Nick Fuentes-Zuluaga was just 2 years old when he and his parents left their home in Bogota, Colombia, and migrated to the United States. They settled in Rockaway, N.J., with the aid of his aunt in nearby Parsippany and began a new life, far from the mounting violence triggered by their native country’s illegal drug trade. Assimilating into the American culture and learning the English language proved difficult, but they persevered. Fuentes-Zuluaga’s father, employed by an architectural firm in Colombia, and his mother, who was in banking, took hourly-wage jobs to support the family, which…

On Friday, February 15, six teams of exemplary students from NJIT’s Newark College of Engineering (NCE) put their outstanding engineering design research on display at this year’s “NCE First-Year Showcase” competition.  The competition’s student-teams — representing each of the college’s departments — were selected to present their research based on standout first-year academic performances and projects that they conceived of during their Fundamentals of Engineering Design 101 (FED 101) courses, taken this past Fall 2018 semester.  At the event, before an audience of faculty,…

Every year, hundreds of high school and college students throughout the Garden State apply for the honor to be a Governor’s STEM Scholar. Slots are limited and the competition is steep. For 2019, three Highlanders have been chosen to wear the mantle: Ricardo Garcia, Yasmine Ghattas and Kevin Pemberthy. They and the other scholars are spending this academic year attending STEM conferences and field trips, participating in team-based research projects, and learning from and networking with New Jersey STEM professionals, state policymakers, academic institutions and research organizations. The…

Sagnik Basuray, an assistant professor of chemical engineering who develops novel sensors, diagnostic devices and drug delivery systems, has been named a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Basuray is among 66 academic inventors elected to the inaugural class of NAI Senior Members, a group that includes active faculty, scientists and administrators with success in patents, licensing and commercialization. Together, these new members represent 37 research universities and government and nonprofit research institutes, and are named inventors on more than 1,100 issued U.S…

The difficulty in spotting minute amounts of disease circulating in the bloodstream has proven a stumbling block in the detection and treatment of cancers that advance stealthily with few symptoms. With a novel electrochemical biosensing device that identifies the tiniest signals these biomarkers emit, a pair of NJIT inventors are hoping to bridge this gap. Their work in disease detection is an illustration of the power of electrical sensing – and the growing role of engineers – in medical research. “Ideally, there would be a simple, inexpensive test – performed at a regular patient visit…

When Parsippany High School’s Kathy Effner heard about NJIT’s Center for Pre-College Programs’ (CPCP) Try Engineering! workshop for educators, she was intrigued — particularly since it featured a hands-on project at the university’s new 10,000-square-foot Makerspace. This past October she attended that event and, along with middle and high school instructors from throughout New Jersey, learned practical applications of engineering concepts before visiting the high-tech facility. There, huddled in small groups, they all had the opportunity to use 3D printers to create keychains from a design…

College Factual ranks NJIT’s mechanical engineering program in the Top 15 percent of all mechanical engineering programs in the United States. Mechanical engineering at NJIT moved up 14 slots over last year, from No. 53 to No. 39, out of 272 schools nationwide. Mechanical engineering graduates from NJIT make average early-career earnings of $53,424 and average midcareer earnings of $107,714.* College Factual is a “leading source of college data analytics and insights, with a strong focus on student outcomes.” It covers over 2,500 colleges and universities, as well as 350 majors, for…

For Dina Ayman’s parents, the road to medical school beckoned enticingly to their gifted daughter, a driven student with a love for math and science. The profession, they argued, would eagerly welcome a woman of her talents. But Ayman ’18, M.S. ’18, did not hear that call. And she resisted. “From the seventh grade, my dream was to become an engineer, because I enjoyed studying math and physics and that’s what engineering meant to me,” she recalls, adding that she kept the dream alive despite her parents’ concerns that “engineering is not a field for girls and that the world might not allow a…

College Factual, a leading source of higher education analytics and insights, has ranked NJIT in the top 10 percent of all schools in the nation when it comes to offering a quality education to veterans studying electrical engineering. NJIT’s electrical engineering program is ranked #27 out of 269 for veteran friendliness of all colleges and universities reviewed by College Factual. NJIT improved its ranking position 5 slots over the previous year’s ranking of #32.  Statewide, NJIT's electrical engineering program ranks #2 for the second year in a row. “NJIT continues to…

An array of more than 100 technology-focused engineers, device designers and project managers, joined by NJIT alumni and elected officials, gathered on campus today to mark the establishment of NJIT’s School of Applied Engineering and Technology (SAET) within the university’s Newark College of Engineering. Designed to meet spiraling demand in the job market for applied engineering technologists in industries reliant upon production, manufacturing, process control and instrumentation, the new school will emphasize internships, co-ops and apprenticeships within private industry and government…