NJIT Joins DIMACS as an Affiliate Partner Institute

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is the newest partner in DIMACS, the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science. DIMACS is a research-oriented consortium of Princeton University, Rutgers University, AT&T Labs – Research, NEC Laboratories America, Nokia Bell Labs and Perspecta Labs.

Affiliate members, in addition to NJIT, include Avaya Labs, Columbia University, Georgia Institute of Technology, IBM Research, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Stevens Institute of Technology.

To mark the occasion, NJIT and DIMACS hosted a mixer on March 19 at NJIT. The event featured keynote talks by Jeannette Wing, Avanessians director of the Data Science Institute and professor of computer science at Columbia University; and Craig Gotsman, dean of NJIT’s Ying Wu College of Computing (YWCC).

“Becoming a DIMACS partner institute allows for further collaboration between NJIT researchers and those at other universities and laboratories,” said Gotsman. “It facilitates closer relationships and more meaningful discussions, enhancing research in our areas of expertise.”

Baruch Schieber, chair of YWCC’s Department of Computer Science and a former leader of industrial research at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center, is a longtime DIMACS member and championed the idea of NJIT becoming a DIMACS partner. “Given the proximity of the institutions and the common research interests of faculty members, I am confident that this partnership will benefit both DIMACS and NJIT.” he said.

DIMACS’s signature activity is its special focus program. Each special focus program includes a multi-year effort that coordinates activities addressing a broad, important topic within computer science and comprised of activities including workshops, visitors and seminars.  Each special focus program emphasizes an area that is poised for rapid advancement, has high potential for scientific, industrial or societal impact and is likely to spawn lasting collaborations and research activities.

Current special focus programs include:

• Lower Bounds in Computational Complexity
• Bridging Continuous and Discrete Optimization
• Big Data Initiative on Privacy and Security
• Cryptography

“DIMACS is very good at assembling many people who work on the same focus areas,” said Schieber, adding that this pooling of knowledge and collaboration can accelerate advances and breakthroughs in research.

The DIMACS partnership also brings new research opportunities for NJIT students, Schieber said.  “Through DIMACS programs, every summer students will have the opportunity to work with mentors or a faculty member or spend time at an industrial lab such as IBM, not only improving their technical skills, but also allowing them to experience what a day in the life of a researcher is like.”  

For more information on DIMACS visit: http://dimacs.rutgers.edu.