Oceanographers Joe Gradone (at left) and Corday Selden will serve as co-chief scientists on a 25-day Atlantic research expedition aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor (too).

Two early-career scientists will lead an international team on a 25-day expedition in the Atlantic Ocean 

Oceanographers Joe Gradone and Corday Selden are preparing to step into the most consequential assignment of their careers so far.

Corday Selden, an assistant professor in the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, brings expertise in biological and chemical sampling to the expedition, helping connect ocean mixing with marine life and chemistry. Photo: Luca Mostello

On Aug. 7, they will board the research vessel Falkor (too) in Bridgetown, Barbados. Two days later, the ship will leave port, carrying Gradone and Selden into the Atlantic Ocean as co-chief scientists leading an international team of 19 scientists on a 25-day research expedition.

Related: Inside the science at sea

The voyage is being made possible by Schmidt Ocean Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to oceanographic research that operates the 363-foot R/V Falkor (too) as a global platform for ocean science. Through a competitive selection process, the institute provides researchers with access to ship time, advanced technology, and technical support at no cost.

For Rutgers, the result is a rare opportunity: Two early-career oceanographers will lead an international team aboard a vessel equipped for ambitious, round-the-clock science. The ship carries eight laboratories, advanced sonar systems and high-performance computing capacity, allowing researchers to collect, process and interpret data while working far from shore.

“Schmidt Ocean Institute’s support gives Rutgers scientists and students access to extraordinary shipboard capabilities,” said Josh Kohut, dean of research at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and director of research at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. “For Joe Gradone and Corday Selden, this expedition is both a major scientific opportunity and a defining career moment as they lead an international team studying processes that are difficult to observe but essential to understanding the ocean and its global reach.”

Joe Gradone, an assistant research professor in the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, studies physical oceanography and autonomous ocean platforms, including gliders that help scientists observe conditions beneath the ocean surface. Photo: Luca Mostello

The expedition will be Gradone and Selden’s first as chief scientists. Gradone is an assistant research professor, and Selden is an assistant professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences at the school. Together, they will plan daily science operations and manage dozens of interconnected research projects aboard a vessel moving through a changing sea.

Their partnership brings together distinct but closely connected areas of expertise. Gradone’s work centers on physical oceanography and autonomous platforms, including robotic ocean gliders that help scientists observe the ocean beneath the surface. Selden brings expertise in the biological and chemical sampling that will occupy much of the team’s time at sea. Together, they are trying to connect the ocean’s fine-scale physical structure with its chemistry and biology.

That combination will matter once the ship reaches the open ocean. The scientists will be studying a form of mixing called salt finger mixing, which occurs when water layers with different temperatures and salt levels interact. These small-scale movements may influence marine life, ocean chemistry and the movement of carbon through the sea.

The goal is to capture a range of those mixing conditions and understand how ocean circulation impacts mixing and, in turn, how it affects the living ocean.

“Do we capture the spectrum in salt finger mixing that we’re trying to capture?” Selden said, describing one of the central measures of success.

Some of that answer will come in real time. Instruments lowered into the water will send back information that can help the scientists decide where to sample next. If the team isn’t seeing what they hoped to find, they will work with the ship’s crew to adjust course.

“We’ll know that while we’re on the ship,” Selden said.

R/V Falkor (too) sails the South Pacific off the coast of Chile during a research expedition. Photo: Misha Vallejo Prut/ Schmidt Ocean Institute

Other answers will take longer. Some samples must survive the voyage, return to shore and undergo laboratory analysis before the scientists know what they contain. That delay is part of what makes ocean research both powerful and precarious.

Selden has experienced the risk before. She has been at sea when a freezer malfunctioned and samples were lost. She has seen samples contaminated or destroyed when an instrument failed.

“You can’t get them back once they’re gone,” she said.

Gradone knows a different version of such uncertainty. His work often involves sending autonomous platforms into the ocean and waiting for them to return.

“The ocean has a way of keeping what you send into it, that’s just the nature of the work,” he said. “I kind of jokingly, with gliders, say that, so far, my number of deployments equals my number of recoveries, and I probably just jinxed it by saying so. Knocking on wood it holds until we get the data we’re after this summer.”

The expedition will require scientific judgment, logistical endurance and a tolerance for uncertainty. 

For Gradone, the emotional weight of that responsibility is clear. When he imagines the ship leaving Barbados and turning toward the first research station, the feeling isn’t merely excitement.

“It’s awe,” he said.

He described the moment as a mixture of “anxiety,” “responsibility” and “gratitude.”

An aerial view of equipment stored in the Seawater Lab at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. The gear shown represents most of the 10,112 pounds of equipment being shipped for the upcoming Atlantic research expedition aboard the R/V Falkor (too). Photo: Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences

The scale of the task has become clearer as departure approaches. So has the importance of the people joining them.

The Rutgers group includes Gradone, Selden and oceanographer Travis Miles, along with doctoral students and technical staff. Other members of the party will contribute expertise in physical oceanography, marine biology, chemistry and zooplankton ecology.

Some are former advisers and long-time collaborators. Others are scientists at earlier stages of their careers whom Gradone and Selden are helping to train.

Selden sees the expedition as an expression of a distinctive culture within Rutgers oceanography.

Senior researchers actively support scientists at earlier stages of their careers. Former students become colleagues. Academic relationships continue across multiple generations. She herself first arrived at Rutgers as a postdoctoral researcher, ultimately earning a spot in the Presidential Postdoctoral Program.

Gradone entered Rutgers as a doctoral student of Miles, who had once been a student of Rutgers oceanographer Kohut. Selden’s own professional network aboard the cruise will include a former doctoral adviser with whom she has already completed several voyages.

The resulting department feels “familial,” Selden said, particularly at moments when an instrument fails or a plan must change quickly.

“You have a team that you trust,” she said, “because they’re people who just really, honestly, in a non-self-interested way want to help support you.”

The expedition arrives during what Selden calls a “building phase” in both of their lives. They are establishing laboratories, choosing research directions and deciding what kind of colleagues and mentors they want to become.

“This project is very important for both of us,” Selden said. “This is going to be a big component for both of us as we’re moving forward, establishing ourselves.”

This article first appeared in Rutgers Today.

Hybridized iris plants at their peak at Rutgers Gardens. Photo by Moira Keihm.

Nearly a century after their first collaboration, Rutgers Gardens and the American Iris Society reunite to celebrate horticultural excellence, student learning, and a shared legacy of iris innovation.

As a demonstration of its place as a garden of horticultural excellence and a nod to its history of showcasing hybridized iris research, Rutgers Gardens was selected as a featured site of the American Iris Society’s 2026 Convention. The AIS provided stunning “guest iris” plants bred by skilled hybridizers that were installed at Rutgers Gardens in 2024 and 2025.

On May 22, a beautiful day filled with blue skies and sunshine during an otherwise rainy week, a large contingent of AIS members and iris enthusiasts spent a full day exploring Rutgers Gardens. Attendees saw the irises in full bloom throughout the display gardens, held a silent auction at the Alumni Pavilion, engaged with student horticulturists, and judged entries in the 2026 Iris Awards. It was the culmination of years of hard work, collaboration, educational experiences, creativity, and the forging of new friendships.  

