NJIT in the News

NJIT researchers are at work on many scientific and technological frontiers. The National Science Foundation has recently provided support that totals nearly $4.3 million for the diverse efforts of the following investigators under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Tony Award-winning choreographer Savion Glover thrilled friends of NJIT at the university’s recent annual black-tie benefit dinner, Celebration. 

Jeff Koberstein, PhD, of Columbia University will discuss "Modification of Surfaces Using Light and Click Chemistry" at the Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering Graduate Seminar Series on Nov. 30 at 2:45 p.m. in Tiernan Hall Rm. 373. 

Ecevit Bilgili, PhD, an assistant professor in the Otto H. York Dept. of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering at NJIT, will discuss "Pharmaceutical Development of Comminution and Fluidized Bed Granulation Operations: from Theory to Industrial Practice" on Nov. 23 at 2:45 p.m. in Tiernan Hall 373.

NJIT will hold its annual black-tie benefit dinner, Celebration, on Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, at Pleasantdale Chateau, West Orange.

Mark Panczyk, who received his bachelor of science in chemical engineering from NJIT in May 2008, was recognized by the American Chemical Society's Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry for his outstanding poster contribution at the Fall 2009 ACS national meeting in Washington, D.C.  Panczyk, who is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Delaware, won one of five awards in a competition that featured some 200 posters. 

Martin Katzen, PhD, professor in the department of mathematical sciences (shown here with NJIT President Robert A. Altenkirch), Deran Hanesian, PhD, professor in the Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, and Onofrio Russo, PhD, professor in the department of physics, received awards for 45 years of service on Oct. 28 at the 2009 Service Award ceremony and reception. A total of 134 employees and retirees were recognized for their years of service to the university. 

NJIT will hold its annual black-tie benefit dinner, Celebration, on Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, at Pleasantdale Chateau, West Orange. Tony Award-winning dancer, choreographer and producer Savion Glover, who was born and raised in Newark, will provide the entertainment.

Bob Farrauto, BASF Catalysts LLC, will discuss "Catalysis for the 21st Century: The Convergence of Energy and the Environment" on Nov. 2 at 2:45 p.m. in Tiernan Hall Rm. 373. The lecture is part of the Fall 2009 Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering Graduate Seminar Series. 

Two NJIT faculty members will receive Innovators’ Awards and two recent alumni will be honored at the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame dinner on Oct. 22, 2009 at Stevens Institute of Technology. 

Kalle Levon, PhD, a professor of Chemical and Biological Science at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU, will discuss "Selective Potentiometric Detection of Macromolecular Ions" on Oct. 26 at 2:45 p.m. in Tiernan Hall Rm. 373. The lecture is part of the Fall 2009 Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering Graduate Seminar Series.

Using a colander to separate pasta from the water in which it was cooked is a commonplace kitchen experience. But what about the cooking water that usually disappears down the drain? Suppose you had a colander with holes that could not only separate pasta and water, but just as easily remove the salt and starch added to the water in the cooking process — making the water so pure that it would taste great.

Yossef Elabd, PhD, assistant professor at Drexel University, will discuss "Transport Phenomena in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells" on Oct. 12 at 2:45 p.m. in Room 373, Tiernan Hall.

NJIT Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering Kamalesh K. Sirkar will be honored Oct. 7, 2009 for his pioneering research in membrane separation processes. These processes play a critical and greater role today in several areas of national interest including health care and the production of drinking water.

Peng Wang, PhD, of the Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering at NJIT, will discuss “Hot Melt Extrusion–A Novel Method for Drug Manufacturing” on Sept. 28 at 2:45 p.m. in Room 373, Tiernan Hall.

A. Jeffrey Giacomin, PhD, a professor in the Rheology Research Center and Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will discuss “Core Deflection and Flash in Injection Molding” on Sept. 21 at 2:45 p.m. in Tiernan Hall Rm. 373. The lecture is part of the Fall 2009 Graduate Seminar Series in Chemical Engineering presented by the Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering. 

Laurent Simon, PhD, of Somerset, associate professor in the Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, received the Master Teacher Designation at NJIT’s University Convocation, an annual celebration held on Sept. 2, 2009. 

Priya Santhanam, a graduate student in the Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering at NJIT, took first place in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Region I-NE Student Conference for master's-level students held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Her award comes with a $500 cash prize and an invitation to attend (all expenses paid) the national AIAA conference to be held in January 2010 in Orlando, Florida. Priya's paper is based on her MS thesis work at NJIT; she is now applying to the PhD program.

Z. Conrad Zhang, PhD, of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will discuss "Direct Catalytic Conversion of Cellulose to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF)" on April 13 at 2:45 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Rm. 205. Contact: Assistant Professor XianQin Wang, 973-596-5707; Xianqin.wang@njit.edu.

Maria Flytzani-Stephanopoulos, PhD, professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Tufts University, will discuss "Gold-Doped Ceria or Iron Oxide as Low-Temperature Catalysts for the Water-Gas Shift Reaction” on March 30 at 2:45 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Rm. 205. The lecture is part of the Spring 2009 Graduate Seminar Series in Chemical Engineering at NJIT. Contact: Seminar Coordinator/Assistant Professor XianQin Wang, 973-596-5707; Xianqin.wang@njit.edu.

Samir Mitragotri, PhD, associate professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will discuss "Designing Polymeric Carriers for Drug Delivery" at the Spring 2009 Graduate Seminar Series in Chemical Engineering on March 2 at 2:45 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Rm. 205. 

