CCST Newsroom

Report: California’s NASA and DOE Labs Are Leading the Charge Toward a More Resilient and Sustainable Future
A graphic with the cover of the labs report and the title with CCST's logo on a blue background.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: [email protected] SACRAMENTO, Calif.—A new impact report released by the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) showcases the groundbreaking work of NASA field centers and Department of Energy national laboratories in California, featuring stories of how they are leveraging their world-class expertise and technologies to invest in California’s resilience to […]
(Update: Call Closed) Call for Peer Review: Study on the Links Between Forest Health, Wildfire Smoke, and Public Health
The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) and Blue Forest Conservation (Blue Forest) have received funding from the National Forest Foundation, US Endowment for Forestry and Communities, and USFS’s Innovative Finance for National Forests (IFNF) grant program to produce a peer-reviewed report aiming to connect forest management, wildfire smoke, and stakeholders paying high healthcare […]
Women’s History Month: A Conversation with Dr. Susan Hackwood
A group of people standing in front of the California State Capitol building in Sacramento with blue skies visible.
  By Keleigh Friedrich, CCST Director of Communications Susan Hackwood is former Executive Director of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) and Professor Emerita of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Riverside. Dr. Hackwood received her PhD in Solid State Ionics from DeMontfort University, UK. Before joining academia, she was […]
Watch: Training Tomorrow’s Cybersecurity Workforce
A graphic with title on the briefing in blue and yellow lettering with photos of the panelists
  Training Tomorrow’s Cybersecurity Workforce The cybersecurity workforce is facing a shortage of trained professionals as we become more computer, data-driven, and network-based society. How can we prepare California’s workforce for the cybersecurity and IT labor market needs of the future? Join us for a CCST Expert Briefing as we discuss opportunities and challenges of […]
Algae to Energy: My Path from Marine Biology to Science Policy
A graphic with the blog title and a prominent photo of the author with some illustrations showing algae and energy bolts.
How does the ability to flip a switch and turn your lights on relate to my coastal ecology research—studying seaweed species and counting hermit crabs? More than you might think. A few months into my placement on the Assembly Utilities & Energy committee, I’ve been surprised to find much of what I learned about biology […]
CCST Hosts Workshops, Fellowship Booth at AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington DC
Photo from above of an exhibitor hall at AAAS 2023.
Washington, DC—The California Council on Science and Technology is attending the 2023 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, themed around “Science for Humanity.” Returning in person this year, CCST coordinated two workshops, a scientific session, and an exhibitor booth for the CCST S&T Policy Fellowship in partnership with other state science policy fellowship programs. CCST has […]
WATCH: CCST Science Day Symposium at the California Natural Resources Agency
View of an auditorium with an audience and a projector screen featuring Science Day branding with Dr. Amber Mace on stage.
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—At CCST’s Science Day symposium, CCST and the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) bring California’s natural resource policymakers and researchers together to proactively bridge emerging research activity and State policy needs. This event provides an opportunity to forge new collaborations between academic and state partners. Facing an ever-growing set of natural resource challenges, California […]
WATCH: Innovations in Desalination
A graphic with title on the briefing in blue and yellow lettering with photos of the panelists
  What is the potential role for desalination in California’s water portfolio? Watch this CCST Expert Briefing, held during CCST S&T Week 2023, for a discussion on innovations in desalination research and opportunities to resolve challenges related to energy intensity and brine disposal. Featuring experts from the UCLA, Cal Poly Pomona, UC Irvine, Stanford University, and […]
Deadline Extended: Seeking Applications for CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellowship in Sacramento, California
A photo of the 2022 Fellows with a blue banner below highlighting that applications are now open with CCST's logo and the California State Capitol.
CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellowship Program Places PhD Scientists into Policy Careers Apply to transform your PhD expertise into an impactful science policy career in California. START YOUR APPLICATION  |  Download Fellowship Flyer  |  Download Fellowship Poster Update 2/16: The application period had been extended by one month to March 31st. SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The California Council […]
Announcing the 2023 “CCST Science in Public Service Award” Recipients
Side by side photos of Liane Randolph and John Laird with a blue lower third banner saying Science in Public Service Award
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) is proud to announce California Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph and California State Senator John Laird as the recipients of the 2023 CCST Leadership Awards for Science in Public Service. The CCST Science in Public Service Award is given to public servants who have clear track records of championing science and technology issues, […]
The Many California Experiences
  In January of 2022, I took my very first work trip as a CCST S&T Policy Fellow at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to observe a wildfire-impacted disaster site. After a three-hour drive—weaving through winding roads toward the Sierra Nevada mountains—I stepped out of the car in my uniform (a […]
Introducing the 2023 Class of CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows
A group photo of the fellows with a blue overlay on the side and text describing the Fellowship with CCST's logo
SACRAMENTO, CA—We are excited to introduce the 2023 Class of CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows. Now celebrating its 14th year, the program places PhD level scientists, engineers, and social scientists in Legislative and Executive Branch offices, training them for careers in public policy while helping to equip California’s decision makers with science-savvy staff. APPLY NOW: We are currently […]
WATCH: Navigating the CCST Fellowship Application & Interview Process
A graphic with blue background, white and yellow text, and circle cropped headshots of the panelists
CCST S&T Policy Fellowship Alums to Discuss the Application and Interview Process Learn about an opportunity to transform your PhD expertise into an impactful science policy career in California. Download Fellowship Flyer | Poster CCST employs a multi-step process to evaluate each candidate based on their potential success in the Fellowship. Watch this webinar to hear […]
Plugging In: Finding My Space in California Energy and Utilities Policy
A photo of Natalie Seitzman, PhD, a 2022 CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the title of her blog post and CCST logo on a blue background
Tick tock, tick tock. It’s been a year since I moved to Sacramento from Colorado, eager to transform my career, bask in the mild winter of California, and somehow contribute to state policy. I was uncertain and nervous. Whereas many of the other CCST S&T Policy Fellows are from California or California institutions, I couldn’t […]
WATCH: Life as a CCST Fellow: What’s It Like? | Application Q&A
A graphic with blue background, white and yellow text, and circle cropped headshots of the panelists
CCST S&T Policy Fellowship Alums to Discuss the Day-to-Day Life of a Fellow Learn about an opportunity to transform your PhD expertise into an impactful science policy career in California. Download Fellowship Flyer Moving to Sacramento. Adjusting from lab to office. Working in policy. There’s a lot of new experiences and opportunities as a CCST […]
Update: Opportunities Open at CCST
Work at CCST California’s most pressing public policy issues require solutions that engage the State’s extraordinary research and innovation enterprise.  CCST is a nonpartisan nonprofit created via the California Legislature in 1988 to provide objective advice from California’s leading scientists and research institutions on policy issues involving science and technology (S&T). Despite California’s rich intellectual […]
Assessing Climate Risk – My Fellowship Year: Like An ‘Inverted Delta’
A photo of Kara Voss, PhD, a 2022 CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the title of her blog post and CCST logo on a blue background
As a flowing river runs into a larger, standing body of water like a lake or the sea, it deposits sediment into a triangular shaped wetland known as a delta—most often with a narrow tip at the river opening into the broader end of the open water. Occasionally, this formation can happen in the reverse, […]
CEO Amber Mace Appointed to San Francisco Estuary Institute Board of Directors
A graphic with a photo of CEO Amber Mace, CCST's logo, and her name and Board appointment in blue text on a white background
The San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) has announced the appointment of CCST’s CEO Amber Mace, PhD, to their Board of Directors. An environmental science research institute and a non-profit, non-advocacy environmental science consulting firm, SFEI provides independent, objective science and/or science tools or studies to support landscape-scale land use, water quality and environmental monitoring, planning or […]
WATCH: Why Choose the CCST S&T Policy Fellowship?
A graphic with blue background, white and yellow text, and circle cropped headshots of the panelists
Why Choose the CCST S&T Policy Fellowship? Held Mon. Oct. 3, 2022 In this first of three informational webinars, hear directly from current and former CCST S&T Policy Fellows about the ins and outs of the CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows program, the impact that the program has had on their careers, and the […]
WATCH: Cultivating Data Security Practices in Precision Agriculture
YouTube thumbnail with title on the briefing in blue and yellow lettering with photos of the panelists
Toward a Disaster Resilient California: Cultivating Data Security Practices in Precision Agriculture To feed a growing population affordably and in a way that minimizes greenhouse gas production, the farming industry will need to rely on innovative technologies such as precision agriculture. Watch this Expert Briefing to broadly explore the benefits of precision agriculture and the […]
California’s 5th Climate Change Assessment Roundtables
A slide listing the 5th Assessment roundtables with logos over a fading background image
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program at the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research in partnership with the California Council on Science & Technology (CCST) hosted a series of 6 public roundtables to discuss California-specific information and knowledge gaps that will help inform the scope of climate change research conducted as part of California’s Fifth Climate […]