Visitors appreciate irises during Iris Field Day in May of 1939. Photo belongs to the Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

The connection between Rutgers Gardens and iris plants dates to 1922, when the Iris Display Garden was established in what was then known as Horticulture Farm No. 1. This early iteration of the site that would become Rutgers Gardens was not considered a public botanical garden at that time, but a living laboratory for ornamental horticulture research conducted to benefit New Jersey farmers and nursery industry professionals. This made the Iris Display Garden a singular addition. The garden generated public interest and popular Iris Field Days were hosted annually.

By 1930, Hort Farm 1 featured hundreds of varieties of irises as well as displays of test gardens developed with the AIS. Rising costs for exclusive iris varieties and changing trends in suburban landscape design led Hort Farm 1 to begin transitioning the iris collection in 1963 to a display of annual flowers in 1964. That space is now the Donald B. Lacey Display Garden.

Fast forward from 1964 to 2024, when the AIS was planning its 2026 Convention and selected Rutgers Gardens as one of the featured garden sites. Almost a century after Rutgers Gardens and the AIS first partnered to share horticulture education and a passion for iris varieties with the public, this reunion would amplify the historical significance of irises on display at Rutgers Gardens.

Attendees of the AIS 2026 Convention enjoy the irises in the Donald B. Lacey Display Garden at Rutgers Gardens. Photo by Lauren Errickson.

Lauren Errickson, Director of Rutgers Gardens and Campus Stewardship, emphasizes how powerful this project has been. “Bringing this garden to a full-circle moment in collaboration with the AIS is very meaningful to me. I am grateful that we have been able to work together to connect the efforts of hybridizers from across the country with the long-standing history of irises at Rutgers Gardens in a way that lets so many people appreciate and learn about the plants,” she shares.

A Northern Blue Flag Iris blooms in the Rain Garden at Rutgers Gardens. Photo by Moira Keihm.

Rutgers Gardens was eager to highlight its historical links to the plant, declaring the Northern Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) the 2026 “plant of the year.” Rutgers Gardens members were given an Iris versicolor plant as part of their membership benefits, as the variety is one of the focal points of the Rain Garden in the spring.

For each annual convention, hybridizers providing guest irises to gardens featured during it’s the tours are required to follow specific rules and timelines for sending their beloved, creatively named rhizomes to the sites entrusted with their care. For two years, Rutgers Gardens staff members and student horticulturists worked to ensure these guest irises not only survived, but thrived, so that Convention guests could enjoy the peak blooms and judge entries in the annual AIS Awards in May 2026.

It was a privilege and a responsibility that Rutgers Gardens staff did not take lightly.

Assistant Director: Horticulture Maxine Marvosa worked with AIS Guest Iris Chair George Hildenbrandt to receive shipments of hybridized bearded and beardless rhizomes in 2024. “George was amazing. He provided labels and spreadsheets and was available for any questions we had. Working with the AIS has been wonderful. They are such a well-organized group who gave us planting information and guidelines that were helpful when installing the irises.”

Installed irises wait for spring. Photo by Moira Keihm.

The first delivery of rhizomes arrived during a particularly hot and dry summer. Marvosa continues, “We kept a close eye on them to make sure they were well watered and cared for. In early winter 2024, we received another shipment of irises to plant and the deer pressure on them was severe. The deer do not eat irises, instead they pull them out of the soil, realize they do not like them, and then drop them. We would search the grounds and collect irises in the snow, then try to replant them according to maps we made during the installation.”    

Marvosa is proud of the team’s commitment and dedication. “In the two years after planting, the beds were maintained by the Rutgers Gardens student horticulturists who fought tirelessly against the weeds and invasive species coming up in between the irises.”

David Ackerman, who began his journey caring for the irises as a student intern and became the full-time Gardens and Grounds Technician by convention time, says, “After cultivating the irises for years with fellow interns, the convention visit gave me an even greater appreciation for their history and the dedicated community that continues to preserve and improve them. Seeing irises incorporated into the Donald B. Lacey Display Garden was a fantastic way to bring back Rutgers Gardens history in a modern context.”

The Donald B. Lacey Display Garden in May 2026, designed by David Ackerman. It featured an alluring mix of spring bulbs such as ornamental allium, newly planted annual flowers, and the irises installed in 2024. The garden continues to transform throughout the bloom season as the irises and spring flowers recede and the annuals fill more of the space. Photo by Moira Keihm.

Ackerman tapped into his skills and creativity as a landscape architecture major to design the 2026 annuals display, which inhabits the outer beds of what is affectionately known as “the DBL.” While the vibrant annuals beckon many visitors to Rutgers Gardens each bloom season, this year would be notable with hundreds of additional AIS Convention guests also viewing the garden. Ackerman ensured that the color palettes, textures, and shapes found in his annuals design paired well with the kaleidoscope of colors in the iris beds to achieve a cohesive yet layered overall display garden.

However, during the 2024 installations, there was no way to know what each hybrid iris would look like when it bloomed. With names like “Stellar Wind,” “Mai Tai Join You,” and “Heaven’s Outskirts,” one could only guess the colors and unique features the iris would eventually present. Danielle Lohrman (SEBS’27), a Rutgers Gardens student horticulturist, admitted that she previously thought “irises only came in yellow.” Two bloom seasons later, she declares, “Now I’m a big fan of iris varieties, and some of them smell so good, like a mix of bubble gum and citronella.”

Marvosa adds, “When the irises were in bloom this year, the response we got from the public was incredibly positive. People were coming to Rutgers Gardens just to see the beautiful iris display at its peak.”

Rutgers Gardens was invited to the 2026 AIS Convention’s welcome dinner at the Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott Hotel on May 19 along with representatives of the three additional featured gardens. Moira Keihm, Senior Program Coordinator: Education and Engagement, was warmly welcomed by the convention co-chairs and AIS members. “I was wowed by the enthusiasm, knowledge, and friendliness of the organization’s leadership and its members.”

An AIS Convention guest takes photos of daylilies. Photo by Lauren Errickson.

The dinner also served as an annual meeting. “During roll call,” Keihm continues, “the regional clubs stood up and waved and celebrated, cheering for each other and showing how genuinely happy they were to be part of this community. The attendees’ love for these plants and their devotion to traveling all over the country to see iris displays was palpable.”

The Convention visit to Rutgers Gardens was a resounding success. Andi Rivarola, a 2026 Convention Co-Chair, and immediate past president of the AIS, describes key aspects of their organization’s time in the gardens. “Members of The American Iris Society enjoyed a wonderful visit during the 2026 AIS National Convention. It was a delight to stroll through the gardens and see the irises thriving, displaying a spectacular rainbow of colors that only they can provide.”

Rivarola continues, “We also appreciated the beautiful shade garden, where towering trees and lush foliage created a peaceful retreat. And, according to our youngest attendees, one of the highlights of the visit was discovering frogs hiding among the pond in the iris beds—a memorable adventure that added an extra touch of fun to the day.”

