start discussing potential postdoctoral opportunities with other coastal researchers – providing me with more opportunities to pursue a more process-focused research project and expand my proficiency with different coastal investigation methods.

Furthermore, I was able to attend AGU’s annual meeting as a student representative for the near-surface section, where I assisted in the planning and running of a student and early career networking event put on by the near-surface, hydrology, atmospheric sciences, and global environmental change sections. This social event along with the two sessions that I was fortunate enough to be asked to co-convene has allowed me to expand my network and provide me with research support, career mentorship, and opportunities for research collaborations over the course of my professional career.

Christoper Terra presenting his poster at AGU Annual Meeting

Christopher Terra, at the AGU annual meeting, standing next to his poster which focused on how factoring in certain dynamic coastal forces can result in a more accurate interpretation of these geophysical datasets.

Joshua Thompson

Joshua's research group gathered around the AGU logo near the entrance of the building.

I am a 5th year PhD student in the Earth and Environmental Science Department at Rutgers University – Newark. My primary research is focused on characterizing nutrient transport from agriculture to coastal estuaries via the groundwater that connects them. There is rapid nutrient transport during storm events in the fields that I study. We are seeing that high intensity storm events are happening more frequently due to climate change.

I use electrical geophysical methods to advance my research. Note that electrical geophysics utilizes the same physics that light the room you are reading this in (i.e., electrical current, voltage, etc.) to glean insight into soil properties (and other earth-based properties).

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) conferences are a gathering of earth and space scientists to share their research and discover new partnerships. The AGU meetings include all the earth sciences, including atmospheric, near-surface, deep earth, and space science. My research falls under the near-surface geophysics.

The conference lasted five days (Monday-Friday) and below are some highlights of each day and how each experience has impacted my research (and me as an early career scientist).

Monday, I presented a 12-minute oral presentation to the near-surface geophysics community. The talk highlighted my dissertation research. This presentation set the precedent for the rest of the conference. Many of the most influential researchers (and 1st yr. PhD students) in the near-surface geophysics community were present for my talk. This gave me the opportunity to showcase my work to potential collaborators since I am graduating in about six months. It also strengthened my connections with employees from Pacific Northwest National Laboratories. I have an interview in the next 2 weeks for a post doc position, where I would be working with one of the conveners (Judy Robinson) and one of the presenters in my session (Tim Johnson).

Joshua Thompson presenting dissertation work at AGU 2023 Conference.

On Tuesday, I listened to a series of talks during the “Advances in Exploration Geophysics (AEG) II & III.” The AEG sessions included a talk from Lee Slater (advisor & P.I.) as well as from other PhD students in my research group (Klaudio Peshtani and Dan Glaser). These talks on current advances gave insight and perspective into my own research and the papers I will be publishing in the proceeding months.

Wednesday was filled with oral presentations including Sina Saneiyan (dissertation committee member) and Andrew Binley (my advisor’s advisor when he was a PhD student!).

Wednesday night we had a geophysics meet-up at a local restaurant in the area. Out of all the professional experiences I had during the conference, this meet-up was the most impactful. I had the chance to just sit and talk shop with the lovely geophysics’ community.

Thursday’s oral sessions discussed the use of electrical geophysics in an archaeological, forensic, and human-environment interaction studies. My research lab routinely volunteers to conduct archeological surveys for our local community to locate unmarked graves or locate demolished building foundations. For example, our research group conducted an archeological survey on the RUN football field. The presentations from this session provided a more robust standard of practice (SOP) for our future archeological surveys. Additionally, I exchanged information with the developer (Alain Plattner) of an open-source software called GPRPy. This software/code is essential to our archeological investigations.

Friday was filled with mostly poster hall sessions in support of my fellow researchers from RUN. It was great seeing the group come together and communicate challenging topics and discuss future collaborations.

I would like to thank the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute for the travel grant. I have only been to online conferences, mainly due to the pandemic, and this was my first in-person conference. The support from the RCEI travel grant helped me make decisions based on what is best for my career and not constraining the decision to what I can afford.

Leon Tkacenko

Leon A. Tkacenko, a doctoral candidate in Rutgers Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources attended and presented his research at the 3rd Species on the Move Conference in Bonita Springs, Florida. Tckacenko reports below on his experience:

Species on the Move is a meeting across ecological disciplines and social sciences focused on the impacts and implications of species moving beyond and within their ranges due to climate change. Species on the Move is a global conference that is held every three years at different locations. Throughout the conference there were sessions focusing on a variety of topics, from climate extinctions, to invasive species, to how moving species influences and drives art. It was incredibly interesting experiencing such a diverse array of sessions all revolving around the same underlying topic, species range movements due to climate change.

Attending Species on the Move was particularly beneficial to my research and science as it helped introduce me to a wide array of interesting research outside of my direct work. The work I presented on focuses on how we may be able to achieve a better understanding of the impacts of climate change on threatened birds by utilizing climate data from non-native populations. My work uses many of the same methodologies utilized in other work presented at this conference. The conference facilitated interactions with those researchers working on similar topics or methodologies to me from around the world. We had many interesting conversations throughout the conference which helped me to continue developing my current project, as well as helped to seed ideas for future projects. In particular, I had several conversations immediately following my session talk with other scientists working on species distribution models, that were very helpful to my research. Additionally, I was able to make connections with researchers from across the world who I hope to be able to collaborate with in the future. Attending Species on the Move was an incredibly important experience, that has implications for the research I am currently conducting, and hopefully, implications for research and collaborations going into the future.

