Azmal Hossan’s interdisciplinary Graduate Pursuit team’s proposal “Pushed to the Edge: A Socio-Environmental Analysis of Climate Gentrification along the East Coast of the United States” has been selected for National Science Foundation (NSF) funding. This 18-month research project is comprised of seven Ph.D. students from seven different universities. Joshua Sbicca is one of two mentors of the project.

Azmal’s colleagues include Ph.D. students studying environmental science at Vanderbilt University, geospatial analytics at Virginia Tech, human dimensions of natural resources at North Carolina State University, agricultural policy at University of Guelph (Canada), forestry and natural resources at Purdue University, and natural resource science and management at Florida International University.

The team formed after the 7th Graduate Student Workshop on Socio-Environmental (S-E) Synthesis held in Annapolis in August 2019. Azmal was one of thirty Ph.D. students from around the world and across scholarly disciplines invited by The National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC). Attendees participated in highly interactive activities and facilitated discussions as individuals, and were also given the opportunity to form the beginnings of diverse, interdisciplinary research teams.

The NSF-funded Graduate Pursuit program is a first-of-its-kind supporting independent research teams composed of 5-7 Ph.D. students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines contributing fundamental scientific knowledge, solving synthetic problems, producing peer-reviewed products, and developing actionable outcomes.