Assistant Director: Horticulture Maxine Marvosa, at right, chats with AIS members. Photo by Moira Keihm.

Staff members were pleased to see their efforts caring for the horticulture displays at Rutgers Gardens rewarded with a triumphant convention visit. “All of the AIS members were so complimentary of the gardens and the iris displays that our team put together,” notes Marvosa. “We are going to stay in contact with many of the breeders who would like to evaluate other new iris varieties out at Rutgers Gardens, including Japanese irises.”

SEBS student and landscape architecture major Lohrman shares how the educational experience impacted her: “It was nice meeting the breeders of the irises I was helping to make the display labels for. It was like encountering a celebrity! Previously, I had no idea how the breeding process worked. I spoke to so many different people who were more than happy to share their knowledge.”

“I found it to be a very educational event as well as a great opportunity to connect with passionate plant people from all over the country,” says Ackerman. As part of the guest iris donation process, Rutgers Gardens gets to keep all the irises and visitors can continue to enjoy them in the display gardens in the future. Ackerman is thrilled that this collaboration has resulted in “the reintroduction of irises at Rutgers Gardens, as they will add beauty and seasonal color in our ornamental spaces for years to come.”

Assistant Director: Horticulture Marvosa looks ahead. “I was so impressed by the convention experience and how welcoming the group was that I joined the American Iris Society as a member the next day. I want to be part of and support an organization that cares so much about what they do and is so willing to welcome new people and share their knowledge with others. I look forward to working with the AIS in the future.”

A version of this article originally appeared in the July 2026 Friends of Rutgers Gardens newsletter. Subscribe to receive monthly updates from Rutgers Gardens here.

In May 2026, members of the Rutgers food systems research team met with the Federated States of Micronesia’s Honorable Secretary of Resources and Development Elina Akinaga and Assistant Secretary Menoleen Jacob Oswalt (third and fourth from left) to discuss the developing National Agriculture and Food Security Policy.

Green Climate Fund-Supported Policy Review Meetings in Yap, Chuuk, and Kosrae Bring Evidence-Based Food Security Frameworks to Communities Most Impacted by Climate Change

A Rutgers University food systems research team has completed a series of in-person stakeholder review meetings in Yap, Chuuk, and Kosrae states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) during April and May 2026, marking the completion of the first full cycle of community-led food security policy co-development across all four FSM states.

This milestone work, funded through the Green Climate Fund’s SAP020 project “Climate-Resilient Food Security for Farming Households Across the Federated States of Micronesia” and administered by the Micronesia Conservation Trust, delivered evidence-based, state-specific Food Security Policy Action Items to local stakeholders, not as top-down mandates, but as co-authored frameworks built from the voices and data of the communities they serve.

Building on Years of Collaborative Partnership

The April-May 2026 policy review meetings are the culmination of multi-year participatory action research that began in 2022 when the Rutgers team, led by James Simon, Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), was contracted to conduct the baseline assessment for the Green Climate Fund food security project. Since then, the food systems science team-an interdisciplinary research group based at SEBS, representing disciplines spanning agriculture, marine science, agribusiness, ethnobotany, nutrition, climate modeling, anthropology, environmental engineering and science communication has partnered with local NGOs and community organizations to survey more than 1,500 farming families and stakeholders across the FSM’s four states: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae.

The Rutgers Food Systems Science team met with Kosrae State’s food system stakeholders to review and revise Kosrae State’s Food Security Policy Action items in May 2026.

The team has partnered with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Micronesia Conservation Trust since 2021 and has worked on six food security related major projects, including the Green Climate Fund GCF SAP020 baseline assessment; FSM’s Third National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; the US Economic Development Administration Food Systems Solutions project; and Pohnpei State’s Food Security Policy and Food Production Master Plan.

The FSM, a Pacific island nation of 607 islands, faces an urgent food security crisis driven by climate change and a decades-long dependency on imported foods that replaced its once self-sustaining traditional food systems. The Rutgers team’s approach has centered community voice, cultural relevance, and indigenous knowledge at every stage of data collection and policy development. The 2025 Pohnpei State Food Security Policy, developed by the Rutgers science team in close partnership with the Pohnpei State’s Department of Resources and Development, served as a model for the state-specific frameworks now prepared for Yap, Chuuk, and Kosrae. All four state policies are structured around nine strategic goals encompassing local food production, food processing and supply chains, food safety and water security, technical training, neighboring island food security, nutrition and cultural awareness, food production policy management, import and investment policies, and community management.

Significance of the Work

Dena Seidel, cultural anthropologist and food systems researcher, and doctoral candidate Tori Rosen met with Yap State farmers Carmen and Augustine Muguy in April 2026.

The completion of state food security policy reviews across all four FSM states represents one of the most comprehensive, participatory, and evidence-based food policy development efforts yet undertaken for a Pacific island nation. The convergence of more than 1,500 mixed methods surveys, focus group and repeated in- person community convenings has produced an unprecedented body of original empirical evidence returned to the communities who generated it.

“So many people in our community have food related diseases like diabetes and heart disease. We started growing our own vegetables because we wanted healthy food for our children and we could not find it in the stores. Now we are growing for our family and for the community and we cannot keep up with demand,” said Carmen Muguy, a farmer in Yap State.

“At the national level, it is our responsibility to address the needs of the communities we serve. We appreciate and value our long-term partnership with the Rutgers team and their approach to working at the local level with stakeholders in all our FSM states,” said Elina Akinaga, FSM’s Secretary of Resources and Development.

“This work exemplifies what it means to do research with communities in support of their environmentally and culturally based food production goals,” said Simon, lead scientist for the Rutgers food systems research team in the FSM. “Data points in these policies came from FSM farmers, fishers, community leaders, and local organizations who generously shared their knowledge, aspirations, and lived experience. Our role is to ensure those voices shape the policies that will determine their food future.”

The nine-goal framework structuring each state’s Food Security Policy Action Items provides both comparability across states and sufficient flexibility to accommodate each community’s distinct agricultural resources, cultural priorities, geographic constraints, and community aspirations. As the final action items are refined through stakeholder review and formally adopted by each state government, they will mark a pivotal step toward climate-resilient, culturally grounded food sovereignty in the FSM and lay the foundation for the next phase of the partnership.

Building upon the four state food security policies, the Rutgers food systems science team is now developing the FSM National Agriculture and Food Security Policy and Food Production Master Plan 2026-2031 in close collaboration with the FSM National Department of Resources and Development and all four state governments.

Chuuk state stakeholders met with Rutgers researchers for a two-day food security workshop as part of the Food Systems Solutions Project in February of 2025.