Olivia Casey

In late fall 2022, Olivia Casey, doctoral candidate in Education with a concentration in Theory, Organization and Policy, attended the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital’s 2022 Annual Conference: “Population and Climate Change: The Defining Relationship of the 21st century” in Vienna, Austria. The conference was predominantly focused on the negative impacts which the climate crisis will have in the twenty-first century on various aspects of human health, well-being, and reproduction, as well as how climate change will influence mobility and migration patterns. Olivia explained, “Across the presentations, the conference illuminated the ways in which the effects and vulnerabilities of climate disaster are very unevenly distributed across populations— varying across dimensions of space and place, socioeconomic class, age, gender, education, and many other characteristics. The conference also covered themes of coping with the climate crisis and strategies for climate adaptation (e.g, migration, diversification in agriculture, behavioral changes), but underlined the fact that all adaptation strategies will have limits, as we reach temperatures where it is no longer possible to adapt (as well as material limitations to adaptation for less privileged populations).”

Oliva further noted, “this trip has benefitted my scholarship tremendously as I had the opportunity to extensively connect with and be in conversation with a wide variety of leading demographers, economists, and population experts who work at the University of Vienna, the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the Austrian Academy of Sciences. I had many conversations that were extremely generative for my thinking around the direction of my future dissertation research. Additionally, I formed several strong relationships with individuals who I hope to collaborate with in my future research, as potential interlocutors for qualitative research interviews and participant observation. It was a truly invaluable experience to have an opportunity to meet these individuals as they serve as key figures within the field and topic I am studying.”

Olivia Casey

Carla Coronado

Support from Rutgers Climate Institute, helped Planning and Public Policy Ph.D. candidate Carla Coronado with her living and transportation costs during her January - March 2017 internship with the Climate Change and Sustainability Division (CCS) of the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C. The IDB is a multilateral institution and the main source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The CCS division works together with public and private financial institutions to implement climate governance systems, develop innovative schemes and instruments to promote investment in emissions reductions projects and programs, and to increase resilience to the impacts of climate change. Carla worked on a study of sustainable infrastructure to understand trends of social conflicts related to infrastructure projects in Latin America, including an academic paper to explore the relationship between social conflict and sustainable infrastructure in Latin America.

Carla explains, "The CCS interest in this topic is motivated by the need for increasing current investment infrastructure rates in the LAC region for tackling the sustainability challenges of our time that include sustainable growth, inclusive development and reducing climate risk. In line with the Paris agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, the division seeks to foster the scale up of infrastructure investment that is socially inclusive, low carbon, and climate resilient. Despite the pressing need for building infrastructure for fostering development in Latin America, projects face multiple conflicts, especially of a social and environmental nature, which many times have caused delays and cost overruns, or even projects’ postposition and cancellation. This constitutes an important hurdle that the division wants to encourage governments in Latin America to address. Evidence allows us to observe that conflict motivations highlight the need for developing infrastructure that embraces sustainability values and suggests that more sustainable projects are more likely to work out socio-environmental conflicts. Results also speak about the economic convenience of developing projects in a more sustainable way, which from a governmental and communities’ perspective would allow to take advantage of the benefits that infrastructures projects yield, and from a private sector perspective would reduce the risks of incurring in cost overruns and project delays and/or cancellations. Doing this internship was a tremendous opportunity that allowed me to start getting involved with the type of organizations I aim to work with in the future."

Samiah Moustafa

In December 2016, Samiah Moustafa attended the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Annual Conference in San Francisco, California. In addition to attending many invited talks, cryosphere sessions, poster presentations, and participation in an intermediate-level JavaScript Google Earth Engine Workshop Ms. Moustafa had the opportunity to engage with Cryosphere colleagues that culminated in securing four potential postdoctoral opportunities at a variety of domestic institutions and to attend a cryosphere career panel sponsored by the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists. "I successfully presented my latest research looking at inter-comparing modeled and observed discharge for three catchments along West Greenland to numerous colleagues, mentors, fellow graduate students, and Outstanding Student Poster Award judges. During my poster presentation, I received valuable feedback on my recent findings, of which I can incorporate into my third, first-author manuscript that is in preparation for submission to the Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface Processes."

Samiah noted, "I am incredibly grateful for the Rutgers Climate Institute supporting my travel to attend and participate in the largest annual Earth Science conference in the world. In sum, by attending AGU, I was able to showcase my latest dissertation research, and by extension, promote the cutting-edge climate change research done at Rutgers University. Furthermore, attending AGU allowed me to gather valuable feedback on my latest research, connect with colleagues, network with new prospective collaborators, and secure several potential postdoctoral opportunities to set the stage for the next step in my career."

In January 2017, RCI also supported Samiah's participation in the Program for Arctic Regional Climate Assessment (PARCA) conference at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD where she had the opportunity to attend talks related to the latest research on the Greenland ice sheet as well as present her latest dissertation research. Networking during dinner led her to postdoctoral research opportunities, and confirming collaboration to enable her to use a colleague’s ice core drilling data for a forthcoming manuscript.

"By attending PARCA, I was able to showcase my latest dissertation research, and by extension, promote the innovative climate change research done at Rutgers University. Furthermore, attending the conference allowed me to gather valuable feedback on my latest analyses done since the previous conference at AGU (Dec. 2016), connect with colleagues, network with new prospective collaborators (including a new collaboration with ice core scientists at Rowan University), and secure several additional postdoctoral opportunities to set the stage for the next step in my career."

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