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A team of researchers from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have developed an algorithm through machine learning that helps predict sites of DNA methylation – a process that can change the activity of DNA without changing its overall structure – and could identify disease-causing mechanisms that would otherwise be missed by conventional screening methods.

The paper was published online by the journal Nature Machine Intelligence.

Communicating by sound underwater works great for dolphins and whales, so an NJIT expert decided to try a new variant of this method for autonomous vehicles, divers and sensors, too.

Radio signals used by traditional wireless devices become too weak underwater, explained Ali Abdi, a professor of electrical engineering and director of the Advanced Communication and Signal Processing Laboratory, in NJIT’s Center for Wireless Information Processing.

Matthew Berdel, a systems engineer who tests software during the workweek, spent his Saturday mornings in NJIT’s Makerspace last semester immersed in engineering of a very different sort: constructing a working machine from fabricated parts.

“I wanted to know more about hardware,” Berdel explained. “I was looking for a deeper understanding of electrical and mechanical systems – and to develop a new set of skills I can rely on.”

In a robotics lab spilling over with 3D-printed parts, engineering students are gutting toy trucks, SUVs, sedans and two-door Mini Coopers and refitting them with custom-designed systems: laser-cut side mirrors, wheels that can parallel park and a braking system that employs algorithms to control an electric motor, thus enabling soft and hard breaking, idling and taxiing.

More than 20 employers have been recognized by NJIT’s Career Development Services (CDS) as the university’s top recruitment partners, based on their 2019 hiring numbers. The honors mark the seventh consecutive year that CDS has paid tribute to employers for their engagement with and recruitment and hiring of students.

The New Jersey Institute of Technology community notes with great sadness the passing of John J. Mooney MS ’60, an inspired engineer, renowned inventor and beloved alumnus of Newark College of Engineering who is best known for developing a catalytic converter for vehicles that filters three toxic chemicals.

Donald “Will” Andrews, NJIT’s first-ever recipient of the Humanity in Action Fellowship, attributes his selection for the distinguished summertime program to his choice of study at the university: industrial engineering.

“There probably weren’t that many engineers that applied … so that made my application stand out from the start — like, ‘hey, look, we have an engineer from Kentucky applying for this social sciences fellowship in Europe,’” said Andrews laughingly.

“It is an unusual graduation, but what is extraordinary always is the work of this class,” said U.S. Sen. Cory Booker HON ’09, who began NJIT’s 104th Commencement with a pre-ceremony heartfelt greeting thanking the university’s 2020 graduates for their grit, hard work, sacrifice and struggle, and for epitomizing what “Jersey Strong” is all about.

Since the end of March, Rukayat Balogun has been working remotely for Facebook as a site logistics analyst, overseeing staff that maintain the servers and the facility, and ensuring compliance with industry standards. She will move to the Atlanta area in July for this position, which came her way last fall when a fellow student in NJIT’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) introduced Balogun to a visiting Facebook recruiter. The company flew her down south for what turned out to be a series of video interviews, followed by a bit of a wait.

In 2019, Owais Aftab was in search of a summer research project to meet his degree requirements for independent study. The biomedical engineering/pre-health Albert Dorman Honors College scholar, then a first-year student, found what he was looking for after a conversation with one of his teachers, John Vito d'Antonio-Bertagnolli ’16, M.S. ’17.