About the FSM National Agriculture and Food Security Policy and Food Production Master Plan 2026–2031

Currently under development, the FSM National Agriculture and Food Security Policy and Food Production Master Plan 2026-2031 builds directly upon and harmonizes the four state-level Food Security Policies following their formal state approval, translating their shared vision into a coordinated national program of action aligned with the FSM Sustainable Development Plan 2024-2043. The plan’s operational centerpiece is the FSM Food Innovation Infrastructure Network: a nationally standardized, three-tiered system of Food Innovation Centers providing every FSM community with a structured entry point into the local food economy. Grounded in the same participatory action research approach, the national master plan addresses interstate food trade, national food safety certification, coordinated digital market infrastructure and the policy levers needed to attract the investment this transformation requires. The plan sets ambitious but community-validated five-year targets: a 50% increase in locally produced food available to FSM households, a 50% reduction in food import categories that can be produced within FSM, and hundreds of new food system jobs across all four states.

Members of the Rutgers Food Systems Science team met with the Micronesia Conservation Trust in May 2026 to discuss the impact of the Green Climate Fund SAP020 Baseline Assessment to inform the Federated States of Micronesia’s developing food security policies and food production master plans.

The community-led food system development model at the heart of this work reflects the same approach that has guided Simon’s basil breeding program for decades: engaging directly with growers to understand their priorities and challenges. Together, these efforts demonstrate how stakeholder-informed research can generate practical solutions that strengthen food systems, support livelihoods, and build resilience in the face of environmental and economic change.

The interdisciplinary Rutgers food systems research team working in the FSM is co-led by Dena Seidel and Ramu Govindasamy and includes, Oscar Schofield, Yariv Ben-Naim, AJ Both, Roland Hagan, Tori Rosen, Lara Brindisi and Michael Balick (New York Botanical Gardens) and Iris Arbogast (University of Chicago). Additional Rutgers faculty supporting the development of FSM food security policies include James Shope, Dave Bushek, Nolan Lewin and Kevon Rhiney, and undergraduate students Lauren Koo, Olivia Finer, Ankora Sant’Angelo and Eamon Black.

About the Green Climate Fund SAP020 Project

The Green Climate Fund’s SAP020 project, “Climate-Resilient Food Security for Farming Households Across the Federated States of Micronesia,” is the first comprehensive FSM national effort focused on increasing the resilience of the nation’s subsistence farming families, in the face of climate change. The Micronesia Conservation Trust, a Direct Access Entity within the Micronesian Region, oversees the project’s overall technical implementation. Rutgers University was contracted to conduct the project’s baseline assessment and has remained a key technical partner throughout now supporting the development of state and national food security policies.

Faculty and staff from Rutgers Department of Animal Sciences and Rutgers Gardens gathered with undergraduate and graduate student mentors and incoming cohort of students from LAGCC, OLLU, Texas State, Bergen County College and UPR for USDA NIFA NEXTGEN Animal Science Discovery Program on June 22 at Cook Campus Center MPR.

New Sustainable Urban Agriculture track, expanded student cohort and growing institutional partnerships highlight the USDA-funded initiative preparing the next generation of agriculture professionals.

The USDA NIFA NEXTGEN Animal Science Discovery Program (ANSCId) concluded its third summer on July 10 with a closing ceremony at the Douglass Student Center, Trayes Hall, on the Rutgers–New Brunswick campus. The intensive residential experience served 36 students across three experiential learning tracks while bringing together faculty, mentors and leaders from partner institutions across the country, underscoring the program’s growing national reach.

Animal Science Discovery Program students with horse from the RU Teaching Herd.

Now in the third year of its five-year, $4.5 million USDA NIFA NEXTGEN award, ANSCId is a joint initiative between LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC)—a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution within the City University of New York system—and Rutgers University. Through immersive experiential learning, research, and mentoring, the program prepares a highly skilled workforce for careers in agriculture, food systems, veterinary medicine, and related sciences. It creates an educational pathway from New York City high schools to LAGCC and ultimately Rutgers, providing under-resourced students opportunities to pursue careers in the food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences (FANH) workforce.

“Each year we see students arrive unsure whether there is a place for them in this field, and leave knowing that there is,” said Aparna Zama, ANSCId Project Director and teaching professor and director of the undergraduate program in animal sciences at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS). “Watching that transformation happen for a third cohort—and now across three different tracks—tells us that this model works.”

Preethi Radhakrishnan, ANSCId PI/Project Director at LAGCC noted that “this pipeline model has led to the first ever animal science major being established in NYC. Over 200 students are now enrolled in the environmental science major-animal science track at LAGCC.” Ten students have transferred from LAGCC to Rutgers University on ANSCId scholarships with one student graduating in January 2026, three more expected to graduate in Spring 2027, and six others by Spring 2028.

Students participating in cell and tissue culture labs in Foran 104.

ANSCId was launched in 2024 with two tracks—the Summer Experiential Learning Program (SELP) and the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE). This year it added a third, Sustainable Urban Agriculture (SUA), expanding its focus to include community gardens, urban food production and food security.

“I’m so glad Rutgers Gardens was able to host the urban agriculture pilot program,” said Lauren Errickson, director of Rutgers Gardens and Campus Stewardship. “Connecting students and community members around food and gardening is at the core of our work at Healthy Harvest, and it was wonderful to have the LAGCC students make meaningful contributions alongside our team while gaining hands-on learning experience.”

Assistant director, Meagan Terry, added “The LAGCC urban agriculture students jumped right in with our teams on both the Rutgers Gardens Student Farm as well as our Healthy Harvest urban agriculture expansion of both the community garden and in-ground food production. Through rain, extreme heat, and everything-in-between they displayed positivity, tenacity, and grit alongside our crew seven hours each day. We are grateful for their contributions to expand our growing areas with Healthy Harvest, and for participating in all farm activities during their three weeks.  We hope to continue learning from each other and stay connected as they progress in their urban agriculture journey”. 

This summer’s cohort included 29 students in SELP, four in SURE and three in the inaugural SUA track. Participants explored veterinary and human health careers through anatomy laboratories, animal handling and husbandry, cell culture, laboratory and field research, sustainable urban agriculture, community gardens and farmers market operations. All three tracks incorporated USDA workforce development activities, including résumé writing, interview preparation and career exploration.

From left to right, Ed Sanchez (BCC), Aparna Zama (Rutgers), Douglas Morrish (Texas State University), and Chuck Keeton (Vice Provost of Experiential Learning, Rutgers-New Brunswick).

A hallmark of the program’s growth this year was the participation of students and faculty from Our Lady of the Lake University, Texas State University, the University of Puerto Rico, and Bergen Community College. Speakers at the closing ceremony included Doug Morrish, associate dean for Student Success in the College of Science and Engineering at Texas State University and project director of the Texas State RAISE NEXTGEN grant, and Edward Sanchez, project director of the Bergen NEXTGEN Program for Food and Agricultural Sciences. Their participation reflected ANSCId’s growing role within a national network of institutions preparing the next generation of agriculture professionals.

Morrish said, “We were honored to participate in the USDA NIFA NEXTGEN Animal Science Discovery Program offered by Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. This program provided six Texas State University Department of Agricultural Sciences students with an exceptional experiential learning opportunity. Through hands-on exposure to animal science research, industry innovation, and career development, these students gained valuable skills and professional networks that will help prepare them to become the next generation of leaders in agriculture. This investment by USDA NIFA strengthens our commitment to developing a highly skilled agricultural workforce capable of addressing the evolving challenges and opportunities facing animal agriculture.”

