This semester, Dr. Dawn Roberts-Semple, an environmental science professor at York College, participated in a six-person panel discussion where she shared the ways she connects students to environmental science research and related career pathways.
That event, held under the Climate Week NYC banner, was billed as The CUNY Climate Conversation: Connecting Students, Faculty, and Industry for a Greener Tomorrow, saw Dr. Roberts-Semple share her expertise with attendees as a panelist.
“I hope it brings awareness to some of the opportunities our Environmental Health Science Program offers students at York and highlights options for those interested in environmental careers,” said Dr. Roberts-Semple. She also led a seminar series at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she provided researchers with effective strategies for engaging local communities in their work. Dr. Roberts-Semple was one of several CUNY Environmental Science scholars invited to participate in these initiatives.
In addition to everything else on her busy schedule, the professor is actively engaged in CUNY’s Green Economy and Infrastructure initiatives and participated in CIRES, a pilot program that emphasizes equity and community engagement in research (see more at CIRES’ new pilot program emphasizes equity and engagement in research | CIRES Effective practices of relationship building for community-engaged research | CIRES
She is particularly passionate about involving her students in community research and observing their growth as emerging environmental scientists. A dedicated faculty member in the Earth and Physical Sciences department, she is an admired environmental scientist with an interdisciplinary background.
Her research “focuses on the meteorological impacts on particle and gas-phase air pollutant concentrations and their cumulative effects on respiratory health. Her teaching interests in the Geosciences include natural landscape processes, land use change and urban environmental issues of energy and resource consumption. She is currently exploring the use of low-cost technology to monitor air pollution through student-centered and community-based participatory research.”
Dr. Roberts-Semple found her academic passion early, earning a bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Guyana, an MPhil in Environment and Development from the University of Cambridge, UK and the PhD in Environmental Science from Rutgers University.
learn more about Dr. Roberts-Semple’s other activities in 2025
Jan 6, 2026 12:51 PM