Climate Tech Fellows Are Early-Stage Innovators Defining New Climate Solutions
NEW YORK, NY – September 9, 2025 – The New York Climate Exchange (The Exchange), in partnership with Stony Brook University, announced the formal launch of its first signature tech incubation program today, with the first group of Climate Tech Fellows named.
These early-stage innovators are helping to define new climate solutions, kicking off their six-month fellowship in September and completing fellowships in February 2026. Along with the virtual components of the program, which include a tailored venture curriculum taught by industry experts and dedicated one-to-one mentorship sessions, fellows will come together in-person for a Climate Tech Showcase hosted by The Exchange during Climate Week NYC, taking place September 21-28, 2025. The Fellowship will culminate in February with a virtual public showcase providing a platform for fellows to share progress and look ahead to what’s next.
This program, built in collaboration with innovation leads, tech transfer offices and research labs in The Exchange’s network, addresses the persistent gap that early-stage innovators face as they look to progress solutions beyond the lab and out into the real-world; the program’s focus picks up right where traditional university support systems taper off. Nearly 100 applications were received for this fellowship, which provides fellows with a $10,000 stipend, 1:1 mentorship, introduction to partners, and access to The Exchange’s extensive climate network to accelerate the commercialization progress. Applications were opened in April 2025 and eight fellows, affiliated with six universities from The Exchange’s network, were accepted.
“The New York Climate Exchange is committed to fostering a vibrant climate technology ecosystem,” said Shaina Horowitz, director of program innovation and acceleration at The New York Climate Exchange. “When we empower early-stage innovators with the resources and mentorship they need to develop solutions for a more resilient urban future, we can accelerate their path towards impact for our city and the world.”
“I am excited to see The Exchange launch its first Climate Tech Fellows cohort. This initiative shows our strategic vision to catalyze innovation and entrepreneurship to find solutions for the urgent challenges around energy and climate change,” said Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith, who serves as chair of The Exchange’s Board. “These young minds, from our university network, get our ideas out of the university and into practice to help build a sustainable future for New York and beyond. We look forward to helping these fellows on their entrepreneurial pathway and to seeing the exciting technologies they are developing come to fruition.”
Eligibility for this first fellowship cohort was limited to innovators affiliated with one of The Exchange’s university partners, which includes Stony Brook University as the anchor institution. The named Fellows include professors, PhD researchers, students, visiting scholars and executives-in-residence. They include:
- Stephanie Taboada (Stony Brook University) — HySep is developing safe, scalable hydrogen storage to unlock the green hydrogen economy using existing gas pipelines.
- Charlie Mydlarz (New York University) — FloodNet develops tools for real-time, actionable flood monitoring to support community-scale resilience in urban neighborhoods.
- Fares Al-Lahabi (CUNY) — CarbonCLAIR offers on-site air filtration to construction sites, providing cleaner air for cities and in-situ carbon capture capabilities.
- Mauricio Hernandez (Duke University) — GridSeer delivers an AI-driven software and analytics platform that enhances reliability, improves sustainability, and cuts costs for energy providers and large-scale users.
- Patricia Stathatou and Christos Athanasiou (Georgia Tech) — Yeast-enabled removal of micropollutants from water to provide safe, clean water following disasters.
- Shannon Parker (Duke University, working with Pratt Institute) — Reefcycle develops low-carbon bio-cement for coral restoration, coastal infrastructure, and the built environment.
- Ty Roach (Duke University) — Coral Reef Arks are a novel midwater reef technology combining science and scale to revolutionize coral restoration and build climate resilience for coastal communities.
- Xiao Liu (Georgia Tech) — Leveraging data and AI for real-time wildfire management.
Collectively, these fellows are developing innovations for grid resilience, hydrogen storage, coral restoration, and real-time wildfire and flood management, among other areas.
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