“Animals are special creatures who need special people to understand and care for them,” said Sanchez. “The Rutgers Animal Science Discovery Program successfully united a cohort of students with the compassion to provide that care. They are the next leaders in animal stewardship.”

Morrish and Sanchez were joined by Rutgers leaders Laura Lawson, Executive Dean of SEBS; Ann Gould, Dean of Academic Programs at SEBS; Chuck Keeton, Vice Provost of Experiential Learning at Rutgers–New Brunswick; and Carolyn Moehling, Senior Vice Provost and Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education at Rutgers–New Brunswick.

“The students had incredible experiences and learned so much about animal science as a field and a career,” said Keeton. “They worked really hard and flourished thanks to support and encouragement from many Rutgers faculty, staff and students. All in all, this program is a model of immersive, hands-on learning.”

Christopher Nytch, project director of the IINSTAR-AS NEXTGEN Project at the University of Puerto Rico, said, “We are thrilled and appreciative that two undergraduate fellows from the IINSTAR-AS project at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras Campus could participate in the Summer 2026 Animal Science Discovery Program at Rutgers University. The experience provided unmatched practical training in animal sciences, offering a unique perspective that enriches our students’ academic journeys in environmental sciences and directly aligns with the goals of the USDA-NIFA NEXTGEN program.”

With three established learning tracks, expanding institutional partnerships and a growing network of NEXTGEN collaborators, ANSCId enters the second half of its USDA NIFA award positioned to deepen its impact. The initiative reflects Rutgers’ commitment to experiential learning, interdisciplinary collaboration and preparing a workforce equipped to address the future challenges of FANH careers.

“This is bigger than any one campus,” Zama said. “It takes faculty, staff, undergraduate peer mentors, graduate student mentors, community college partners, and now sister programs in other states all pulling together in the same direction. We are grateful for the continued funding from USDA NIFA, which supports American farmers, ranchers and producers while strengthening veterinary education and biomedical research.”

Students holding piglets in front of the farrowing house at the Rutgers Farm.

ABOUT ANSCId
The Animal Science Discovery Program (ANSCId) is a five-year, $4.5 million initiative funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under its “From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals” (NEXTGEN) program. A partnership between LaGuardia Community College and Rutgers University–New Brunswick, ANSCId provides paid experiential learning, transfer scholarships, peer mentoring, and career development to build a  pipeline of professionals in animal science and related fields. ANSCId is one of 33 programs funded under the USDA-NIFA NEXTGEN initiative, a $262.5 million investment supporting training for more than 20,000 future food and agricultural leaders nationwide. At Rutgers, the program builds on an articulation agreement that allows LAGCC students who earn an associate’s degree in environmental science with an animal science focus to seamlessly transfer and complete an undergraduate degree in animal sciences. The program also supports its participants through ANSCId scholarships for LAGCC students, reinforcing the transfer-and-completion pipeline at the heart of the initiative.

Simon Gabriel SEBS’21 owns Sunny Meal Club, in Paris, France.

The new Rutgers Alumni-Owned Business Marketplace connects alumni online. From a Parisian caterer to a Newark cafe, the recently launched marketplace champions businesses from across the globe.

“The launch of the marketplace of Rutgers alumni-owned businesses is an exciting development for all Rutgers alumni,” says Scott Owens, Rutgers associate vice president for alumni engagement. “We are thrilled to be able to foster more connections among alumni and create a thriving community of alumni businesses.”

Rutgers alumni event in Paris in February 2026.

Paris resident and Rutgers Ag and Food Economics graduate Simon Gabriel SEBS’21 added his catering business, Sunny Meal Club, to the marketplace when it first opened earlier this year. Businesses anywhere in the world owned by alumni from all Rutgers campuses are welcome to join. 

“It builds on my existing Rutgers network and provides a space where alumni can support one another, professionally and personally,” says Gabriel, who catered a Rutgers alumni event in Paris in February.

“For small businesses, especially like mine, it provides credibility, visibility, and a trusted community connection that can lead to collaborations, partnerships, and loyal customers.”

Many alumni business owners say their experience at Rutgers inspired them to become entrepreneurs and, in many cases, helped prepare them for success.

“My time at Rutgers University shaped my professional path by showing me that there are many more options within the food system other than farming and cooking, which is what I was doing before I got there,” says Gabriel, who grew up in Princeton.

“Studying food systems taught me to think holistically about business, sustainability, and community. It ultimately influenced my decision to build a business centered around food, hospitality, and bringing people together.”

Gabriel says he recalls grafting hazelnut root stock and scions in Associate Professor Thomas Molnar’s horticulture class at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. He relocated to France for love. “I moved to Paris because I ended up marrying a French woman whom I met at the farm I was working at in New Jersey and we have been together ever since,” he says. She was doing a volunteer program at the farm in the summer of 2017.

The marketplace features many long-term businesses like Thomas Sweet in New Brunswick, owned by Michael and Jennifer Schnurr, both 1987 New Brunswick graduates, the Asbury Park Brewery owned by Bob McLynn LC ’94, as well as some new businesses.

Simon Gabriel SEBS’21, third from left, and the team that catered the Rutgers alumni event in Paris, France, in February 2026.

This article is extracted from a longer story that first appeared on the Rutgers University Foundation website.

A new teaching garden at Rutgers Gardens honors the memory of OCPE’s Fran Koppell.

When a student confessed he had been going hungry, program coordinator at the Office of Continuing Professional Education (OCPE), Fran Koppell, took money out of her own wallet to help him buy groceries. When a formerly homeless student was struggling academically, Fran made sure he had the support he needed. And when students had nowhere to go on Thanksgiving, she opened her home, welcoming them to gather at her dining table as part of her family.

OCPE director Karen Plumley, at left, helps to unveil the new teaching garden in Fran Koppell’s memory.

For 15 years, Fran Koppell was the face of the Rutgers Professional Golf Turf Management Two-year Certificate Program, which brings students from all over the world to Rutgers to learn the science and art of turf management. As she took these students under her wing to help them achieve their dreams of becoming golf course superintendents, Fran became a second mom to many. Sadly, she was forced to step away from the program in 2021 and lost her battle with cancer in 2023.

To honor Fran’s legacy of care and kindness, a new teaching garden was dedicated in her memory on June 22, with her husband, children, grandchildren and extended family in attendance.

“This garden will allow Fran, in some small way, to continue to help and support students who will come to the two-year turf management program in future years,” said Karen Plumley, OCPE director. “Students who will never know Fran will still get to experience her generosity and caring nature.”

The garden was inspired by the vision of SEBS Dean Laura Lawson to create more experiential learning spaces on campus. As OCPE staff considered ways to honor their former colleague, they landed on the idea of creating a teaching garden to provide additional hands-on learning opportunities to the two-year turf management students for whom she cared deeply.

Stephen Kristoph, longtime instructor at OCPE and instructor in the Department of Landscape Architecture, guided the development of the teaching garden that was designed by Danielle Lohrman, landscape architecture junior.

