Art, Science and Technology Celebrated In Harmony at 2019 CSLA Awards
On May 1, the annual springtime celebration of NJIT’s College of Science and Liberal Arts (CSLA) kicked off, marking a year of highlights throughout the arts and sciences at the college during the 2019 CSLA Awards Ceremony.
This year’s event, held at the Campus Center Atrium, welcomed a diverse audience of CSLA students, faculty, alumni and staff, as well as special presenters and honors granted to standout performers from across each of the college’s departments, ranging from fields of law, philosophy, theatre and media communications, to STEM-driven disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.
CSLA Dean, Kevin Belfield spoke throughout the festivities, recognizing achievements from the CSLA community during the 2018-2019 academic year. He also addressed recent growth and future plans at the college, now in its 37th year.
“It’s a pleasure to welcome everyone to the 2019 CSLA Awards Ceremony,” said Belfield. “The college began in 1982…today we’ve grown to include 106 faculty members, 54 university lecturers, nearly 800 undergraduate students and 250 graduate students.”
“This year, CSLA faculty and instructional staff have taught 37% of all course sections offered by NJIT, have published nearly 400 refereed journal articles, and currently manage nearly 40 million dollars in external research,” he added. “We have a lot of excellence in all corners of our college, and this is a time to rejoice.”
The awards ceremony began with an appearance from professional violinist, Martha Mooke, and the event’s keynote speaker, Anthony Agnello — a sound engineer with the audio effects company, Eventide, who helped revolutionize the music recording industry with his innovation in digital effects processing in 1975, the H910 Harmonizer®. As part of his appearance, Agnello was presented with the Jay Kappraff Award for Excellence in Science and Arts.
“Music and science have been what my career and life have been about…music has always been at the heart of it,” said Agnello.“I thank everyone here for your support, and I am honored and humbled with this award.”
This year’s event also saw the annual CSLA Lifetime Achievement Award go to Professor Emeritus of mathematics, Daljit Ahluwalia. Arriving as chair of NJIT’s Department of Mathematical Sciences in 1986, Ahluwalia became a pivotal figure in transforming the department into one of the premier centers for applied mathematics research in the nation.
Samantha Lomuscio ’20 won the ceremony’s first-ever Lanzerotti Prize, an award that “annually recognizes a high-achieving and hard-working undergraduate student in the field of applied physics.” Lomuscio was recognized for outstanding work at NJIT's Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research under the supervision of physics professor Bin Chen, as well as accomplishments during a NASA internship this past year, where she was involved studies related to climate modeling.
"I’ve admired the work done by Dr. Lanzerotti, so I am honored and truly humbled to have been given this award," said Lomuscio. "It has allowed me to establish a lifelong connection to the university, especially the physics department, that has continually supported my every endeavor. It is a privilege to set the way for future awardees and I look forward to returning to NJIT to celebrate their success."
In all, 31 awards and special honors were handed out at this year’s event. Following are all those recognized at the 2019 College of Science and Liberal Arts Awards Ceremony:
Mr. Anthony Agnello
Jay Kappraff Award for Excellence in Science & Arts
Dr. Daljit Ahluwalia
Department of Mathematical Sciences
CSLA Lifetime Achievement Award
Samantha Lomuscio
Department of Physics
Dr. Louis J. Lanzerotti and Dr. M. Yvonne De Wolf Lanzerotti
Prize in Applied Physics
Dr. Neil Maher
Federated Department of History
Distinguished Research Award
Dr. Brooke Flammang
Department of Biological Sciences
Rising Star Research Award
Dr. Mengyan Li
Department of Chemistry & Environmental Science
Rising Star Research Award
Dr. Linda Cummings
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Excellence in Service Award
Dr. Ju Jing
Department of Physics
Award for Excellence in Research by a Research Professor
Dr. Daniel Estrada
Department of Humanities
Award for Excellence in Scholarship by a University Lecturer
Dr. Alisa Krishtal
Department of Chemistry & Environmental Science
Award for Excellence in Teaching by a University Lecturer
Mr. Adam See
Department of Humanities
Award for Excellence in Teaching by an Adjunct Faculty
Dr. Bhavani Balasubramanian
Department of Chemistry & Environmental Science
Outstanding Staff Award
Ms. Maureen O’Rourke
Department of History
Outstanding Staff Award
Outstanding Undergraduate Student Awards
Chloe Jelley, Department of Biological Sciences
John Antley, Department of Chemistry & Environmental Science
Andrew Edmonson, Federated Department of History
Zackary Kellett, Department of Humanities
William Joseph McCann, Department of Mathematical Sciences
Samantha Lomuscio, Department of Physics
Outstanding Graduate Student Awards
Audrey Biondi, Department of Biological Sciences
Worawit Intrchom, Department of Chemistry & Environmental Science
Holly Stanton, Federated Department of History
David Tress, Department of Humanities
Axel Turnquist, Department of Mathematical Sciences
Jiasheng Wang, Department of Physics
Alumni Awards
Ms. Elisa Charters
Chemistry & Environmental Science/STS
Distinguished Alumna Award
Mr. Siddhartha Bala
College of Science and Liberal Arts
Distinguished Alumnus Award
Dr. Keith Silverman
Chemistry & Environmental Science
Distinguished Alumnus Award
Mr. Galen Faison
Department of Humanities
Rising Star Alumnus Award
Ms. Gabrielle Rejouis
Federated Department of History
Rising Star Alumna Award
Dr. Ivana Seric
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Rising Star Alumna Award
