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Environmental Science student from coal-mining town leads efforts to make the New York City campus more green and sustainable.

How did you become interested in environmental science?

Environmentalism has always been my passion. The natural world is not only what sustains us, but it is also a fundamental part of our culture and society, and if we lose it, we will lose a part of what it means to be human. For such reasons, I chose to pursue an environmental science degree. I wanted to obtain knowledge and develop a background on the environmental issues that the world faces, and learn about the history of the environmental movement, so that I am better able to apply strategies used in the past to implement sustainable practices and projects today.

Can you tell me more about the Pace Sustainability Initiative (PSI) and your role as president?

The Pace Sustainability Initiative was created to start an environmental movement at Pace. We wanted the club to inspire and motivate students by showing them that students anywhere can make a big difference in the world. Movements like PSI have always relied on passionate people to blur the lines between the possible and impossible. The initiative aims at organizing and mobilizing these passionate individuals. Our philosophy is that of [American architect and urban designer] Daniel Burnham’s “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood,” a quote that stresses the point that nothing is too big for PSI, whether it is installing a green roof on campus, reducing water use by millions of gallons yearly, or stopping micro-plastic pollution on campus. One of the key features that give this initiative so much power is its great coordination and organization, and my role as president is to bring together student concerns, project, events, meetings, and people.

Pace University allows me to be on the front lines of the environmental movement, and provides me the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself.

PSI has seen some very successful initiatives under your leadership, which have both improved student life and saved the University money.

The Pace Sustainability Initiative has created numerous events and projects in its short two-year span. Upon its creation, the founding members and I drafted an extensive proposal to install low flow faucet aerators at One Pace Plaza and all the surrounding dorms. These aerators would infuse air with the faucet water and, in return, reduce the amount of water used by up to 75%. The Pace Administration was very happy to work with us and implemented the project in the summer of 2018 on all faucets in One Pace Plaza and all the dorms, except the one on John Street. The initiative estimates that the faucet aerator project has saved the University an average of 2,688,781 gallons of water and $35,479 annually.

Your work to make the New York City campus greener continues, including an exciting proposal for the next level of the Master Plan.

The faucet aerator project provided momentum to create several other initiatives. The recycling station initiative, for example, has been a great success. PSI has circulated descriptive recycling labels to all recycling containers on campus, in an effort to cut down on recycling contamination, and we will be expanding these labels to all the dorms, 41 Park Row, and 163 William Street during the fall semester. In addition, among many ongoing initiatives, our main focus has been proposing and campaigning for the creation of a green roof on One Pace Plaza’s fourth floor roof. A green roof is a vegetative layer on the roof of a building that improves storm water runoff, lowers the urban heat island effect, reduces noise and air pollution, and provides a habitat for wildlife. If all goes as planned, the second phase of the Master Plan will include the implementation of a green roof!

As if you aren’t already busy, have you been active on campus in other ways?

I am also the secretary of UNICEF’S Pace University branch, a very new creation that will start outreach, fundraising, and education next semester! UNICEF’s main goal is making sure that no children die from preventable causes, so as the UNICEF club, we will be conducting events that will increase awareness of these significant issues and, most importantly, raise funds that will go overseas to help the most vulnerable children. I am also currently a member of the GreenPace committee, an organization that includes faculty members, staff, student interests, and administrative directors. We meet once a month to discuss various environmental initiatives on the New York City and Pleasantville campuses and our goal is to promote and share environmental initiatives. PSI often presents its projects to the committee for feedback and advice.

Where are you from originally?

I am from the former coal town of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. One can see how the legacy of coal has built the town, but one can also take notice of the effects deindustrialization has had on a formerly manufacturing and extraction-based community. It is with this lesson that I come to New York to promote sustainable development, i.e., the creation of a diverse and sustainable economy based away from the extraction of resources and towards a primarily service and renewable energy- based economy.

What is it about Pace that made you come here?

Pace University allows me to be on the front lines of the environmental movement, and provides me the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself. I always felt like New York City was the place where history could be made any day, and I wanted to be a part of it when that happens.

What have your experiences with the Environmental Studies and Science Department been like?

Melanie Dupuis, PhD, the department chair, and Anne Toomey, PhD, the Pace Sustainability Initiative faculty advisor, have both been a tremendous help. We have always been able to rely on them for feedback and support with several events we have done. The faculty is always proactive in helping out the initiative and they host many intriguing environmental events around the city and campus.

What would you like to do after graduation/what are your career goals?

I really enjoy the work I am doing with PSI and would like to continue doing similar work with a non-profit or government entity in New York City.  Working on and eventually managing environmental, educational, and sustainability projects in the city would be a career goal of mine.

What is the most important advice you can provide to current students?

The greatest regrets in my life are the actions I never made and the opportunities I never took. My advice to anyone would be to always grab opportunities when they arise and always make the choices that allow you to become the person you want yourself to be. The difference between the person you are meant to be and the person who lives with regrets could be a single decision lost in time. Be who you need to be!

Dr. Christelle Scharff, Seidenberg Professor, Associate Dean, and Co-Director of the Seidenberg AI Lab, has had quite a busy summer by marking several significant achievements that reflect her expertise in AI research and innovation, as well as her active engagement in global academic and professional communities.