“Fran’s legacy will live on with all of our visitors, and, in particular our students” said Lauren Errickson, director of Rutgers Gardens. “This garden serves as a place to learn about plant identification, proper pruning techniques, landscape design, and all of the technical aspects. It also gives us a chance to learn how to be kind to each other, how to care-take a space, how to become better people, and to grow as we all do on our journey within the gardens, the school, and the community.”

The garden came together through a collaboration between OCPE, Rutgers Gardens, SEBS, and Rutgers Institutional Planning and Operations. Under the guidance of Stephen Kristoph, a longtime OCPE instructor and instructor in the Department of Landscape Architecture, the teaching garden was designed by Danielle Lohrman, a junior in that major. The student team the built the garden also included Solana Garcia, Kaitlin Gotting, Addison Cheney, Andy Garcia, Olivia Sheehan and David Ackerman.

Lohrman was excited to take on the challenge. “In the landscape architecture program, a lot of the work we do is hypothetical. This garden is something I got to design and actually see come to fruition. It was nice to put pen to paper, shovel to ground, and plants in soil.”

As a Rutgers Gardens summer intern who will also stay on in the coming school year, Lohrman is happy she will be able to continue working in the space. “I really want to be involved in the maintenance of this garden. It’s my baby!”

The public is encouraged to enjoy OCPE’s Teaching Garden—located in front of the Holly House—on future visits to the Rutgers Gardens.

New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health.

Announcement by Laura Lawson, SEBS Executive Dean and NJAES Executive Director

I am pleased to announce new leadership for the Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health (IFNH), positioning the institute to further advance Rutgers University’s commitment to excellence in food, nutrition, health, and community engagement. I would like to thank the faculty members whose contributions through working groups, the IFNH retreat, and faculty committees helped create this strong foundation for the institute’s future.

Effective July 1, Dr. Sue Shapses has been appointed Director of the Rutgers Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health (IFNH). A Distinguished Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Sue has been a Rutgers faculty member for more than 35 years and has served as Director of the NEXT Metabolism Center since 2019. She also holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition.

An internationally recognized researcher, Sue’s work focuses on the nutritional regulation of obesity, osteoporosis, endocrinology, and healthy aging. Throughout her career, she has led multidisciplinary research teams, served on national committees for the National Institutes of Health, NASA, and the Institute of Medicine, and built collaborations across Rutgers and beyond.

As Director, Sue will lead IFNH in advancing a renewed vision that positions the institute as a research-driven hub focused on food, nutrition, and health while strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration, communication, outreach, and experiential learning. Building on the recommendations from the faculty retreat and steering committee, IFNH will foster new research partnerships, strengthen support for grant development and data science, enhance communication and knowledge translation, and expand opportunities for students and communities to engage with Rutgers research. Through this work, IFNH will continue to connect discovery with real-world impact across New Jersey and beyond.

I am also pleased to announce that effective July 1, Dr. Cara Cuite has been appointed Associate Director of Community and Student Engagement at IFNH. As part of IFNH’s renewed vision, this position will strengthen IFNH’s impact with a strengthened focus on outreach, extension, and community engagement, helping translate research into meaningful impact for students and communities. An Associate Extension Specialist in the Department of Human Ecology, Cara’s scholarship focuses on food, nutrition, health, risk communication, and public engagement. She has been a leader in Rutgers’ efforts to address student food insecurity and basic needs and has played a key role in RU Engaged, Rutgers’ university-wide initiative to strengthen community-engaged scholarship and partnerships.

As Associate Director of Community and Student Engagement at IFNH, Cara will champion the growth of IFNH as a welcoming gateway connecting students, faculty, staff, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, and community partners through experiential learning, research, outreach, and engagement focused on food systems, nutrition, agriculture, health, sustainability, and food access. She will lead the outreach and extension arm of IFNH, helping translate research into action through community partnerships, cooperative extension programming, student engagement, and workforce development opportunities.

Cara will expand IFNH outreach by initiating new programs and connecting with existing programs, including the Healthy Harvest initiative, and associated campus sites, including Jones Avenue, the Rutgers Student Farm, and our farmers’ markets. 

Together, Sue and Cara will help build a more integrated and impactful future for IFNH- one that strengthens research excellence while connecting Rutgers’ research, teaching, Extension, and engagement missions to improve food, nutrition, health, and well-being throughout New Jersey and beyond.

Please join me in congratulating Sue and Cara on their new leadership roles. We look forward to working with them as they guide IFNH into an exciting future era of growth, collaboration, and impact.

Dr. James Shope (left) discusses the measurement of surface temperature with students. Photo credit: Sharon Kinsey

As summer temperatures climb, so does the risk of extreme heat—now recognized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States. In cities such as Camden, where buildings, pavement, and other infrastructure trap heat and create higher temperatures than surrounding areas, understanding the impacts of urban heat has become increasingly important.

Rutgers researchers, Extension educators, humanities scholars, and community partners are working together to help address that challenge through the Community Heat Assessment and Monitoring Program (CHAMP), an interdisciplinary initiative that combines climate science, community engagement and creative storytelling.

Dr. Jillian Sayre (left) and Dr. Carla Giaudrone making zines with students in the Cooper’s Poynt 4-H STEM Environmental Ambassadors Program. 

Co-led by Ben Lintner, professor, and James Shope, assistant extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers–New Brunswick, CHAMP has established a network of weather stations throughout Camden to collect neighborhood-scale temperature and environmental data. The information will help researchers better understand how extreme heat affects different parts of the city while supporting locally driven solutions.

According to Shope, “CHAMP’s goal is to both provide the scientific foundation for assessing extreme heat risk and to work with residents to use this information to improve or elevate community-led adaptations to extreme urban heat.”

Recognizing that data alone cannot fully capture the impacts of extreme heat, the CHAMP team has partnered with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH) at Rutgers–Camden to better understand residents’ lived experiences.

One of those collaborations is the VOCES de La Comunidad Project, led by Carla Giaudrone, associate professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Rutgers–Camden, and supported by the Rutgers–Camden Urban Innovation Fund. The initiative engages Camden’s Spanish-speaking community through collaborative research, artistic expression, and the development of community resources.

By bringing together climate science, environmental humanities, and digital storytelling, the project demonstrates how creative practices can strengthen research, communication, and community engagement.

Giaudrone emphasized the importance of creating opportunities where scientific knowledge and community knowledge intersect, noting that “Art and storytelling help make complex environmental issues more accessible while also valuing the experiences and expertise that already exist within the community.”

Erielys Vicente teaching a workshop on digital zines. Photo credit: Carmen Benito-Asomoza.

That interdisciplinary approach recently came to life during an educational program at Neighborhood Collaborative Community Gardens’ Byron Street gardens. CHAMP researchers partnered with MARCH, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Camden County, and Neighborhood Collaborative Community Gardens to introduce students from Cooper’s Poynt School to the science behind urban heat islands.

