When Saly Tanyous ’26 walks across the stage at NJIT this spring, she won’t just be accepting her degree, she’ll be celebrating a journey marked by resilience, discovery and the courage to find her true path in engineering.

Born in Egypt, Tanyous moved to the United States in sixth grade and settled in Jersey City with her family. The transition was difficult. As a child who excelled in her Egyptian classrooms, she was suddenly navigating a new culture, a new language and the fear of falling short. “I used to cry every day, worried about failing,” she recalled. 

Nearly half of adolescents and young adults with lingering symptoms of concussion suffer from eye coordination disorders that cause double and blurred vision, headaches and difficulties concentrating. 

“These conditions make it hard to read books, work on a computer or even use a smartphone, and the impact on cognition and learning can be severe. They also delay the return to sports, work and driving for young people,” said Tara Alvarez, a distinguished professor of biomedical engineering at NJIT.

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is the top public university in New Jersey for both value and alumni salary outcomes, according to the newly released Wall Street Journal/College Pulse “2026 Best Colleges” rankings.

NJIT achieved strong placement in categories that highlight return on investment and long-term success:

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has climbed to No. 80 — its highest-ever placement — in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best National Universities rankings, continuing its steady ascent among the nation’s leading institutions.

The new placement marks a four-spot rise from last year and a 23-place improvement over the past five years, underscoring NJIT’s growing national reputation for academic excellence, innovation, student success and affordability.

When the vessel “King Gizzard” lined up for the final round of NJIT’s STEM Success Academy boat race, the stakes weren’t high in the traditional sense — just a stream of air and a small plastic boat floating on a narrow water track in NJIT’s Makerspace. But what was at play was far bigger: creativity, collaboration and the confidence to think differently.

Written by: Andrew McMains and Tracey Regan
Published: Tuesday, August 5, 2025

The Research & Development Council of New Jersey is recognizing medical technology developed at New Jersey Institute of Technology and Stryker executive Robert C. Cohen’s leadership in surgical device and robotics innovation.

For the fifth straight year, New Jersey Institute of Technology is a Top 50 Best Value College in The Princeton Review’s annual ranking of public institutions.

Danna Valentina Sanchez Hernandez’s path to becoming a researcher began long before she arrived at NJIT. Growing up in Colombia, she developed an early fascination with science by attending medical conferences alongside her parents — both physicians — and learning about clinical trials and biological research. But her passion for biomedical engineering didn’t crystallize until she enrolled in dual-enrollment courses at Universidad CES.

Business leaders Adam Broder and Adam Shain have joined the Board of Trustees of New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Broder and Shain, who were appointed by N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy, bring extensive expertise in launching and growing businesses in financial services and health care, respectively.

“Our new trustees deepen and strengthen our ties to the business world and bring valuable insights and experiences that will help us on our journey to become an even more prolific nexus of innovation,” NJIT President Teik C. Lim said.

Persevere, be authentic, remain flexible and make a difference in the world, speakers told the Class of 2025 at New Jersey Institute of Technology’s undergraduate commencement.