Each spring, NJIT’s Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts honors a select group of graduating seniors who stand out for achievement, leadership and service. 

As part of the 2026 HCSLA Awards, we’re spotlighting three Outstanding Student Award recipients — each with a unique story and big ambitions shaped at NJIT. 

NJIT makes entrepreneurs and scientists, but junior Nidhi Sakpal is obsessed with something else — she makes AI safer.

Sakpal, an Albert Dorman Honors College member from Boonton double-majoring in applied math and computer science, explained that artificial intelligence safety encompasses the analysis, prevention and rectification of anything that causes AI systems to give users incorrect, harmful or unethical information.

As the New York/New Jersey region prepares to welcome visitors for the FIFA World Cup 2026, New Jersey Institute of Technology have expanded NJIT’s earlier fan sentiment work into a public-facing digital hub designed to help fans navigate the tournament experience.

Before she ever toured NJIT, Natalia Peña had already made up her mind.

A scholarship offer from the Albert Dorman Honors College changed what college looked like for Peña and her family, easing the biggest question hanging over her future. “For the first time, my worries about how I would afford college faded,” she recalled in remarks this spring at NJIT’s Scholarship Luncheon.

Students at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have again achieved an impressive amount of prestigious awards this year with 16 students earning nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships. Their achievement continues an NJIT run, with Highlanders amassing 47(and counting) of these awards in the past three years.

NJIT’s annual Scholarship Luncheon is meant to celebrate donor generosity. This year, it also pointed to what comes next.

The event brings together scholarship benefactors, alumni and student recipients, creating space for the kinds of conversations that remind people what scholarship support really does. 

NJIT men's swimming and diving senior Zac Kuzak has been named one of 42 winter recipients of the 2025-26 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, recognizing excellence in academics, athletics, and leadership.

Two teams from NJIT's New Jersey School of Architecture won top awards in the Princeton Kiosk Design Competition. The design competition is one of several of American Institute of Architects (AIA) New Jersey 125^th anniversary events. Launched in May of 2025 in collaboration with the municipality of Princeton, submissions were juried in March of 2026. 

A one-day design sprint at NJIT challenged students to think like engineers, designers and problem-solvers for a wider range of users.

At CADence: An Additive Design Jam, held April 18 in the NJIT Makerspace, six teams spent the day designing and prototyping assistive technology concepts aimed at improving everyday accessibility. Working in medical, transportation and community tracks, students used CAD software, 3D printing and electrical components to build modular devices intended to respond to real-world challenges.

Goldwater Scholarships, among the nation’s most prestigious honors for undergraduates pursuing STEM research careers, have been awarded to two NJIT juniors whose academic excellence, research experience and professional ambitions have already set them apart.

This year’s recipients are Albert Dorman Honors Scholars – Aditya Mahalingam, a biology major in the Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts (CSLA), and Arwa Ouali, a chemical engineering major in the Newark College of Engineering (NCE).