CISESS Shines at Maryland Day

Isaac Okai and a robot team member.

© Sherry Li

Maureen Cribb, Senior Faculty Specialist, UMD/CISESS/ESSIC

On 26 April, the University of Maryland in College Park welcomed the public to its springtime open house. Undeterred by morning rain showers, people showed up to experience what the campus, including ESSIC/CISESS, had to offer. Aside from the Climate Resilience Network’s presence, a new addition to the ESSIC/CISESS display was a children’s robotics team that CISESS Scientist Jifu Yin works with. These talented sixth-grade students showed the portable instrument they built as an early warning system for water quality, fielding questions from the public in a manner beyond their years. Of note, the Dean of the university's College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences, who was visiting the displays of different departments in the college, stopped by the ESSIC section of the Earth Sciences tent to check out the virtual reality (VR) lightning exhibit staffed by CISESS scientists and interns. Even though he was on a tight schedule, the dean spent extra time with the group, playing the VR lightning game, noting how impressive and immersive it was. Overall, CISESS succeeded in introducing some of the cool research conducted by its scientists, delighting the public along the way.

Figure: (Left) Dean Amitabh Varshney (center) surrounded by (from left to right), Joseph Patton, CISESS Intern Damian Figueroa, Guangyang Fang, and ESSIC MD Day organizer Cazzy Medley. Photo credit: John Xun Yang. (Right) Damian instructing Dean Varshney on how to play the VR lightning game. Photo credit: Guangyang Fang.

From: Maureen Cribb, CISESS Report to NOAA for 2 May 2025

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