Ask a Scientist at the Pier 57 Discovery Tank (October 3)

Laugh and learn from local STEM experts during this series of informative and entertaining events.

Ask a Scientist invites participants to explore a fascinating science topic and engage in a live Q&A session with the experts. Hudson River Park is teaming up with Secret Science Club to offer this event in the Pier 57 Discovery Tank. Invite your friends to an evening of science fun and ask the scientists your burning questions. 

About Ask a Scientist:

• $10 registration to participate
• Recommended for guests 18 and over
• Each ticket includes 2 complimentary beverages, including a selection of beer and soft drinks

Directions: The Discovery Tank is located at the back of Hudson River Park's Pier 57. Enter Pier 57 at West 15th Street and walk through the market to the back of the building. Enter the classroom through the double doors.

About the Speakers:

Phillip P.A. Staniczenko is a Research Professor in the Biology Department at Brooklyn College, City University of New York (CUNY), studying the resilience of complex social-ecological systems to environmental change. He serves on the advisory committee of the Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior (EEB) subprogram at CUNY Graduate Center and is affiliated faculty at the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay. He has held research positions at the University of Oxford, University College London, University of Chicago, University of Maryland College Park, and the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC). He has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles in academic journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Nature Communications, Nature Ecology & Evolution, and Ecology Letters. He has won over $400k of federal and private funding, and mentored over 20 undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. He is currently Chair of the Theoretical Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America and Subject-Matter Editor at Ecological Monographs, one of the oldest and most respected academic journals on ecology.

Adelia Honeywood Harrison is a non-traditional student in CUNY’s interdisciplinary baccalaureate program for which she designed a unique interdisciplinary degree in restoration ecology. An avid birdwatcher, Adelia returned to school to make a shift into a career in the ecological sciences. She has prior degrees in music and journalism and has most recently worked as an institutional fundraiser for a companion-animal welfare nonprofit. Adelia is working with Dr. Phillip Staniczenko at Brooklyn College on research into wave impacts on oyster restoration and wind impacts on marsh chordgrass restoration. She is also working with Dr. J. Stephen Gosnell of Baruch College on modeling and economically quantifying how the mutualism between ribbed mussels and marsh chordgrass impact nitrogen removal and marsh growth and recovery. She is currently a CUNY Immersive Research Experience Fellow and a Tow Mentoring and Research Fellow at Brooklyn College and is a recipient of CUNY’s Thomas W. Smith Academic Fellowship and Barbara Price Scholarship.

Shinara Sunderlal is the Education Outreach Manager at Billion Oyster Project. Shinara is an environmental educator and considers herself a global citizen. She grew up in New Delhi, India and has spent the last 10 years living and learning in England, Costa Rica, California, and New York. Her passion for exploring the environment started in her suburban backyard and led her to experiences with Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. She quickly realized that her impact on creating a more sustainable tomorrow would be minimal if she didn't combine her curiosity for the natural world with her passion for working with children, to educate the next generation of stewards. This led her to pursue a MA at the New York University and continue working to protect the local landscape through building communities around ecological solutions that oysters bring. Shinara is also an avid birder, Indian classical singer, and a budding photographer @WildlifEducashin.