John A. Reif, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

A collaborative research group led by NJIT has been awarded a $788k grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to implement restoration and protection measures for polluted lakes and ponds within the state. The grant is part of a $10M allocation announced by the Murphy Administration to develop water quality improvement projects across New Jersey, funding for which stems from the federal government’s American Rescue Plan that was appropriated by the state Legislature. “These grants will help a diverse group of DEP partners implement projects that will...

In daily battles with pathogens, legacy chemicals from long disappeared factories and a growing array of micropollutants, water treatment systems are often handicapped by clogged membrane filters. Replacing them regularly is both laborious and expensive. “Membrane filters are easily clogged when bacteria, natural organic matter and insoluble solids block their pores, aging and damaging them. They must be cleaned by intensive backwashing, sometimes involving strong chemicals,” said Wen Zhang, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering who designs novel reactive membrane...

New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rutgers, Princeton and Stevens Institute of Technology joined to present respective research projects and explore potential areas of collaboration related to climate change, planetary and human health that would benefit the population of New Jersey and beyond. Environmental scientists, engineers, experts and government officials were invited to present and speak on a wide variety of subjects related to climate change ranging from nuclear winter and flood mitigation, to measuring community resilience and nanotechnology strategies for agriculture. Also in...

Engineer Michel Boufadel, one of the world’s chief experts on oil spills and a frequent consultant on cleanups, is the winner of the Board of Overseers Excellence in Research Award for 2022. Denis Blackmore, a mathematician who specialized in measuring and modeling changes in a range of dynamic systems, was honored posthumously with the Board of Overseers Excellence in Research Lifetime Achievement Award. Atam Dhawan, NJIT’s interim provost, called the two awardees “path-breaking researchers” who are esteemed and influential in their respective fields, but also enthusiastic collaborators...