Bronx Community College (BCC) teamed with Hunter College to host a one-day symposium on Geospatial Technologies at our University Heights campus. The event celebrated 10 years of impact by the BCC Geospatial Center of the CUNY CREST Institute (BGCCCI), which has been at the forefront of workforce and career development, research, and training in geospatial technology, climate science, and AI applications. Dr. Sunil Bhaskaran, BCC Professor and founding director of BGCCCI, is the Principal Investigator of a NASA grant [2025-2028], where he will drive innovative research in geospatial-AI for Urban Decision Support Systems.

“The work you are doing is making an impact, and the NASA award is a testimony to that,” BCC President Dr. Larry Johnson, Jr. said in his welcome remarks. “At BCC, we are providing opportunities for students to be successful with undergraduate research, but we are going beyond that and reaching out to the community, holding workshops and seminars for K-12 students. This event today shows how the work we do here is not only special to us, but it is special to CUNY.”

Students had the chance to interact with experts, visit BCC and discuss potential opportunities to work and conduct research on current NASA funded projects at the Center. Experts from Hunter College, University of Missouri, College of Staten Island, New York University, CUNY CREST Institute, Bronx Community College, University of Arizona, and Industry partners such as ARUP and Vega MX presented on topics such as GIS and AI Integration; Urban Planning and Climate Adaptation; Training the Next Generation of Tech Talent, and Capacity Building in Emerging Technologies. Dr. Sunil Bhaskaran and Dr. Peter Marcotulli, Hunter College Chairperson of Geography & Environmental Sciences, were featured speakers; closing remarks were delivered by BCC Provost Dr. Luis Montenegro.

Several former students of Dr. Bhaskaran returned to campus to attend the Conference.

“Professor Sunil always inspired me and all other students to do our best work and pursue our dreams. When I attended BCC, there would typically be a long line outside his office with students waiting to see him,” said Leroy Brown, who graduated from BCC in 2011 and is now employed by the Office of Homeland Security at JFK airport. Brown said he has stayed in touch with Professor Sunil all these years and noted the relevance of the Conference to his current work using facial recognition with travelers.