Our “Stories from the Field” series shares the experiences of engineers and scientists who are making a difference in their communities.

NYU's Top 10 Influential Students 2019 (The Climate for Change): As a three-time winner of the Green Grant program and co-chair of March for Science, Tandon Ph.D. candidate Omar Gowayed continues to fight for an equitable, sustainable world.

For Omar Gowayed, a Ph.D. candidate in Materials Chemistry at New York University, participating in an extracurricular activity on campus has provided him with a sense of purpose that has kept him motivated as a scientist. I spoke to him about his involvement on campus with We Are the New Farmers, a vertical farming team that formed at NYU last year.

Experimental design, urban farming, and sustainability come together at NYU’s Urban Food Lab

This past week, Omar’s vertical farming team organized a campus week of action. I asked him about his experience organizing on campus, which required him to work with students, faculty and external partners.

Today we sit down with Omar Gowayed, a 4th year PhD student in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

Building on the success of their 2018 Green Grant, Tandon's aquaponic farming project has garnered a 2019 award as well, this one to be used to introduce increasing numbers of students to the field. Participating students will pursue independent projects, taking responsibility for the farm in the Tandon MakerSpace and engaging with the thriving local farming community. Thanks to the Green Grant program, Brooklyn is getting greener all the time.