NJIT Honors Faculty and Staff at Inaugural Nexus of Excellence Awards

Published: Monday, December 23, 2024
(L to R): President Teik Lim, Senior Vice Provost for Research Atam Dhawan, Todd Miller and Provost John Pelesko. Miller was one of the awardees for Excellence in Impact on Education by Non-Instructional Staff.

NJIT hosted its inaugural Nexus of Excellence Awards celebration, a new tradition that unites several long-standing ceremonies into a singular event highlighting exceptional contributions to the university community. Held at the Jim Wise Theater, the event celebrated achievements in research, instruction and service to the university.

Furthermore, the ceremony featured the introduction of four new awards focused on advising, mentoring and community engagement, reflecting NJIT’s commitment to its institutional priorities as outlined in the 2030 Strategic Plan.

“This event is a celebration of the outstanding work happening across the NJIT community in teaching, mentoring, community engagement, service, diversity and research,” said Provost John Pelesko, emphasizing the importance of recognizing excellence across all facets of the university’s mission. “Your contributions strengthen our collective mission to transform a diverse community of learners into leaders, innovators and global citizens through excellence in education, research, collaboration and community engagement.”

Awards were presented by NJIT President Teik Lim; Pelesko; Senior Vice Provost for Research Atam Dhawan; Elisa Charters, a member of the Board of Trustees; and Bob Medina, chair of the Foundation Board of Directors. The celebration also included musical interludes by pianist Joe Sramaty, adding a festive touch to the occasion.

One of the evening’s highlights was the presentation of the 2024 Excellence in Research and Innovation Medal to Bharat Biswal, distinguished professor of biomedical engineering at NJIT. Widely recognized as a pioneer in neural imaging, Biswal introduced resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) in the early 1990s, a groundbreaking technique that has become foundational in neuroscience.

“Dr. Biswal exemplifies the qualities of a leader and a visionary in neuroscience,” said Dhawan. “His achievements have catalyzed a paradigm shift in our understanding of the resting brain and its networks, opening new avenues for exploring the neural basis of human cognition and pathology.” Biswal’s work continues to have transformative impacts, advancing treatments for neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and expanding the potential of neural imaging technologies.

The Nexus of Excellence Awards marks a new chapter in recognizing the outstanding individuals who drive NJIT’s success and embody its values. As the evening concluded, Pelesko encouraged attendees to think about the next cycle of nominations, saying, “To our honorees, thank you for the dedication, creativity and hard work that inspire all of us and enrich the NJIT community.”

NJIT looks forward to continuing this tradition in the years ahead, celebrating the exceptional achievements of its faculty and staff.

Full list of awardees:

Excellence in Instruction by Teaching Assistants

  • Andrew Pennock – Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Smita More-Potdar – Department of Biological Sciences

Excellence in Lower Division Undergraduate Instruction

  • Ashish Borgaonkar – School of Applied Engineering and Technology
  • Priyanka Rana Concepcion – Department of Mathematical Sciences
  • Scott Kent – Federated Department of History

Excellence in Upper Division Undergraduate Instruction

  • Sagnik Basuray – Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
  • Jonathan Grasman – Department of Biomedical Engineering
  • Xiaonan Tai – Department of Biological Sciences

Excellence in Graduate Instruction

  • Philip Pong – Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Steven Chien – Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Excellence in Impact on Education by Non-Instructional Staff

  • Todd Miller – Campus Planning and Design
  • Alev Erdi – Department of Biomedical Engineering

Excellence in Innovation in Education

  • Ala Saadeghvaziri – Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • MSI Team – Department of Mathematical Sciences (Peter Ward, Donivyn Schmidt, Kenneth Horwitz)

Excellence in Undergraduate Advising and Mentoring

  • Stephen George – Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Shahriar Afkhami – Department of Mathematical Sciences

Excellence in Graduate Advising and Mentoring

  • Hao Chen – Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences
  • Linda Cummings – Department of Mathematical Sciences

Excellence in Faculty Mentoring

  • Saikat Pal – Department of Biomedical Engineering
  • Maria Stanko – Department of Biological Sciences

Excellence and Impact in Community Engagement

  • Miriam Ascarelli – Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

Board of Directors of the Foundation Excellence in Service Award

  • David Horntrop – Department of Mathematical Sciences

Constance A. Murray Diversity Award

  • Tara Alvarez – Department of Biomedical Engineering

Master Teacher

  • Maria Stanko – Department of Biological Sciences
  • Padma Natarajan – Department of Mathematical Sciences

Foundation Excellence in Research & Innovation Medal

  • Bharat Biswal – Department of Biomedical Engineering