Plants that absorb pernicious pollutants from the air itself? Ujjwala Rai ’19, a chemical engineering major, has spent the summer studying bacteria found in the root systems of plants that can remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs), industrial compounds emitted by ubiquitous products such as paints and fuels, into the atmosphere. To better understand how these bacteria can thrive in a variety of soil-less media, she has worked closely with professors from the College of Architecture and Design (CoAD) and the Department of Chemical Engineering. Anthony Yacoub ’19, an industrial…

A group of 11th graders traveled from their chemistry class at Dwyer Technical Academy in Elizabeth, N.J. to the center of atoms and molecules. Eager to explore this foreign dimension environed by electron orbits, the voyagers clutched atoms, felt them vibrate and got up close and personal with particles as they morphed into molecules. The students assessed radioactivity trends and learned the difference between solids, gases and liquids — and were back in time for the next class period.  Obviously this field trip was simulated. But thanks to improved mobile virtual reality (VR)…

NJIT, one of the few public polytechnic institutes in the Northeast, is once again included in the latest edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges — a subjective and selective reference tool that systematically reviews over 300 colleges in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. For more than 30 years, millions of students, parents, and guidance counselors have relied on the Fiske Guide to Colleges to present the best and most interesting schools during their college search. Compiled by former New York Times education editor Edward B. Fiske, the guide features select colleges based on a broad range of…

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is bucking an undergraduate admissions trend. While many universities are failing to hit recruitment targets and/or reducing their standards for admission due to sharp regional and national declines in the traditional college-aged population, NJIT has seen noteworthy growth this year in both applications and the average SAT score of those applicants. In fact, NJIT's applications for undergraduate admission for Fall of 2018 have grown 12% over last year (33% among out-of-state students) and the average SAT score for the incoming class…

Fresh off the heels of graduating with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, Connor Watson ’18 has an internship lined up crunching data for Quantbot Technologies, a New York City-based private investment firm. The summer gig complements the West New York native’s post-graduate endeavors. Watson has chosen to attend a grad school that “feels like home,” provides him with a “strong support system” — and recently launched a degree program in the field Harvard Business Review named “the sexiest job in the 21st century.” “I’ll be continuing my education here at NJIT, pursuing a master’s…

Following its 102nd commencement ceremony May 16 at the Prudential Center in Newark, which recognized undergraduate and doctoral students, NJIT continued the festivities at its new Wellness and Events Center (WEC) yesterday and today. There, the university conferred degrees to master’s students from all five academic schools. The occasions marked not only an educational milestone for the graduates, but also the first time commencement was held at the WEC. Agrim Sachdeva, who earned a master’s in information systems, and Jacob Weiss, a master’s in architecture graduate, served as student…

Found your own company and be your own boss upon graduation? Unthinkable? Not any more.  In this day and age, founding a startup is a viable alternative to working as an employee in an existing company. Especially in the burgeoning tech sector. Especially in the exciting New York region. All you need is a sound business idea, some good technology to support it, a talented team and a small pot of money to get you to that first prototype. Is it really that easy? Not quite. What does it take?  Focus. Drive. Ambition. Passion. Creativity. These are the character traits of a…

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) conferred 2,885 bachelor’s and doctoral degrees at the 102nd commencement ceremony May 15 at the Prudential Center in Newark. Dr. Leah Hope Jamieson, Ransburg Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Professor of Engineering Education, and John A. Edwardson Dean Emerita of Engineering at Purdue University, received an honorary Doctor of Humane Science and delivered the commencement address in which she shared her perspective as a first-generation college student from Trenton, N.J. who attended graduate school at Princeton…

When Chidanand “Cid” Khode ’18 walked across the stage at graduation, he was able to check off a few things on his to-do list: make new friends, graduate with a degree in computer science and find a good job.  But his biggest accomplishment, he says, was honoring a personal commitment to leave a contribution to the next generation of Highlanders. “I’ve always wanted to give back to my college, to give back to people in general,”says Khode, who lives in Matawan and moved to the United States from India at 5 years old. His voluntary nature dates back to an AP computer science class he…