John a reif jr department of civil and environmental engineering

The NJIT community is mourning the loss this month of Bruno Gonçalves da Silva, an esteemed assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering who launched a new field of study for the university, energy geotechnology, which includes novel experimental investigations into the hydraulic fracturing of rocks.

Three teams of student engineers are showcasing their applied research this week at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Student Design Expo, as they vie for a second round of funding from the EPA’s People, Prosperity and the Planet program, which aims to spur new systems and technologies that advance sustainability.

Engineering professor Chang Yaramothu ’13H, ’14, ’17, Abigail Varughese ’22, Rita Vought ’21 and FEMA’s Marc K. Raoul ’09 are some of the NJIT students, past and present, contributing engineering, emergency management and healthcare skills to the massive effort.

When a frail, elderly woman refused help at the FEMA-run vaccination site in NJIT’s Naimoli Center, Rita Vought ’21 knew just what to do. She sidled over, struck up a conversation, and subtly navigated her through the process, from registration to departure.

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, health officials seized on contact tracing as the most effective way to anticipate the virus’s migration from the initial, densely populated hot spots and try to curb its spread. Months later, infections were nonetheless recorded in similar patterns in nearly every region of the country, both urban and rural. 

New Jersey Institute of Technology has a new campus, but you can only go there by computer because civil engineering major Pawel Sierhej built it entirely in Minecraft.

New Jersey Institute of Technology is one of the nation’s best colleges for students seeking a superb education with great career preparation at an affordable price, according to The Princeton Review, an honor held since 2018. NJIT ranked No. 39 as a Best Value College and No. 10 for Best Career Placement among public colleges and universities.

Their expertise ranges from technologies to improve infrastructure in some of the most urbanized regions on the planet to some of the remotest. Philip Pong, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, focuses on advanced sensing devices to enhance visibility, or “eyes in the field,” that provide power systems the data they need to monitor conditions and make decisions.

In NJIT’s Materials and Structures Laboratory, Noah Thibodeaux is concocting a series of concrete mixtures containing varying levels of old, pulverized roadway. The lab, which is working with the New York City Department of Transportation to determine the feasibility of using recycled aggregate in new projects, is focused on its near-term performance and durability over time, as well as its impact on the environment. 

U.S. News & World Report has released its 2022 rankings for the nation’s top graduate schools, with NJIT ranked among the best for graduate degree programs in engineering. The university slots in this year at No. 88 — up 23 positions in the past seven years — and has been included on the distinguished list since 2003. The 2022 rankings mark the sixth consecutive year NJIT has appeared in the top 100.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, President Daniel Chamovitz of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and President Joel S. Bloom of New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have unveiled a partnership that will create a world-class Institute for Future Technologies in New Jersey. Two powerhouse universities in the fields of cyber technologies and environmental engineering will come together to offer dual degrees and exciting new research opportunities. The Institute looks forward to receiving support and seed funding from the State of New Jersey.