Stony Brook Leaders Named to SUNY Climate Research Task Force

Multidisciplinary Research Team Holds First Meetings to Advance SUNY's Research Leadership in Sustainability and Climate Solution

Six faculty and staff from the State University of New York at Stony Brook have been selected to SUNY's new STRIVE Climate and Sustainability Research Task Force.

STRIVE stands for Strategic Research Investment and is focused on supporting efforts to accelerate SUNY's and New York State's leadership in research, innovation, and associated workforce and economic development. The task force advances the educational and research aspects of SUNY's Climate & Sustainability Action Plan.

"New technologies and innovative approaches are critical for growing our economy while simultaneously addressing climate change," SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr., who announced the task force during Climate Week NYC. "SUNY research will play a critical role in ensuring our communities' resilience in the context of global warming and rising sea levels. We are already seeing that most of the new energy sources built worldwide and in the United States are from renewable sources, and the extraordinary research happening in SUNY labs right now will ensure New York remains a leader and thrives in the clean energy future."

The Climate and Sustainability Research Task Force will help develop SUNY's blueprint for energized and scaled research and innovation, aligned with SUNY's commitment to positively impact the health and well-being of New Yorkers and economic vitality of the state. The task force is co-convened by SUNY Senior Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation, and Economic Development Shadi Shahedipour-Sandvik and Chief Sustainability Officer Carter Strickland.

Minghua Zhang, Distinguished Professor in Stony Brook's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS), is one of three task force chairs, including Michele Grimm, Dean of the College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering at the State University of New York at Albany, and Atul Kelkar, Dean of the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science at the State University of New York at Binghamton.

The Climate Research Task Force's working group leaders from Stony Brook include:

Climate Science and Predictive Modeling: Kevin Reed, associate provost for climate and sustainability programming, SoMAS professor and chief climate scientist at the New York Climate Exchange.

Environmental Data Collection and Analytics: Heather Lynch, Endowed Chair in Ecology and Evolution at the Institute for Advanced Computational Science (IACS) and professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution.

Clean Energy Systems and Smart Infrastructure: Devinder Mahajan, graduate program director of Chemical and Molecular Engineering, and director of the Institute of Gas Innovation and Technology (I-GIT).

University-Industry-Government Collaboration and Outreach: Nina Maung, senior associate vice president for research development and partnerships in the Office for Research and Innovation.

Education and Workforce Development: Derek O'Connor, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Workforce Development Manager, Office of Economic Development

During Phase I, from September through November, the co-leads will draft an executive summary outlining the overarching strategy. Phase II begins in early 2026 and will convene a larger group of SUNY experts across the System to develop a 3-5-year strategic plan. This plan will fully engage a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including government, philanthropy and industry leaders.

The work of the STRIVE Climate and Sustainability Research Task Force will complement the work of previous STRIVE task forces convened by Chancellor King on artificial intelligence, biotech, microelectronics packaging, and quantum whose recommendations are already accelerating SUNY's research leadership.

"New York State is driving climate innovation in ways that also fuel economic growth," said Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight. This climate- and sustainability-focused task force will connect SUNY's research leadership with industry and government partners to deliver solutions that cut emissions, create good jobs, and strengthen communities all across the state."