Advancing Diversity in Environmental Science: Mercy Works Partners with SUNY ESF to Offer Environmental Science Internships for the Next 2 Years

In its inaugural year, Mercy Works paired Hiba Shaalan, an undergraduate student studying chemical engineering at Oberlin College with the SUNY ESF internship. Dr. Obste Therasme, Assistant Professor at SUNY ESF provided direct mentorship. “This year was a learning process for me and my team as we were developing this partnership with Mercy Works and accepting our first intern,” said Dr. Therasme “It is my hope that we can learn from this year's experience to streamline the process of hosting the remaining 8-9 Synergy interns over the next 2 years.” Financial support is provided by the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) under Grant #2022-68016-36153. Technical support is provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA).

While climate change affects all Americans, there is a growing body of evidence that highlights the disproportionate and unequal risks that climate change is projected to have on communities that are least able to anticipate, cope with, and recover from adverse impacts. 

According to the EPA, these communities may be more exposed to the highest impacts of climate change in six categories: Air Quality and Health; Extreme Temperature and Health; Extreme Temperature and Labor; Coastal Flooding and Traffic; Coastal Flooding and Property; and Inland Flooding and Property. 

Catastrophic climate change will only be averted through the widespread deployment of carbon dioxide removal technologies and adoption of a climate-focused bioeconomy. The bioeconomy is the part of an economy that produces sustainable, renewable bio-based feedstocks, rather than fossil fuel-based feedstocks, to produce products that achieve the climate and social justice requirement of the Climate Act. 

This is where the USDA’s Carbon-Negative Renewable Distillate Fuels project in the State of New York State comes in. A grant was awarded to SUNY ESF to contribute to this project with the overall goal of this integrated agricultural project is to advance the adoption of distillate fuels from willow biomass through research and education. The project team will collaborate with MercyWorks’ Synergy program to provide knowledge and skills to undergraduate STEM students pursuing educations involving low-carbon energy systems. 

Watch the full interview with Dr. Obste Therasme of SUNY ESF