The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a three-year $650,000 collaborative grant to Bronx Community College (BCC) and Queensborough Community College (QCC) to design and implement interdisciplinary climate change curricula across various technology related programs. The grant will provide hands-on technician training in fields such as Environmental Technology, Medical Lab Technology, and Automotive Technology to provide students with relevant climate change technology instruction and skills to prepare them for 21st century careers.

QCC Physics Professor and former Provost, Paul J. Marchese led the grant initiative as Principal Investigator (PI) along with BCC Lecturer Paramita Sen, as co PI. The team is assembling a grant Advisory Board that will consist of representatives from various industries and companies (i.e., Con Edison, MTA, and electric and solar grid companies), who will identify market needs and the requisite skills needed to combat climate change issues.

“Our aim is to hear directly from employers in the field about what climate change technology skillsets they want for their future employees, which in turn would allow us to offer real-world solutions to problems created by climate change,” Sen said. “Input from industry leaders will be vital to us as we design the new curriculum.”

Dr. Neal Phillip, Professor and Chairperson of the BCC Department of Chemistry, Earth Sciences and Environmental Sciences, congratulated Professors Sen and Marchese on this grant award. “At BCC, we are grateful for the opportunity and excited to be part of such a forward-thinking grant to prepare employers and employees for adverse climate change scenarios,” he said.