September 27, 2005, 2:30 pm
Jim Wise Theatre

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) held its University Convocation, an annual celebration and awards ceremony that marks the start of the academic year and recognizes the accomplishments of students, faculty and staff members. The convocation ceremony took place in the Jim Wise Theater in NJIT’s Kupfrian Hall beginning at 2:30 p.m. There was a reception for honorees in the hall’s foyer after the event.

The keynote speaker was Joseph Bordogna, the Alfred Fitler Moore Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Bordogna is former deputy director of the National Science Foundation. The topic of Bordogna’s lecture was “Innovation through Integration: A Holistic Engagement.”

The ceremony recognized students, faculty and staff who have received awards in the past year as well as those faculty members who received promotion or tenure. The following awards were presented.

The Excellence in Teaching Awards recognize and reward members of the instructional staff for outstanding accomplishments in teaching. The awards are conferred upon teachers who have demonstrated excellence in the classroom, encouraging and guiding students to work at the highest academic level.

The following were named excellent teachers: Michael Hornsby, adjunct faculty member in civil and environmental engineering, of Princeton Junction; James Lipuma,  special lecturer in humanities, of Colonia; Jacob Klapper, faculty member in electrical and computer engineering, of Manhattan ; Durgmadhab Misra, faculty member in electrical and computer engineering, of Basking Ridge; John Bechtold, faculty member in mathematical science, of Ridgewood; Rajiv Mehta, faculty member in management, of Ridgewood; Dimitrios Theodoratos, faculty member in computer science, of Princeton,  and Ivan Zorych, a student in mathematical sciences, of Harrison.

The Master Teacher designation is the most prestigious recognition that the university bestows upon faculty for high-quality teaching. The following four teachers will receive that award: John Bechtold, faculty member in mathematical sciences, of Ridgewood; James Geller, faculty member in computer science, of West Orange; Bernard Koplik, faculty member in mechanical engineering, of Marlboro; Michael Mostoller, faculty member in architecture, of Princeton.

Two NJIT students will receive Presidential Leadership Awards and one will receive the Peter Small Memorial Scholarship. The Presidential Award winners are Erica D’Almeida, an architecture student of Warren, and Nisha Goklaney, a management student of Plainsboro, and the Peter Small Memorial Scholarship Award winner is Diana Martinez, biology major of Dover.

Talina Knox, of Hillside, program coordinator for NJIT’s Murray Center for Women in Technology, will receive the Constance A. Murray Diversity Award.

John Federici, of Westfield, a faculty member in physics, will receive the Harlan J. Perlis Award for Research.

Howard Kimmel, of East Brunswick, a faculty member in chemical engineering, will receive the Foundation Overseers Public and Institute Service Award.

George Newcombe, who graduated from NJIT in 1969 with a degree in chemical engineering, will receive the Edward F. Weston Medal for Professional Achievement. Newcombe, of Palo Alto, Calif., is a partner for the law firm Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP.