JENNIFER CALLAGHAN ’21 Major: Chemical Engineering Hometown: Nutley, N.J.

July 19 was an especially busy day for NJIT’s Center for Pre-College Programs (CPCP). Not only was CPCP overseeing its various summer offerings taking place across campus, it was also welcoming educators in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to a special forum that intertwined a bit with students attending the annual Bernard Harris Summer STEM Camp (BHSSC). Before the forum’s keynote speaker and camp namesake Dr.

Plants that absorb pernicious pollutants from the air itself? Ujjwala Rai ’19, a chemical engineering major, has spent the summer studying bacteria found in the root systems of plants that can remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs), industrial compounds emitted by ubiquitous products such as paints and fuels, into the atmosphere. To better understand how these bacteria can thrive in a variety of soil-less media, she has worked closely with professors from the College of Architecture and Design (CoAD) and the Department of Chemical Engineering.

This summer, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) will offer a series of workshops, boot camps and other initiatives aimed at preparing NJIT students and alumni, professionals and other groups with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in today’s digital economy. The program stems from last fall’s flagship alliance between NJIT’s Martin Tuchman School of Management (MTSM) and IBM Global University Programs.

Traditionally, many engineers and developers of solar cell technology have turned to crystalline silicon — a tried and tested material absorber capable of efficiently converting solar radiation to electricity at just four times the thickness of a strand of hair. At up to a 100th the thickness of a hair strand, nano-thin metal films offer an even more cost-effective and flexible material alternative, holding promise in the future development of everything from solar power to sensor technology.

Technology is both the foundation of our global economy and the catalyst for its growth, across all business sectors. Consequently, the arrival of the VOICE Summit, sponsored by Amazon Alexa and hosted by the City of Newark and New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), July 24-26 speaks to the importance of NJIT and its home city in the current technology and economic development landscape.

Agrim Sachdeva ’18 received a master’s degree in information systems from NJIT this spring, but he isn’t making a big deal about it. While many recent graduates are thinking about relaxing a little, maybe taking a vacation, Sachdeva is still spending time at NJIT. He’s continuing to work with the university’s information systems department, where he develops software applications that help NJIT run smoothly. Graduation has not caused him to rest on his laurels.

When Edward Jheryl Wilson graduated from NJIT in 2011, he did so in heroic fashion — etching his name in university lore by leading the Highlanders to their first winning season since joining the elite ranks of Division I basketball in 2006 — and becoming NJIT’s first Division I 1,000-point scorer in the process. However, Wilson’s successful journey in top-level athletics was not without adversity from the start, nor would his journey be quite over after he left NJIT.