NJIT's Dana Knox Research Showcase Celebrates Future Visionary Leaders
NJIT’s annual celebration of its top student researchers kicked off at the 2024 Dana Knox Student Research Showcase, which once again highlighted a stunning array of innovation and discovery from every corner of the STEM disciplines.
Now in its 19th year, the showcase competition featured 68 diverse research projects presented by students from NJIT’s six colleges at the university Campus Center.
As always, Dana Knox presenters had the chance to connect with the campus community to explain the significant impact of research endeavors they’ve spent their undergraduate and graduate studies pursuing.
In the Campus Center Ballroom, presenters eagerly gathered for the much-anticipated awards ceremony alongside the university’s board members, who were on hand for NJIT Board Day to receive recognition for their contributions and celebrate this year’s student researchers.
The ceremony marked the first overseen by NJIT Provost John A. Pelesko ’97. Originally launched as “Provost’s Student Research Day” in 2005, the showcase was renamed after its distinguished founder, Dana Knox (1955-2008), and has remained a tradition carried on by the provost’s office ever since.
Pelesko was joined on stage by Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Professor Raj S. Sodhi, who last year established the Mr. and Mrs. R. S. Sodhi Prize of $500, $800 and $1,200 for the bronze, silver and gold medal-winning teams from each of the competition’s undergraduate and graduate categories.
“It is in the spirit of Dr. Knox's legacy that we gather here today to honor the innovative work of our students,” said Pelesko. “My deepest appreciation goes out to our board members, NJIT leadership, faculty judges and, most importantly, our student researchers. Your collective dedication, vision and hard work are the driving forces behind NJIT's success.
“As we look to the future, let us continue to foster a community that celebrates visionary leadership, encourages innovation and cultivates the next generation of leaders.”
Winners Revealed
Biomedical engineering student Danna Valentina Sanchez Hernandez '25 emerged as the competition's undergraduate gold medal winner for her research, which is investigating intricate dynamics involved in shark schooling behavior. Specifically, she’s exploring the complex flow patterns around sharks and groups they travel in that allow them to swim more efficiently.
“I am truly grateful for everything that has gotten me here, to this country, to this university and for this recognition,” said Hernandez, who was born in Ibagué, Colombia and grew up in Medellin, and was recently awarded a Goldwater Scholarship. “It takes both resilience and a strong supportive community, and it all starts with someone that believes in you ... for that I thank my adviser, Dr. Brooke Flammang.”
While marine biologists have faced challenges studying the schooling behaviors of the infamous apex predator over long migrations, Hernandez has been gaining insights at Flammang’s Fluid Loco Lab by analyzing the three-dimensional fluid dynamics of schooling sharks using a morphological model of the Atlantic Blacktip shark. The work could one day improve the design of underwater technologies.
“They swim collectively when migrating in the winter to Florida for warmer water temperatures. This schooling behavior exhibits hydrodynamic efficiency because of less pressure variability and greater swimming velocity,” explained Hernandez, who conducted her project with support from the NSF-funded Garden State LSAMP program. “The study is a proof of concept, which serves as a bioinspiration for underwater vehicles to take advantage of the fluid interactions we see in shark schools to be more energy efficient and faster.”
The competition’s gold medal for graduate research went to mechanical and control engineering student Zhipeng Jiang '27, who cleverly used an example of Marvel’s Dr. Octopus in his presentation to convey his innovation — a wearable, human-machine interface which he described as “bridging the gap between humans and robots.”
“I’m very excited to receive this honor,” said Jiang, who is originally from Jiangsu, China and received support for his research project by the National Science Foundation. “I’m also truly grateful to both NJIT for providing such an excellent academic community, and my adviser Dr. Lin Dong and members from her lab, for helping me through this research effort.”
Over the past year, Jiang developed a self-powered, human-machine interface that can acquire biosignals to control robotics — translating piezoelectric signals from its wearer’s bicep muscle movements into Morse Code for making hand gestures and interacting with objects. He says the advancements could improve everything from virtual reality experiences to robotic prosthetic hand control applications that benefit amputees.
“Compared to other wearable sensor-based human-machine interfaces, our sensor doesn't need batteries, and its breathability makes it suitable for long-term wear,” he added. “Our research paves the way towards self-powered and comfortable biomimetic systems, significantly contributing to the future evolution of flexible sensor-based, human-robotic control systems and prosthetic applications.”
Here’s the full list of winners from this year’s showcase:
UNDERGRADUATE
1st: Danna Valentina Sanchez Hernandez, Biomedical Engineering
“Fluid Dynamics of Schooling and Migrating Elasmobranchs”
Adviser: Brooke Flammang
2nd: Anthony Ionta and Briana Espinosa, Chemical Engineering
“Investigating key parameters for Polynitrogen (PN) Synthesis”
Adviser: Xianqin Wang
3rd: Chelsea Garcia, Mechanical Engineering
“Accounting for Mechanical Behavior of Skin to Minimize Harvested Skin Area in Skin Grafting”
Adviser: Farid Alisafaei
GRADUATE
1st: Zhipeng Jiang, Doctoral in Mechanical and Control Engineering
“Smart Human-Machine Interface”
Adviser: Lin Dong
2nd: Sun Kwon, Doctoral in Mechanical Engineering
"Textured Nanofibers Inspired by Nature for Sensing Biophysiological Signals”
Adviser: Lin Dong
3rd: Jung Park, M.S. in Data Science
"Parameter Estimation in a Biophysical Neuron Model: A Bayesian Approach"
Adviser: Horacio G. Rotstein
For more on the 2024 Dana Knox Showcase, visit: https://www.njit.edu/provost/events/studentresearchshowcase.
