%1

Bharat Biswal, a pioneer in the field of neural imaging who developed a technique that sheds new light on brain-related diseases and injuries, is this year’s winner of NJIT’s Excellence in Research award.

In the early 1990s, as scientists began mapping the brain with functional MRI (fMRI), Biswal proposed a radical new approach to imaging: observing all of the regional networks at once while the patient sat still for several minutes.

New Jersey has been abuzz with reports of unidentified drones flying in its skies, sparking public curiosity and raising questions about their origin and purpose. Amid the growing concern, Associate Professor Pramod Abichandani, director of the Robotics and Data Lab (RADLab) and the Advanced Air Mobility (AAMLab) at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), has emerged as a voice in the conversation.

Five of this year’s Governor’s STEM Scholars are from New Jersey Institute of Technology — the most from any college in the state and the university’s highest total in a single year.

The Highlanders are among a select cohort of 16 college-level scholars and a larger pool of 111 that includes high school students interested in STEM.

Each college scholar plays a leadership role, sharing expertise and offering guidance to a group of about a half-dozen high schoolers as they tackle global problems at a local level.

Alumni from NJIT are impressing Mike Reagan, who leads 250 people for the New York/New Jersey region of international technology consultancy CGI Inc., because the Highlanders among them stand out for backing up solid training with invaluable soft skills.

“They have risen to be the cream of the crop,” said Reagan, senior vice president, who’s an electrical engineer and transitioned into management. “What I do not hire is someone with a resume of 4.0 and nothing else. Give me the 3.2 who was part of a couple of clubs, involved in student government and has a personality.”

Brian Kiernan ’70, a visionary in wireless communication technology and a proud alumnus of Newark College of Engineering at NJIT, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). This honor recognizes his pioneering contributions to mobile and fixed wireless communications, a field he revolutionized through innovations that underpin technologies used by billions globally.

The Femino family legacy at New Jersey Institute of Technology started with a child’s admiration for his engineer uncle.

Growing up, Dr. Frank Femino ’85 looked forward to visits from his uncle, Peter Garippa ’51. Not only did Femino go on to become a Highlander himself — all three of his sons did as well.

“He was my inspiration to study mechanical engineering and go to NJIT, and then it inspired my three sons to go. It really is a legacy of NJIT for us,” said Femino, an orthopedic surgeon who practices in Nutley, N.J.

A quadriplegic for the past 11 years, Julissa Santiago is the master of her own comfort. With the precision of a polite drill sergeant, she delivers instructions at bedtime for a series of minute body shifts and covers placed just so. And yet she still struggles to sleep.

The human body can heal itself, but only up to a point. If an injury removes 20% or more of a muscle — as can happen in car accidents, certain surgeries or explosions in combat zones — natural processes can’t, on their own, replace it. Instead, the wound seals up, covered by scar tissue.  

“The body sees this extensive loss of tissue as an insurmountable void,” says Jonathan Grasman, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering. 

NJIT’s Kathleen McEnnis, assistant professor of chemical and materials engineering, is pioneering a new approach in cancer treatment through innovative drug-delivery nanoparticles. 

Her research focuses on treating aggressive types of breast cancer, using platinum-based nanoparticles that target cancer cells without damaging healthy tissue. This breakthrough could mark a significant step forward in minimizing the side effects of chemotherapy.

Daniel Vargas ‘15, a systems safety engineer at Nvidia, is at the forefront of one of the most exciting and transformative fields in technology—autonomous vehicles. With a career that began in aerospace and defense, Vargas — who graduated with a degree in electrical engineering — has now transitioned into the tech world, where he ensures that Nvidia’s cutting-edge innovations are safe, reliable and compliant.