From City to the World

Have you ever heard of a virtual power plant? Learn about innovatively integrating energy resources to benefit a community of participants while also contributing sustainably to the electrical grid. Michael Bobker of The City College of New York (CCNY) and its CUNY Building Performance Lab joins Clayton Banks, CEO and cofounder of Silicon Harlem, in conversation with CCNY President Vincent Boudreau, host of From City to the World. In this episode dedicated to Climate Change Awareness Month, these Harlem-based experts discuss the roles of education, innovation and community engagement in meeting essential needs such as infrastructure and resilient, healthier and more equitable cityscapes.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau
Guests: Michael Bobker, CCNY Earth System Science and Environmental Engineering, CUNY Building Performance Lab; Clayton Banks, CEO and Cofounder, Silicon Harlem

Transformative women-led opportunities in the sciences in New York are a model for opening doors for future scientists from all communities. Hear about the careers of a pioneering materials scientist and a science educator and learn how each is incorporating novel interdisciplinary approaches in programs driving inclusion and success in STEM, from the middle-school level to PhDs and post-docs. As From City to the World honors Women's History Month, President Vincent Boudreau of The City College of New York hosts a conversation with CCNY Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Maria Tamargo and Science in the City, Inc., Founder and CEO Kyesha Ruffin, CCNY 2013.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau
Host: Maria Tamargo, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Director, CREST Center for Interface Design and Engineered Assembly of Low-Dimensional Systems (IDEALS), CCNY; Kyesha Ruffin, Founder and CEO, Science in the City, Inc.

Recorded: March 26, 2025

Urban heat islands and flooding are closely studied in the living lab of New York City and beyond by experts at The City College of New York (CCNY). Now this knowledge base is going global to benefit a world of communities at risk, researchers, educators, and policy makers. On this episode of From City to the World, learn how the United Nations University (UNU) has established its first United States hub at CCNY.

The new UNU hub — Remote-Sensing and Sustainable Innovations for Resilient Urban Systems (R-SIRUS) — draws on CCNY's long-standing leadership in remote sensing research (the use of satellites and sensors to collect climate data) and its application to address climate change, especially in under-resourced communities. Hear CCNY President Vincent Boudreau explore the hub and its goals with experts Reza Khanbilvardi and Kaveh Madani.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau
Guests: Reza Khanbilvardi, PhD, NOAA Chair and Professor, CCNY's Grove School of Engineering, and Co-Executive Director, UNU Hub at CCNY; Kaveh Madani, PhD, Research Professor, CUNY-CREST Institute at CCNY, and Director, UNU Institute for Water, Environment and Health
Recorded: November 21, 2024

The imperative for communities to actively and equitably determine their destinies, when it comes to land use and the built environment, sparked the creation in 1964 of the Architects' Renewal Committee in Harlem (ARCH). Considered the first community design center, ARCH and its visionary architects and planners provided resources and gave voice to Harlem residents facing urban renewal, slum clearance and commercial development pressures. This episode of From City to the World, hosted by President Vincent Boudreau of The City College of New York, features the upcoming symposium "ARCH @ 60: Bridging Past Visions & Present Realities," which takes place Nov. 15 and 16 at CCNY. 

Joining the conversation are Shawn Rickenbacker, director of the symposium host organization, the J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures at CCNY, and the Hon. Karen Dixon, Land Use Committee Chair of Manhattan's Community Board 10 and Executive Director of Harlem Dowling-West Side Center for Children and Family Services. Learn from Rickenbacker about ARCH's legacy and how his own CCNY organization — named for an ARCH leader and former CCNY dean — is pioneering collaborative tools that pair community input with data on development outcomes to guide decision-making on project proposals. The Hon. Karen Dixon shares her expertise on building affordable housing and how Community Board 10 is leveraging Rickenbacker's work and equipping Harlem for informed, equitable development today.
 
Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau
Guests: Shawn Rickenbacker, Associate Professor, Director of the J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures, CCNY; Hon. Karen Dixon, Chair, Land Use Committee, Manhattan Community Board 10, and Executive Director, Harlem Dowling-West Side Center for Children and Family Services
Recorded: October 30, 2024

In New York City, new programs are leveraging the hard and soft skills of digital gaming into preparation for tech-forward, future-ready careers. On From City to the World, President Vincent Boudreau of The City College of New York hosts a conversation with CCNY alumnus and faculty member Stan M. Altman, Cofounder of the Harlem Gallery of Science, and Alia Jones-Harvey, Associate Commissioner of Education and Workforce Development in the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME). Learn how Altman's vision for engaging young people from under-resourced communities in STEAM education and innovation is bringing interactive exhibits to Harlem and a new degree program to CCNY. Hear from Harvey how MOME's support for these educational initiatives advances New York City's game plan for its growing tech sector and urban workforce.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau
Guests: Stan M. Altman, CCNY Faculty and Cofounder of the Harlem Gallery of Science; Alia Jones-Harvey, Associate Commissioner of Education and Workforce Development in the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment
Recorded: September 25, 2024