Neutrinos and Fantastic Creatures: NJIT's Fulbright Awardees Discuss Their Studies
By Andrew McMains and Tracey Regan
Two New Jersey Institute of Technology students who earned Fulbright awards this year will continue their studies in Canada on decidedly different paths.
Kaylin Wittmeyer ’21 is pursuing a graduate certificate in digital creature animation at Sheridan College in Ontario, as she pursues a career in animation, with the goal of becoming a creative leader at a studio. Joseph Torsiello ’22, meanwhile, will research neutrinos at McGill University in Montreal this summer with a team that seeks to understand their role in the universe. With this year’s awardees, NJIT students have earned five Fulbrights in the past three academic years.
Examining ghost particles
Backed by a Fulbright Canada-MITACS Globalink scholarship, Torsiello will spend the summer stalking the chargeless, nearly massless subatomic specks known as neutrinos or ghost particles. More specifically, he’s examining images of expanding ion clouds as isotopes of Xenon decay in what’s called a Xenon time projection chamber detector to determine what particles are in fact released.
“I’m analyzing the trajectories of particles emanating from the decay and helping develop new ways of tagging them,” said Torsiello, who’s majoring in applied physics and mathematics at NJIT’s College of Science and Liberal Arts. “In some decays, neutrinos are not released.
“I’m fascinated by materials that are exotic and yet all around us. I also wonder if there is a use for neutrinos in human applications,” added Torsiello, an Albert Dorman Honors College scholar who’s planning a career in research, but still deciding among three areas that interest him: particle physics, astrophysics and materials science. In the study of neutrinos, the three disciplines converge.
Making fantastic creatures
Wittmeyer, who earned a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship, will study how to create fantastic creatures and characters for film, television and games. “I will learn all of the technical skills needed to model creatures, build the musculoskeletal system for characters, simulate clothing and hair and animate them,” explained Wittmeyer, who majored in digital design at NJIT’s Hillier College of Architecture and Design and was a member of the Albert Dorman Honors College. “I will also learn what makes appealing, memorable characters and how to connect with an audience or challenge myself artistically.”
"I do not believe that animation should simply try to mimic life or live action,” Wittmeyer added. “Instead, it should be celebrated as a distinct art form that can manipulate time in frame rates, push anatomy and shapes in unique ways and breathe life into impossible creatures."
Once she completes her studies, Wittmeyer will pursue opportunities in feature animation – as an animator, story artist or texture artist. “My long-term career goal is to become a creative director or director for a studio, where I can shape the story of a film or television show and create stories that will leave lasting impressions on audiences,” she said.
About the Fulbrights
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Students are selected in an open, merit-based competition that considers leadership potential, academic achievement, and record of service. Fulbright alumni join a network of thousands of esteemed individuals, including 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 88 Pulitzer Prize recipients and 39 who have served as a head of state or government.
The Fulbright Canada-MITACS Globalink program provides exceptional undergraduate students from universities in the U.S. with the opportunity to be part of a 10- to 12-week research internship under the supervision of Canadian university faculty members in a variety of academic disciplines, from science, engineering and mathematics to the humanities and social sciences.
