Every year, NJIT’s detachment of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps graduates several successful cadets into the military officer ranks. Three members of the Class of 2025 spoke about their backgrounds that led them to the program, experiences during their time as Highlanders and future plans. The young men who will soon receive their commissions as second lieutenants are Fredy Aleman Jr., a computer engineering major from Elizabeth; Irvin Hoyos, an architecture major from Paterson; and Michael Ruzzi, an industrial engineering major from Trenton. The detachment formed in 1949. In…

Fibroblasts are the body’s building blocks. Among the most abundant human cells, they help form the structure of organs and tissues and hold them together. They are also its repair crew. After an injury, they migrate to the damaged area, cover it with collagen and exert strong forces that bring the edges of the wound together, closing it up. But these repairs can go awry if their force is not moderated. “If fibroblasts continue secreting collagen over a wound that’s closed and pulling on the tissue, it can overlap in thick, disorganized layers, which can lead to excessive scarring and…

New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Aliza Mujahid, a senior biomedical engineering student, along with mechanical engineering Ph.D. student and research assistant Mohammad Jafari, reached the final round-of-eight in the 2025 U.S. Hult Prize competition for social-minded startup founders. The duo, with Assistant Professor Farid Alisafaei and colleagues at Washington University, represent a new company called DermaMech that aims to better understand the science of human skin grafting and develop technology that will reduce infections, rejections and scarring. Mujahid, however, is equally…

NJIT’s Dana Knox Research Showcase returned in 2025 to once again highlight the innovative and impactful work of students across disciplines. The event celebrated undergraduate and graduate researchers tackling real-world challenges with creative, technical solutions. Now in its 20th year, the showcase was also its largest — over 150 presentations by 200+ students spanned all six of NJIT’s colleges. "The Dana Knox Showcase continues to exemplify the innovative spirit and academic excellence that define NJIT," said Provost John A. Pelesko. "Our students' research not only advances knowledge…

A robotic alarm clock that hides from you, so you have to get out of bed anyway if you wish to silence it, was the star Highlander entry in the spring 2025 edition of the MakeNJIT hardware hackathon. The clockmakers earned third place overall among 47 teams from several universities. Members of Team Daniel knew that many tinkerers have built such devices, but they designed their own version just for the fun and education of it. Daniel’s roster included mechanical engineering major Jiro Dela Cruz, his fraternal twin brother Juno who studies computer science, Andrey Diaz-Ortega also in…

Seeing her father struggle through rehabilitation exercises after a stroke made Marina Samuel '25 think, why can’t therapy be more personalized, effective and efficient for the patient? So, with a central focus on patients, she pursued a bachelor’s in biomedical engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology and after graduation in May, will seek a Ph.D. in the same discipline at NJIT. Her research as an undergraduate fueled this pursuit. In the Clinical Neuromuscular Lab of Assistant Professor Jongsang Son, Samuel synthesized findings from 20 studies on the acute and chronic effects of…

The 36th Annual Scholarship Brunch at New Jersey Institute of Technology celebrated a significant milestone this year, welcoming its largest gathering of students and benefactors to date. Donors from across the region and as far away as Sweden convened, united by a shared commitment to empowering the next generation of leaders and innovators at NJIT.  The annual brunch serves as a vital platform for scholarship recipients to connect directly with the generous individuals and families whose contributions make their academic journeys possible. The event underscored the profound impact of…

The latest graduate studies rankings from U.S. News & World Report highlight the national standing of New Jersey Institute of Technology in the fields of engineering, computer science and now business. NJIT’s Newark College of Engineering (NCE) ranks No. 85 on the publication’s list of the Best Engineering Schools in the U.S. — the tenth consecutive year the NCE has made the top 100. “NJIT’s firm position in the national rankings reflects our ongoing dedication to academic excellence, innovative research and the success of our graduate students,” said Moshe Kam, dean of NCE. NCE offers…

Soldiers training on heavy artillery and athletes in contact sports are routinely exposed to repetitive mild shockwaves and injuries. Unlike someone who has just dodged a missile explosion or been smacked by a linebacker, they may feel little immediate impact. The cumulative effects of these low-level blasts can, however, cause neurological problems such as sleep disorders and attention deficits, noted Bryan Pfister, director of New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Center for Injury Biomechanics, Materials and Medicine. He explained, “If you have a mild hit, the first hit, does that…

Goldwater Scholarships, among the most prestigious awards for undergraduate students pursuing STEM degrees, are going to two juniors at NJIT.  The recipients are: Dev Doshi, a biomedical engineering major in the Newark College of Engineering; and Brock Shahinian, an environmental science major in the Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts. The NJIT Goldwater Scholars represent two of 11 statewide, and 441 total across the United States. They were selected from an estimated pool of over 5,000 college sophomores and juniors nominated by 445 academic institutions. This is the…