Stevens Institute of Technology Renowned Ocean Researchers Selected to Serve on Third New York City Panel on Climate Change
Hoboken, N.J. (PRWEB) July 02, 2015 -- Stevens Institute of Technology researchers and ocean physicists Dr. Alan Blumberg and Dr. Philip Orton have been selected to join the Third New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC3) to advise New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the administration’s climate policy leadership on climate change projections and adaptation. The kickoff meeting for the panel was held today at New York City’s City Hall.
The New York City Panel on Climate Change is an independent body that advises the City on climate risks and resiliency. By providing the best available data, NPCC science informs the City’s comprehensive climate policies, including its multilayered, citywide resiliency plan and sweeping sustainability initiatives—in line with President Obama’s recent Executive Order.
The last NPCC report, Building the Knowledge Base for Climate Resiliency, released earlier this year, focused on increasing the current and future resiliency of communities, citywide systems, and infrastructure around New York City and the broader metropolitan region. NPCC3 will build on that report by examining climate risks through the lens of inequality at a neighborhood scale.
NPCC3 will also focus on ways to enhance coordination of mitigation and resiliency across the entire New York metropolitan region. The panel’s report is due early next year.
Both Blumberg and Orton were technical contributors to NPCC2 from 2013-2015. In an increased role Blumberg will provide subject matter expertise to help define the goals and develop plans for accomplishing the tasks set out in NPCC3’s scope of work.
“The New York City Panel on Climate Change represents the impact and growth that can be achieved when science and policy join together for the greater good and resilience of our communities,” said Blumberg. “Preparing for climate change in a city as large as New York will set a precedent for cities of comparable size, and those that are much smaller, to follow suit.”
“The direct impacts of climate change will take a major toll on New York City, as a coastal city” said Orton. “NPCC will provide information to enhance monitoring capabilities and to help plan the adaptations needed to minimize negative impacts.”
Blumberg is the George Meade Bond Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering in the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science at Stevens. He is also the Director of the Davidson Laboratory which has a focus on assessing, predicting and mitigating the damage of natural and man-made disasters. The Davidson Laboratory is one of the largest hydrodynamic and ocean engineering laboratories in the world and is reknown for its naval engineering tow tank facilities.
Orton previously served as a technical contributor to the New York City Special Initiative on Rebuilding and Resilience. He is joining the NPCC3 technical team to develop and test prototype climate change indicators, monitoring systems and mapping.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University®, is a premier, private research university situated in Hoboken, N.J. overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Founded in 1870, technological innovation has been the hallmark and legacy of Stevens’ education and research programs for more than 140 years. Within the university’s three schools and one college, more than 6,800 undergraduate and graduate students collaborate with more than 380 faculty members in an interdisciplinary, student-centric, entrepreneurial environment to advance the frontiers of science and leverage technology to confront global challenges. Stevens is home to three national research centers of excellence, as well as joint research programs focused on critical industries such as healthcare, energy, finance, defense, maritime security, STEM education and coastal sustainability. The university is consistently ranked among the nation’s elite for return on investment for students, career services programs and mid-career salaries of alumni. Stevens is in the midst of a 10-year strategic plan, The Future. Ours to Create., designed to further extend the Stevens legacy to create a forward-looking and far-reaching institution with global impact.
Danielle Wooddruffe, Stevens Institute of Technology, +1 201-216-5139, [email protected]
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