ROI-NJ Honors 10 from NJIT in its 2021 Power Lists of ROI Influencers
New Jersey Institute of Technology remains ever-present in ROI-NJ’s 2021 Power Lists of ROI Influencers in New Jersey. Ten Highlanders appear in seven categories: the Best in Higher Education,Technology Experts, Top Executives, Top Lawyers, Elected Officials; Association, Organizational and Nonprofit Leaders; and Top 30 ROI Influencers in the state.
Chief among them are President Joel S. Bloom in the Best in Higher Education list; New Jersey Innovation Institute CEO Simon Nynens in Technology Experts, which highlights innovators in tech; and Jose Lozano, president and CEO of Choose New Jersey and a member of NJII’s Board of Directors, who’s No. 20 on the Top 30 list.
As president of the state’s public polytechnic university within its largest city, Bloom has worked relentlessly to create opportunities for unrepresented, typically women and minority students in the STEM disciplines. Under Bloom's leadership, NJIT graduates 62% of the Black and Hispanic engineers who earn degrees from New Jersey's public universities.
Bloom’s entry in the ROI list also touts the innovation of BioCentriq, describing it as a “cutting-edge cell and gene therapy development and clinical manufacturing center” at NJIT’s New Jersey Innovation Institute. Its launch, which ROI-NJ characterizes as a “game-changer for the state,” arose from a collaboration with pharmaceutical leaders, federal agencies and state economic development officials. It is the first such enterprise in the nation backed by a university.
The entry for Nynens at NJII underscores the significance of his role, noting that he’s “tasked with developing and expanding programs that spur innovation commercialization services and entrepreneurship, both nationally and around the world.”
During a virtual ribbon-cutting for BioCentriq that was hosted by the economic development organization Choose New Jersey, Haro Hartounian, senior vice president and general manager of NJII’s biopharma division and BioCentriq, said, “Our goal is to provide a collaborative space where innovative approaches and technologies can be used to help make emerging therapeutics available to the patients that so desperately need them.”
“There is a massive need for what BioCentriq can provide, and our ability to fill that gap will translate into results that literally save and improve the quality of countless lives,” added President Bloom. “We have the capacity to help companies develop processes, conduct clinical production trials and train employees.”
Both NJII and BioCentriq exemplify real-world innovation at a university known for its science, technology, engineering and technology programs, particularly in life sciences and across all types of engineering.
NJIT has moved quickly to prepare students for a workforce where companies are competing for talent by launching a 30-credit master’s program in cell and gene therapy, as well as a related four-course, 18-month apprenticeship certificate program.
NJII also offers a business incubator program called the BioFoundry, which helps startups and other companies scale up production and connects them with capital, vetted workers and technology professionals who can provide mentoring.
An alumnus of NJIT and six university board members made the other four ROI-NJ Power Lists:
Top Executives: Gary Dahms, CEO and president of T&M Associates and a member of NJIT’s Board of Trustees
Top Lawyers: Dennis Toft, a member of Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi, chair of its Environmental Law Group and member of NJIT’s Board of Trustees
Elected Officials: State Senator Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge), an alum who earned both a bachelor’s and master’s in civil engineering at NJIT. Sarlo also ranked No. 20 on the Top 30 list of influencers statewide.
Association, Organizational and Nonprofit Leaders: Luis De La Hoz, chairman of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, first vice president and director of community lending at Valley Bank and a member of NJIT’s new Hispanic Latinx Leadership Council, and three members of NJII’s Board of Directors: Debbie Hart, president and CEO of BioNJ; Dean Paranicas, president and CEO of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey; and Michele Siekerka, president and CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association
All told, ROI-NJ recognized more than 300 leaders in 14 categories and the Top 30, with N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy ranked No. 1 overall. The category ROI Influencers were not ranked.
ROI-NJ’s selections are based on “following the news and newsmakers all year” and soliciting recommendations from “dozens of people in dozens of industries,” explained Editor and Chief Content Officer Tom Bergeron, adding that “we reach out to different people every year.”
NJIT’s presence in this year’s Power Lists grew from last year, when six leaders were recognized in four categories.
All of the 2021 ROI Influencers are listed by category here: https://www.roi-nj.com/2021/02/22/roi-influencers/power-list/2021/roi-nj...
About New Jersey Institute of Technology
One of only 32 polytechnic universities in the United States, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) prepares students to become leaders in the technology-dependent economy of the 21st century. NJIT’s multidisciplinary curriculum and computing-intensive approach to education provide technological proficiency, business acumen and leadership skills. NJIT is one of only 131 universities rated an “R1” research university by the Carnegie Classification®, which indicates the highest level of research activity. NJIT conducts more than $160 million in research activity each year and has a $2.8 billion annual economic impact on the State of New Jersey. NJIT is ranked No. 1 nationally by Forbes for the upward economic mobility of its lowest-income students and is ranked in the top 100 colleges and universities nationally for the mid-career earnings of graduates, according to PayScale.com. NJIT also is ranked third in New Jersey and 74th among colleges and universities nationwide by the QS World University Ranking® 2020.
About ROI-NJ
ROI-NJ is a go-to media company created to inform and connect businesses in New Jersey. Created by Prospect Publishing Group and led by longtime industry leaders Tom Bergeron and Tom Hughes, ROI-NJ delivers real-time news and features that provide New Jersey’s diverse business community with a Return On Information, while creating dynamic engagements among influencers. Online and in print, we’ll cover everything you need to make your business grow: Business, Politics, News and Lifestyle.
