CCST Newsroom

Toward a Disaster Resilient California: Establishing a Data Infrastructure to Effectively Respond to the Next Disaster     In the fight against COVID-19, the scientific community worked together to provide answers to the policy community and the public as rapidly as they could, yet difficulties in sharing data complicated their ability to do so.  What […]

In a global society whose challenges require innovative and effective policy solutions, states are pathfinders. CCST CEO Amber Mace, PhD, and Senior Advisor Jun Bando, PhD, contribute to a national conversation about The Next 75 Years of Science Policy with a new essay in Issues in Science and Technology on the roles of states and […]

Toward a Disaster Resilient California: How Climate Change Impacts Renewable Energy Production   How is climate change impacting California’s renewable energy supply? Watch our CCST Expert Briefing to learn more about how renewable energy sources can be impacted by changing environmental conditions such as cloud cover, smoke plumes, wind speeds, and precipitation levels. Held February 7th, 2022. […]

  SACRAMENTO, CA—We are excited to introduce the 2022 Class of CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows. Now celebrating its 13th 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. These sixteen PhD scientists […]

Recommend an Expert SACRAMENTO, CA—The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) and Blue Forest Conservation 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 on the connections between forest health and public health. Public health impacts of wildfire smoke are […]

This fall, 2015 CCST S&T Policy Fellow Debra Cooper, PhD, was recognized as a 40 Under 40 honoree by the Sacramento Business Journal, a highly competitive achievement that recognizes outstanding young professionals. In the SacBiz profile, Debra reflects on her professional accomplishments, lessons learned, and her motivation to inspire Black girls, including her daughter. As […]

Update: The 2023 Application cycle is now closed. SACRAMENTO, Calif. | CONTACT: Puneet Bhullar The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) is seeking PhD scientists and engineers for a year of public service and government leadership training in the California State Legislature and Executive Branch offices.  Applications are Due March 1st. CCST is recruiting and […]

  Toward a Disaster Resilient California: Remote Sensing Technologies and Water Resilience   Can we look to the sky to address California’s water challenges? As California continues to grapple with frequent drought and overdrafted aquifers, satellite based measurements offer a cost-effective way to generate high resolution data on groundwater resources across a wide geographic area. […]

  Floating vegetation, which can clog waterways and equipment, becomes more prevalent during drought in the California Delta. |  Photo by Michael Whiting via Shruti Khanna   Toward a Disaster Resilient California: The Many Impacts of Drought in the California Delta   In the past 50 years California has experienced a significant drought about once […]

  Fellows Application Webinar Series   SACRAMENTO, CA—Each year, the CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows program recruits a cohort of fifteen PhD scientists and engineers for a year of public service and leadership training within the California State Legislature and Executive Branch. The application for the upcoming 2023 Fellowship class opens December 1st, 2021 and closes […]

Marika Nell is a 2021 CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellow placed with the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials. Originally from Maryland, Marika earned a PhD in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Cornell University. In her research, she studied the water quality impacts of fracking operations by searching for known and unknown […]

Toward a Disaster Resilient California: Training the Science Workforce of Tomorrow   How do we educate and train the science workforce of tomorrow in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic? Watch this CCST Expert Briefing from the California Council on Science & Technology to learn more.  Held Thursday Sept. 16th, 2021. Moderated by Sheneui Weber California […]

  Toward a Disaster Resilient California: Building a Resilient Electrical Grid   How can we increase the resilience of our electrical grid to large scale disruptive events such as extreme weather or malicious attacks? Watch our CCST Expert Briefing to learn more. Held August 25, 2021. Moderator: Assemblymember Chris Holden California’s 41st Assembly District Expert Panelists: Charles […]

  Toward a Disaster Resilient California: The Future of Gases in a Decarbonized California Download the One Pager     How can carbon neutral gases help to both improve California’s resiliency to disasters and meet the State’s climate goals? Join us for a CCST Expert Briefing to learn more. Held August 16th, 2021. Expert Panelists: […]

Nichole Holm, PhD, is a 2021 CCST S&T Policy Fellow placed on the Assembly Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee. Nichole’s doctoral research focused on the genetic changes in neurodegenerative disease and the use of genetics in clinical practice. She earned her PhD in Genetics from UC Davis and a BS in Biology from Eckerd College.   […]

Toward a Disaster Resilient California: Technologies for Renewable Energy Storage View the One Pager A CCST Expert Briefing held July 20th, 2021 on energy storage technologies that can help improve California’s resiliency to climate change and meet the State’s SB 100 goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045. Expert Panelists: Janea Scott, Moderator Senior Counselor to the […]

  Bianca L. Gentil, PhD, is a 2021 CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellow placed in the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). Bianca’s PhD research focused on identifying the economic characteristics of resilient prehispanic settlements in the face of economic, ecological, and demographic pressures. She earned her PhD in Anthropology from Penn […]

Responding to Wildfires amid Compounding Disasters Held Tues. June 8th   A CCST Expert Briefing on how compounding disasters, like COVID-19 and extreme heat, affect wildfire response in California. Moderated by CCST Executive Director Amber Mace. Expert Panelists: Michael Méndez Assistant Professor, UC Irvine Urban Planning and Public Policy Nicole Meyer-Morse Deputy Director FEMA Consolidated Resource […]

Description The California Council on Science and Technology hosted a panel discussion with experts on Mitigating Extreme Heat in a Changing Climate, exploring how extreme heat impacts Californians and identifying ways to equitably mitigate this increasingly common climate-related disaster. Presented in partnership with the office of Assemblymember Luz Rivas. Don’t Miss our Next Expert Briefing […]

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: [email protected] SACRAMENTO, Calif.—A new impact report released by the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) showcases how NASA field centers and Department of Energy national laboratories in California are leveraging their world class technology and expertise to address climate change, sea level rise, wildfire, COVID-19, drought, and other […]

  A new proposal written by experts from the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) and Stanford University provides recommendations to reduce disaster costs through better tracking of wildfire-smoke health impacts. According to the proposal, the United States currently does not have a systematic method to track the health impacts and associated costs of […]