Students learned from Shope, Lintner, and Stephanie Sharo, a doctoral student in the Graduate Program in Atmospheric Science, about the causes and impacts of urban heat islands before using infrared thermometers to collect surface temperature data throughout the gardens.

“It is integral for transdisciplinary research to include community members, and it is so much fun to watch the kids’ excitement as they find creative ways to explore their natural world,” said Sharo.

The students then transformed scientific observation into creative expression during a workshop led by MARCH Director Jillian Sayre, Giaudrone, Camden County 4-H Program Assistant and VOCES intern Erielys Vicente, and Rutgers–Camden undergraduate Carmen Benito-Asomoza. Through self-published zines combining artwork, writing, and educational content, students reflected on their own experiences with extreme heat in Camden.

For Sharon Kinsey, 4-H agent with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Camden County, the event built on years of collaboration with Cooper’s Poynt School while demonstrating the value of experiential learning.

“We have been working with Cooper’s Poynt students for several years now teaching them about food systems, food access, and food insecurity. Introducing scientific concepts, such as urban heat islands, in a hands-on way helps them better understand how they are personally affected and what they can do to improve the environment. Programs like this prepare students to become changemakers in their own community.”

By integrating scientific research, community partnerships, youth engagement, and creative storytelling, the initiative demonstrates how Rutgers is helping communities better understand and respond to the growing challenges of extreme urban heat, a risk underscored by NOAA’s findings on the deadly impacts of extreme temperatures.

Retiring New Jersey State Climatologist David Robinson, left, and incoming State Climatologist John Krasting set up a weather station on the Livingston Campus ahead of a storm. Photo Luca Mostello

John Krasting (CC’03, GSNB’08), a Rutgers-trained climate scientist whose career has spanned broadcast meteorology, climate modeling and sea-level research, has been named the New Jersey state climatologist, succeeding David Robinson, who is retiring after 35 years in the role.

Krasting, whose name is pronounced to rhyme with “lasting,” will begin July 1 as an extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. He will oversee the Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist and the Rutgers New Jersey Weather Network, known as the  NJWxNet, a statewide system of 70 weather stations that provides real-time environmental data. 

John Krasting, a Rutgers-trained climate scientist and longtime NOAA researcher, is the incoming New Jersey State Climatologist. Photo: Luca Mostello

The Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist was established at Rutgers in 1979 by the late Gov. Brendan Byrne to serve as a statewide source of weather and climate expertise. The office gathers, analyzes and shares climate information to support planning, research, emergency preparedness and public understanding across the state.

Krasting’s appointment comes at a time when climate information has become increasingly important to decisions about flooding, water resources, agriculture, public health, infrastructure, coastal planning and emergency preparedness.

“We are thrilled to welcome John Krasting back to Rutgers and into this vital role for the university and the state,” said Laura Lawson, executive dean of agriculture and natural resources. “John brings together the best of what this moment requires: world-class climate science, deep technical expertise, a gift for public communication, and a lifelong connection to Rutgers. His work has helped advance the models and data systems scientists use to understand a changing planet, and now that knowledge will be brought directly to bear for New Jersey’s communities, coastlines, farms and decision-makers.”

Krasting earned his bachelor’s degree in meteorology from Rutgers in 2003 and his doctoral degree in atmospheric science from Rutgers in 2008. A native of Wenonah, N.J., in Gloucester County, he said the new role feels like both a professional opportunity and a personal return.

“I’m a New Jersey native,” Krasting said. “I’ve lived through the very changes we talk about when we discuss how New Jersey’s climate is evolving.”

For the past 15 years, Krasting has worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J., where he helped lead climate and ocean modeling projects. His work has included research on sea-level rise, coastal inundation, ocean processes, climate risk and Earth system modeling. He helped lead the laboratory’s $5.8 million Bipartisan Infrastructure Law research effort to develop datasets and models for sea-level-rise and coastal-inundation products. He also has contributed to next-generation climate and ocean models.

Krasting said he is taking on the role at a moment when climate science increasingly is being called upon to help people make practical decisions. 

“We’re in a phase where basic climate research has to become information people can use,” he said. “What drew me to it is that ability to connect people with the data and information that they need, when they need it.”

Krasting will inherit an office shaped by Robinson’s long record of public service, scientific leadership and statewide climate communication.

David Robinson, New Jersey’s state climatologist since 1991, is retiring after 35 years of statewide public service. The Rutgers Distinguished Professor is the longest-serving state climatologist on record in the United States. Photo: Luca Mostello

Robinson, a Distinguished Professor in the Rutgers Department of Geography, became New Jersey state climatologist in 1991 and is the longest-serving state climatologist on record in the United States. In addition to his work in the state, Robinson is internationally known for his cryospheric research, particularly the role of snow cover in the climate system and its use as an indicator of climate variability and change.

As state climatologist, Robinson became one of New Jersey’s most familiar public voices on storms, heat waves, drought, floods, snowfall and long-term climate trends. Over the years, he gave an estimated 10,000 media interviews. He also helped build the NJWxNet into one of the densest statewide weather networks in the country.

“Few scientists become part of the civic fabric of a state: Dave Robinson has done exactly that,” Lawson said. “For more than three decades, he has helped New Jersey understand itself through its weather, its climate and its changing environment. His legacy is measured not only in publications, grants and weather stations, but in trust. Through the Rutgers New Jersey Weather Network and his long service as State Climatologist, he helped build a foundation of climate knowledge that supports communities, public agencies, farmers, emergency managers, researchers and residents across the state.”

Robinson said the office has always been about more than collecting data. Its purpose, he said, is to help people understand how weather and climate affect daily life and public decision-making.

“People have some level of knowledge, but they don’t appreciate the full impact that weather and climate have on every aspect of society,” Robinson said. “Everything, every aspect of our lives, has this underlying influence of weather. It doesn’t often rise to the top, but it’s there. Occasionally a Sandy comes along, or an Ida comes along, and bam, it’s up to the top.”

Krasting said he hopes to build on that work while expanding the office’s role in areas where his research experience is especially relevant, including coastal flooding, sea-level rise, climate modeling and statewide climate services.

“I like to think I’ll be able to bridge everything from the farmlands to the coast and to our urban environment and really think of climate in a very broad sense of how it affects the way people live and move around the state,” Krasting said.

He said New Jersey faces both immediate and long-term climate challenges. In the near term, the state over the last two years has been experiencing a prolonged dry period, with recent months marked by below-average rainfall and growing concerns about water management. Over the longer term, coastal communities will continue to confront rising seas and more frequent flooding.

“Over the last century, New Jersey’s sea levels have been rising at a rate about three times the global average,” Krasting said. “Our land is naturally sinking from the last Ice Age, and at the same time, our ocean is expanding as it gets warmer.”

He said the consequences already are visible.

“What once seemed like a distant forecast of rising oceans is already here,” Krasting said. “What used to be a once-a-year high-tide flooding event in Atlantic City is now something that happens nearly every month.”