Dr. Scharff represented the Seidenberg School and Pace University at the prestigious Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Summit in Salt Lake City. Themed "The Future is AI. The Future is Human," the summit brought together industry leaders, technologists, professional athletes, and academics to explore the work of TCS in many different industries, including education. The main emphasis of the summit was sport and its many dimensions, and attendees had the unique opportunity to interact with Olympic champions such as Lindsay Vonn and John Shuster. Dr, Scharff said that "as a sports fan, it was a thrill to stay in the Olympic spirit of Paris 2024, and even try my hand at curling!" She added that she was honored to meet so many TCS employees and partners, and to exchange ideas about the intersection of artificial intelligence and human-centered innovation.

In addition to her active participation in international summits, Dr. Scharff's commitment to advancing AI research continues to gain recognition. Her latest collaborative research paper written with Seidenberg students Samyak Rakesh Meshram, Krishna Mohan Bathula, Fnu Kaleemunnisa, and Om Gaikhe, and titled "Towards AI-Generated African Textile Patterns with StyleGAN and Stable Diffusion," has been accepted for publication and will be presented at the upcoming International Conference on AI-based Systems and Services (AISys) in September.

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The research paper explores the generation of African wax designs using advanced AI architectures like StyleGAN2-ADA, StyleGAN3, and Stable Diffusion. The study leverages a curated synthetic dataset of 2,000 images and evaluates the designs using Fréchet Inception Distance (FID). The findings highlight the potential of these AI models to generate culturally relevant and aesthetically appealing textile patterns, with a focus on both symmetry and creativity.

"By providing a new tool for creating customizable wax designs, this study has the potential to make an impact on the fashion industry," the abstract notes. "It also shows that the suggested approaches are promising to produce a variety of plausible and culturally appropriate designs. Our next step is to collaborate with African fashion designers and wax experts to validate the resulting designs."

Professor of Designated Services, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University; Managing Attorney, Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, Inc.; Executive Director, John Jay Legal Services, Inc.

Let’s jump right in, what drew you to the practice of law?

As cliché as this may be, from childhood I was always very interested in logic and debate. My parents encouraged that – often letting me debate all aspects of my life from a very young age. Perhaps for that reason, I became a philosophy major and ultimately ended up at law school. Litigation was a natural and perfect fit for my reasoning and advocacy skills developed in my youth.

You practiced law for nearly 17 years before switching gears to academia – what was practicing like and how did you transition to academia?

I started off in general commercial litigation at a big NYC firm. Although I was never quite the hours-grinder that other associates were, it was still a lot of dedication of my time. When my wife and I were expecting our first child (about 7 years after I started at the firm), I made a decision based on two things: 1) I wanted to have more time at home with my family and 2) I wanted a career in something I could explain to a 3-year old. That brought me to environmental law at the Attorney General’s office. My father was a college professor his whole life, so my drive to teach was always there, but became even stronger after hosting some town halls and really enjoying the instructional presentation format that provided. When an opportunity at Haub Law came up, it was an absolute perfect fit for me – litigate environmental cases on the “clean” side and also teach. I couldn’t say no.

Why environmental law in particular?

Very simply, it is one of the best ways to create a positive and lasting change in the world. I hope to always be working toward improving the human condition for the better.

You have been managing attorney of the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic since 2016 – what has that experience been like?

The clinic represents not-for-profit environmental groups when they sue. Those suits can be against polluters (generally citizen suits under federal environmental statutes), state actors (generally municipalities for failure to conduct sufficient environmental review), or agencies (DEC or EPA when they fail to do something required by law). The students lead the cases, but I oversee, edit, and review everything that gets filed or sent to the clients or opposing counsel. We’ve done some very interesting and significant cases, and I’ve really enjoyed it.

More recently, you were appointed Executive Director of John Jay Legal Services (JJLS) – what vision do you have for JJLS?

In this administrative role, I oversee all the applications and placements in the clinic, along with deciding awards for clinical work and making decisions about how the office is run and structured. Our clinics do a great job at serving underserved communities, I would like to see this expanded even further. There is no shortage of a need for pro-bono representation in all areas of law, especially environmental, immigration and criminal work. Each clinic and externship director has been great about looking at ways to expand the reach and impact of our clinical offerings. I hope to help contribute to that.

What is the most rewarding part of your work at Haub Law?

When a former student reaches out to say, “I’m working now, and I put the skills you taught me to work every day.” The concept that all the work we are doing leads to better lawyers in practice is very rewarding.

What advice do you have for law students once they graduate?

Take the opportunities you are given. It’s hard to go to work directly in your dream job from law school. Learning to be a great lawyer can take several stages – just like my career did. From general litigation, to working for the state, to working for a plaintiff-side environmental firm, to this. I learned something at each step, so I would say open your eyes to all opportunities. If you wait long enough, everything always seems to work out for the best. At least it does if you are putting positive things out into the world. So, focus on that, and the rest will follow.

Are you working on any research projects or upcoming publications?

I have been toying with the idea of writing an Environmental Skills textbook. There isn’t much out there that is truly current. I plan to explore that.

Aside from law, how do you spend your spare time?

I enjoy hiking, snowboarding, chess, and (when I can) listening to live music. But the real answer is: driving my kids around to sports and other activities.