New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) celebrated the achievements of its faculty and staff at the annual Nexus of Excellence Awards on Oct. 14 in the Campus Center Atrium, recognizing outstanding contributions to teaching, research, mentoring, service and community engagement.
The ceremony honored members of the university community whose accomplishments reflect NJIT's commitment to academic excellence, innovation and student success. Awards recognized achievements across undergraduate and graduate instruction, educational innovation, advising, faculty mentorship, diversity and community engagement.
"The Nexus of Excellence Awards recognize outstanding contributions across an unusually broad range of university life: teaching and mentoring, advising and educational innovation, research and creative scholarship, service, and community engagement," said Interim Provost Moshe Kam.
This year's Board of Directors of the Foundation Excellence in Research and Innovation Medal, NJIT's highest honor, was awarded to David A. Bader, distinguished professor and associate dean for research in the Ying Wu College of Computing, for his pioneering contributions to high-performance computing and large-scale data analytics.
An internationally recognized computer scientist, Bader helped revolutionize supercomputing by demonstrating how powerful computing systems could be built using affordable Linux clusters and open-source software rather than expensive proprietary machines. His work helped establish an approach that became the standard architecture for many of the world's leading supercomputers.
Bader's research in parallel algorithms and graph analytics has also advanced the ability to process enormous, interconnected datasets, enabling applications in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, biological research and financial networks. His achievements include more than 400 scholarly publications, the IEEE Computer Society's Sidney Fernbach Award and recognition among HPCwire's 35 Legends of high-performance computing.
At NJIT, Bader co-founded the Department of Data Science and helped establish its undergraduate and doctoral programs, expanding opportunities for students and researchers working at the forefront of computing.
The ceremony also recognized three faculty members with the Master Teacher designation, NJIT's highest teaching honor: Ashish Borgaonkar of the School of Applied Engineering and Technology, Xiaobo Li of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Peter Ward of the Department of Mathematical Sciences. The designation recognizes sustained instructional excellence, innovative teaching approaches and a significant impact on student learning.
The awards celebration also acknowledged faculty members who received prestigious national and international distinctions during the past year, including National Science Foundation CAREER Awards, national fellowships and honors for teaching, scholarship, research and professional service.
"To our honorees, thank you for the dedication, creativity, and hard work that inspire all of us and enrich the NJIT community," Kam said. "Your contributions exemplify the best of what we strive for as an institution."
Full List of 2026 Nexus of Excellence Award Winners
Excellence in Instruction by Teaching Assistants
- Shahid Akbar (Physics)
- Danial Cheraghali (Mechanical and Industrial Engineering)
Excellence in Impact on Education by Non-Instructional Staff
- Erick Nunez (Biomedical Engineering)
Excellence in Lower Division Undergraduate Instruction
- Kristin Carfora (Mathematical Sciences)
- Gretchen von Koenig (School of Art and Design)
Excellence in Upper Division Undergraduate Instruction
- Matthew Bandelt (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
- Alexander Buffone (Biomedical Engineering)
- Elektra Kostopoulou (Federated Department of History)
Excellence in Graduate Instruction
- Aritra Dasgupta (Data Science)
- Jongsang Son (Biomedical Engineering)
Excellence in Innovation in Education
- Ashish Borgaonkar (Applied Engineering and Technology)
- Emily Tancredi-Brice Agbenyega (Albert Dorman Honors College)
Excellence in Undergraduate Advising and Mentoring
- Stephen George (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
- Margarita Vinnikov (Informatics)
Excellence in Graduate Advising and Mentoring
- Brooke Flammang (Biological Sciences)
- Fadi Karaa (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Excellence in Faculty Mentoring
- Tara Alvarez (Biomedical Engineering)
- Michael Siegel (Mathematical Sciences)
Excellence and Impact in Community Engagement
- Casey Diekman (Mathematical Sciences)
Foundation Board of Directors Excellence in Service Award
- Kristen DeGraff (Office of Student Transition)
- Taha Marhaba (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Constance A. Murray Diversity Award
- Richard Cimino (Chemical and Materials Engineering)
Master Teacher
- Ashish Borgaonkar (Applied Engineering and Technology)
- Xiaobo Li (Biomedical Engineering)
- Peter Ward (Mathematical Sciences)
Foundation Board of Directors Excellence in Research and Innovation Medal
- David A. Bader (Data Science)