Retiring New Jersey State Climatologist David Robinson, left, and incoming State Climatologist John Krasting stand beside weather-monitoring equipment. Both scientists emphasize turning weather and climate data into useful information for communities and decision-makers across New Jersey. Photo: Luca Mostello

Robinson has seen those changes unfold over decades. During his tenure, he said, New Jersey has become warmer, offshore waters have heated up and rain and snow increasingly arrive in bigger events.

“Underlying everything we’ve seen in my years as state climatologist has been the state getting warmer, undeniably getting warmer,” Robinson said. “It’s not like it’s raining more often, but when it rains, it pours.”

That long view is one reason Krasting said he is grateful for the program he is stepping into.

“What I find incredibly inspiring about Dave is that he really was the essence of the office for several decades,” Krasting said. “I’m going to be inheriting a wonderful program that has developed over the years into one of the leading state climate offices in the nation.”

Krasting brings an unusual mix of scientific and communication experience to the position. Before focusing fully on climate research, he worked as an on-air meteorologist for FOX Television Stations in New York and Philadelphia and was nominated for a Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy Award. He said broadcast meteorology taught him how to communicate complex information clearly, quickly and under pressure.

“Broadcasting taught me to take something complex and boil it down to two and a half minutes with limited visuals, and convey it to the public under pressure,” he said.

That ability may prove especially important as the state climate office translates technical climate information into practical guidance for decisions about crops, coastlines, classrooms and infrastructure.

Krasting said New Jersey needs a state climate office defined by “authenticity, authority and relatability.” He said he wants the office to be accessible and visible across the state.

“Success in my tenure will be if every New Jerseyan feels that they can pick up the phone, call our office and get whatever information they need about our climate from our team,” Krasting said. “We’re not going to be hidden away behind a computer terminal. We want to be out talking with people across the state, working with community groups, and having a presence in our schools.”

He said that outreach should include meeting people where they are and listening to how weather and climate are already shaping their daily decisions.

Robinson said the same public-service ethic has guided the state climate office for decades. The office provides data and expertise, he said, but its ultimate role is to help people act on reliable information.

“We provide information to help people make informed decisions,” Robinson said. “We,” he said with a smile, “do not make the decisions for them.”

Krasting said he sees the office’s next chapter as both urgent and hopeful. Climate change can feel overwhelming, he said, but the future is not fixed.

“What I see that’s encouraging is that we still have choices that we can make as a society,” Krasting said. “Our fate is not sealed.”

His goal, he said, is to help people turn climate information into something useful, practical and shared.

“There are things we can do about it that everyone can be a part of,” Krasting said.

This article first appeared in Rutgers Today. Learn more about outgoing State Climatologist David Robinson’s insights on NJ’s climate over the years. What 35 Years of Watching New Jersey’s Climate Reveals | Rutgers University

Suzanne Sukhdeo speaks with participants at the 2025 STEM Ambassadors program.

Suzanne Sukhdeo has overseen myriads of students during her career at Rutgers, whether as an associate teaching professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources or as a coordinator for the Student Success Initiative.   

After 37 years at Rutgers, she is set to retire in July. Her impact resonates both in the parasitology research she published and the students she has taught and advised. 

One of them is Russell Gurland, a Rutgers Honors College student who graduated this year with a bachelor of science degree in ecology, evolution and natural resources and a minor in entomology.    

Gurland’s first course at Rutgers was Sukhdeo’s “Trees and the Environment” class. 

“I’ve heard from a lot of people that the way people get interested in the ecology, evolution and natural resources major is Dr. Sukhdeo,” he said. “[She] gets people into the program through her enthusiasm for the subject and the way she teaches and her advising.”    

He recalled always sitting toward the front of her class and always asking questions. 

“Eventually, she had to limit me, saying ‘let the other people get a chance,’” he said jokingly. 

This wasn’t the first time he met Sukhdeo. In high school, Gurland was connected to Rutgers through the Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s  4-H program in Union County. He also participated in the Rutgers 4-H STEM Ambassadors Program in 2020. That is when he met Sukhdeo for the first time. 

In the program, participants have the chance to meet many different Rutgers researchers in a roundtable session, and they usually have their choice of researchers to question, from equine science to microbiology to mathematics.

The one table that stood out to Gurland was “the one with a bunch of intestinal worms and jars” on the table.  

“A lot of people are grossed out by that,” he said. “I found it pretty interesting.” 

There he met Sukhdeo and her husband.  

Suzanne Sukhdeo (left) and Russell Gurland at the 2026 SEBS Convocation.

Gurland’s time in the program kickstarted his student research career. While in high school, he reached out to a Rutgers professor to learn more about a particular interest: herpetology, the study of amphibians and reptiles. That professor referred him to her graduate student, and soon enough Gurland was going into the field before he even went to college. 

He credited the program for introducing him to the world of research academia and giving him the opportunity to interact with people he wouldn’t have otherwise. He advised those coming after him to take advantage of Rutgers outreach opportunities like these. 

“It is very hard to build up the courage to talk to somebody who you see as such a professional in their field,” he said. “The STEM Ambassadors Program …  gets you in a room with so many different individuals – so many who are so incredibly passionate about what they’re doing. And they’re there to share what they do with you and they’re happy to do so.”  

Becoming a Rutgers Researcher    

With experiences like these, “I was just like Rutgers [is] 100% the university I wanted to go to,” he said.   

As an Honors College student, Gurland was encouraged to get out of the classroom and do research for his credits. Through his connections at Rutgers, he was able to secure an internship at New York’s American Museum of Natural History in its invertebrate zoology department. There, he helped organize massive, but delicate international collections. 

“After being there and doing stuff for a couple of years, I just asked if I could come back,” said Gurland, who reached out to the herpetology department to have a chance to work with his favorite creatures.   

His research didn’t stop there. In the days leading up to convocation, he was helping another professor collect salamander specimens to swab for an amphibious disease. 

Gurland is looking to stay close as he contemplates graduate schools. In the meantime, he continues to volunteer at the museum, now studying snake genetics. He said the more research experience, the better when it comes to graduate school applications. 

Gurland said he would be happy to find himself in a museum position. But he feels like a university is where he would like to end up. 

“There’s the opportunity for research [and] interacting with people who are very like-minded and love animals,” he said. 

Gurland spokes fondly of the connections he’s made at Rutgers. He still talks to the graduate student (now a doctor) who gave him his start in field work back in high school. 

“I was just sending him a message about the salamanders I found this morning,” Gurland said. “His mentorship has been one of the most incredible things about Rutgers.”  

Gurland has remained in touch with Sukhdeo throughout his undergraduate career. 

“I only did have two classes with her, but she did make an amazing impact,” he said. “Essentially, she has been my first introduction to actually being a student at Rutgers and one of my last courses, as well. 

“I’m very glad to have had the chance to take them since she is retiring.”    

And as for matters outside of academia? Gurland, who is fond of reptiles (especially snakes) and amphibians, hopes to care for one as a pet once he has the space to do so. 

“They scare most people, but I’m the one who just picks them up when I see them,” he said with a smile. 

This article was written by Mitaali Taskar, a science communicator and research project assistant with Rutgers Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, and first appeared in Rutgers Today.