The National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies (NOAA-CESSRST) a Cooperative Science Center (CSC), was established in 2016 (NOAA, “NOAA/EPP Grant # NA16SEC4810008″). The Center’s mission is to educate, train and graduate a new generation of diverse and competent cadre of students, and to create a diverse and skilled workforce in NOAA mission-aligned STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and social science disciplines.

Through research projects, CESSRST faculty and students engage with scientists and engineers at NOAA, NOAA’s Contractors, industry, local and state stakeholders, and with the broader academic community. A key objective across all CESSRST research projects is to inspire students to engage in interdisciplinary research that supports NOAA’s leading role in environmental science, service and stewardship.

The City College of the City University of New York (CCNY), the consortium’s lead institution, works in partnership with University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and four other universities: Hampton University; San Diego State University; University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, and University of Texas, El Paso. All of these institutions enjoy high enrollments of under-represented minority students.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, activities contribute to NOAA’s “Weather Ready Nation” goal and addresses the following objectives within this goal: 1) “Healthy people and communities through improved air and water quality”, and 2) “Reduced loss of life, property, and disruption from high-impact events”.

The activities are also relevant to the “Climate Adaptation and Mitigation” goal and associated objectives: 1) “Improved scientific understanding of the changing climate system and its impacts”, and 2) “Integrated assessments of current and future states of the climate system that identify potential impacts and inform science, services, and decisions”.