Highlights from the Third Annual MACH Summer Session | Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub (MACH)

MACH researchers with Philadelphia Water Department Staff visiting a stormwater management site in Philadelphia, PA.

In August 2025, MACH held its third annual Summer Session, an immersive, week-long experience where participants lived and learned together. This year’s session welcomed a mix of graduate students and early career professionals affiliated with MACH. The program featured activities led by MACH staff and a lineup of inspiring guest speakers. The week was designed to foster meaningful dialogue around collaborative research and to prepare participants to extend their work beyond traditional academic pathways.

Highlights from the session included a visit and discussion with representatives from the City of Philadelphia's Office of Sustainability, Abby Sullivan, Chief Resilience Officer, and Jordan Pares-Kane, Climate Resilience Planner and Engagement Specialist. Their talk focused on resilience planning, decision-making within local government, and the role of research in these processes. To complement this presentation, participants also engaged with the Philadelphia Water Department through a tour of the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, led by Associate Director for Education, Ellen Schultz, and visits around the City to green stormwater infrastructure sites guided by Dan Schupsky, Community Outreach Specialist at the Philadelphia Water Department. Each speaker shared how they source information for decision-making and the methods they use to communicate that information to others.

In addition to opportunities to learn from guest speakers, MACH staff facilitated a variety of activities to support the goals of the week. To promote cross-team collaboration, participants engaged in a boundary-spanning training exercise adapted from a Center for Creative Leadership guide. This activity encouraged them to identify where to focus their communication efforts to strengthen collaborative research.

To build communication skills, participants took part in a storytelling exercise, supported by a worksheet designed to help them connect their research to societal needs. Once this foundation was established, the group explored methods and tools for sharing research. Participants were asked to consider how best to communicate their work and measure its impact, using a second worksheet as a guide.

To conclude the week, participants were divided into multidisciplinary teams and challenged to identify areas of research overlap. They were asked to imagine applying for a grant with an external collaborator, define a shared purpose, and outline potential outputs. This exercise was designed to simulate the process of drafting a letter of intent for a grant proposal. While ambitious for a short session, the activity effectively tied together the week’s themes and reinforced key lessons.

Summer Session staff and participants look forward to continuing to work together throughout the year!

Photographs above shown from left to right: 1. MACH researchers at the Fairmount Water Works Interperative Center, 2. MACH researchers with representatives from the Philadelphia Office of Sustainability, 3. MACH researchers practicing their collaboration skills, 4. MACH researchers with representatives from the Philadelphia Water Department.

Read reflections from a few summer session participants below:

This year’s summer school was my third MACH summer program, and it continues to be one of the experiences I most look forward to. The theme of “extending our work beyond typical academic pathways” was exciting, as it highlighted the importance of connecting research with practice and community engagement. A standout moment for me was the discussion with Abby Sullivan and Jordan Pares-Kane from the Philadelphia Office of Sustainability. Their effort on developing the city’s climate resilience plan provided valuable insights into how site-specific considerations shape adaptation strategies, many of which relate closely to my own research. The Philadelphia Water Department’s guided tour was also a highlight, showing how science and data inform Green Stormwater Infrastructure projects and how these efforts translate into real, tangible community benefits. Finally, the visit to the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center gave me a deeper appreciation for how history, education, and outreach can be combined to raise awareness about water and climate challenges. We all enjoyed our stay at Pendle Hill, which offered a great setting to reflect, recharge, and connect with each other in nature. The program strengthened my technical perspective and reinforced the importance of engaging with diverse voices and institutions through MACH’s mission.

The 2025 MACH Summer Session at Pendle Hill, Philadelphia, was a timely and grounding experience that pushed me to think more deeply—and practically—about how my research can extend beyond academic audiences and have real-world resonance. Set in the quiet, contemplative space of Pendle Hill, the session offered the opportunity to pause, reflect, and reorient my motivations toward a more applied and intentional direction.

Tuesday’s boundary spanning leadership training set the tone for the rest of the week by helping us understand what it truly means to collaborate across organizational, disciplinary, and social divides. Using the framework of the five boundaries—vertical, horizontal, stakeholder, demographic, and geographic—we explored which boundaries we find easiest and most difficult to span. For me, this was an important exercise in self-awareness: it made me more conscious of where I default to comfort zones in my work, and where I need to be more intentional in cultivating partnerships, especially outside of academia. That same day, a science communication session reminded me of my role as an information steward—and the importance of clear, audience-centered messaging that moves beyond jargon to usability.

Our Wednesday session with Abby Sullivan and Jordan Pares-Kane from the Philadelphia Office of Sustainability was equally eye-opening. Hearing them describe the complexities of implementing floodplain regulations and updating the city’s climate resilience plan helped clarify how differently timelines, goals, and definitions of success play out in government spaces versus academia. I was especially struck by their candid reflections on working within slow, layered processes—where change is often incremental, but still meaningful. It challenged my assumption that impact must be immediate or large-scale, and reminded me of the importance of patience, persistence, and navigating institutional dynamics.

One of the most impactful parts of the week was the “Bridging Boundaries: Defining Success in Applied Research” activity. For the first time in a long while, I was prompted to slow down and actually define what “success” looks like for me—not just in terms of publications, but in terms of making my research meaningful to the people who could use it. Mapping out basic, middle, and advanced steps for engaging different stakeholder groups helped me visualize a real pathway from my research desk to decision-making tables.

Thursday’s visit to the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center was particularly powerful—it demonstrated how science education and public storytelling can influence not just awareness, but behavior. I began thinking more creatively about how my own research could live outside of academic journals: in interactive exhibits, in classroom materials, or as visual tools for community advocacy. Later that day, our field tour with the Philadelphia Water Department brought everything into sharper focus. Seeing how data and green infrastructure planning are used in real-world city projects—across multiple GSI sites—was both energizing and humbling. It reminded me that people on the ground are constantly making decisions with imperfect information, often under pressure from budgets, timelines, and public expectations.

One of the most valuable practice-based exercises for me was Friday’s Super-MACH project activity, where we worked in teams to design a practical implementation plan for our research focused on the MACH region. We built mock implementation plans, thought through Letters of Intent, and considered both academic and non-academic outputs. Most importantly, we practiced designing research with collaborators—not just for them. This shift from dissemination to co-production is one of the most valuable takeaways from the entire week.

What made this session so effective, though, wasn’t just the activities—it was the people. Lisa, Janine, Zoe, and especially Moira created a program that was structured yet open, challenging yet supportive. The informal moments—whether around the bonfire, walking the peaceful grounds of Pendle Hill, sharing dinner conversations, or enjoying ice cream during Media’s Dining Under the Stars festival—offered genuine opportunities to connect, reflect, and strengthen the MACH network in real and enduring ways.

I left Pendle Hill feeling more aligned—with my purpose, with the audiences I want to reach, and with a clearer sense of how to move my research from theory to practice. MACH 2025 gave me the tools—and the confidence—to do just that.

As always, I highly valued the summer session experience this year. We had time to speak with the Philadelphia Office of Sustainability staff as a small group to understand the office's influence within the city, its collaboration with other agencies, and how it uses the latest climate research (and specifically MACH research). We also toured some of Philadelphia's green infrastructure and learned about how some rain gardens are placed intentionally in areas with many auto accidents, improving safety and minimizing the chance of combined sewage overflow at the same time. Most importantly, our group activities on campus were a great integration effort, allowing us the time and space to understand each others' research and find how we can better support each other.