News

The Climate Lighthouse Project, an interdisciplinary venture led by City College of New York atmospheric scientist Jimmy Booth, is the recipient of a three-year $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) to help communities bearing the brunt of climate change.

The funding is part of a $10 million DoE largesse to 10 innovative Climate Resilience Centers (CRCs) in 10 different states. These university-led research teams will leverage the world-class modeling, data, and research capabilities from DoE national laboratories customized for their local regions with a focus on climate prediction of weather hazard risks to better prepare communities. The CRCs are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative and are designed to ensure that all Americans are benefitting from scientific research.

CCNY’s Climate Lighthouse project will be a partnership with two of DoE’s laboratories: Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The project is designed to help residents better prepare for extreme heat. The focus will be on translating DoE climate data into usable tools to improve the resilience of New York City residents. Information will be communicated to the public through community partnerships. The team will work closely with community partners to co-develop tools that can provide actionable knowledge to the public.

“This project will leverage existing DOE data, make new observations, and bring together a multi-disciplinary team. We are excited and grateful to have the opportunity to pursue this project,” said Booth.

His Climate Lighthouse Project team members include:

• Zihao Zhang, CCNY’s Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture;
• Yana Kucheva, CCNY’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership;
• Prathap Ramamurthy and Naresh Devineni, both CCNY Grove School of Engineering;
• Spencer Hill, CCNY Division of Science; and
• Rachael Piltch-Loeb, CUNY School of Public Health.

The project has two collaborators: Katia Lamer at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Bryce Harrop at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

“Every pocket of the country has experienced the impact of extreme weather events that are exacerbated by climate change, and disadvantaged communities often feel the brunt of that impact,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The projects (selected) will leverage the world-class expertise and scientific research capacities of DoE’s national laboratories to develop the tools communities will need to inform future decisions for building resiliency.”

Other CRCs funded are located at:

• Saint Louis University in Missouri;
• South Dakota School of Mines and Technology;
• University of Texas-Arlington in partnership with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi;
• Central State University in partnership with Ohio State University and PNNL;
• University of Alaska Fairbanks;
• Florida Institute of Technology,
• Central Michigan University;
• University of Massachusetts Lowell; and
• Lehigh University in partnership with PNNL.

The CRCs will help form a nucleus for a diverse group of young scientists, engineers, and technicians to further their scientific research and work on scientific teams. The CRCs will also foster capacity at the regional and local level by connecting with affected communities and stakeholders to enable them to translate basic research into actionable science to enhance climate resilience, as well as to identify potential future research opportunities.