Robert K. Prud’homme, PhD, professor and director of the Program in Engineering Biology at Princeton University, will discuss "Next Generation Nano Carriers for Multifunctional Drug Delivery, Imaging, and Targeting-How Do We Make Them?" on Feb. 23 at 2:45 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Rm. 205. The Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering Graduate Seminar is presented by the NSF-ERC for Structured Organic Particulate Systems (C-SOPS) at NJIT. Contact: R. Dave, dave@njit.edu, (973) 596-5860.

Kamalesh Sirkar, PhD, distinguished professor of chemical engineering at NJIT, and internationally-renowned expert in membrane separation technologies, has been named a Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 

NJIT President Robert A. Altenkirch has announced the appointment of Donald H. Sebastian, PhD, senior vice president for research and development, to the position of interim provost, effective Jan. 1, 2009. 

NJIT President Robert A. Altenkirch has announced the appointment of Donald H. Sebastian, PhD, senior vice president for research and development, to the position of interim provost, effective Jan. 1, 2009. 

Members of the NJIT community shared memories of Dana E. Knox, PhD, professor of chemical engineering, member of the Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological, and Pharmaceutical Engineering and Associate Provost for Undergraduate Programs, at a celebration of his life yesterday in the Campus Center Atrium. Knox passed away on Sept. 24, 2008; he was 53. Speakers led by NJIT President Robert A. Altenkirch remembered Knox as an exceptionally dedicated administrator, teacher, colleague and sports enthusiast whose legacy continues in the lives of the numerous students he mentored in his 25 years at NJIT.

"Pile Foundations in Difficult Ground: The Bronx Parking Facilities at Yankee Stadium" is the topic of a Chemical Engineering Department Seminar presented by Andrew Leung, P.E., Vice President and Drew Mazujian, P.E., Project Manager of Yu & Associates, Inc. of Elmwood Park, NJ on Dec. 8, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Room 210.

Felicia Amaechi, a senior majoring in biomedical engineering, and Karen Martinez, a junior majoring in chemical engineering, captured second place in the ExxonMobil Subject Matter Expert (SME) Bowl at the 2009 Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Conference on Nov. 8 in Baltimore. The SME Bowl is a competition with a "College Bowl" atmosphere where student teams representing the 10 SWE regions compete to answer engineering, math and science questions. Felicia and Karen, who are both in NJIT's Educational Opportunity Program, were part of a five-member team that included fellow region members from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Each team member received a $75 cash prize and $1500 for the region. Felicia is president of NJIT's SWE section and a Murray Women’s Center Ambassador.

Rajesh N. Davé, PhD, a distinguished professor in the Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological & Pharmaceutical Engineering, received at NJIT’s annual awards convocation, the NJIT Excellence in Research Award.

Piero M. Armenante, PhD, of Millington, a professor of chemical, biological and pharmaceutical engineering in the Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, received an excellent teacher designation at NJIT’s recent convocation. 

The Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB), NJIT and University of Sao Paulo today announced a joint agreement for licensing four pending patents on a safe, building block chemical derived from corn known as isosorbide to chemists. The agreement marks a step forward in developing applications and markets for corn-based chemistry. 

Gloria Portocarrero, of Union City, receives her bachelor of science in biomedical engineering from NJIT at the Prudential Center this Saturday at 9 a.m. She’ll walk at the head of her class—an Albert Dorman Honors College scholar who’s accepted into a master’s degree program for next fall in biomedical engineering.

Giuseppe Di Benedetto and Micaela Caramellino, two doctoral students in NJIT’s graduate chemical engineering program, recently received recognition at a student poster event organized for developing efficient and robust approaches to manufacture nano- and micro-sized drug particles. The New Jersey section of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering was the sponsor.

A better understanding of brain injury, a way to rejuvenate dead nerve endings and a device allowing patients to monitor their glaucoma at home, number among this year’s nine winners at NJIT’s annual provost’s student research day.

Lev N. Krasnoperov, PhD, a professor in the department of chemistry and environmental science at NJIT,  will speak at the joint seminar of the Chemical Engineering Department and Chemistry and Environmental Science Department on April 14 at 2:45 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Room 117. “The Negative Temperature Dependences in Simple Metathesis Reactions and the Modified Transition State Theory” is the title of his lecture.

"Novel Approaches to Hydrogen Storage for Fuel Cell Applications" is the topic of a seminar by Arvind Varma, PhD, R. Games Slayter Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Head of the School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, on March 31 at 2:45 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Room 117. Varma's lecture is part of the Spring 2008 Chemical Engineering Department Graduate Seminar Series.

Dennis C. Prieve, PhD, Gulf Professor of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie-Mellon University, will discuss "Electrolyte-Dependent 2-D Aggregation of Colloidal Particles on a Planar A/C Electrode" on March 24 at 2:45 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Room 117. The lecture is part of the Spring 2008 Chemical Engineering Department Graduate Seminar Series. 

Sankaran Sundaresan, PhD, professor in the department of chemical engineering at Princeton University, will discuss "Coarse-Grained Two-Fluid Models for Gas-Flows" on March 10 at 2:45 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Room 117. The lecture is the seventh in the Spring 2008 Chemical Engineering Department Seminar Series at NJIT.

Kathleen J. Stebe, PhD, professor and chair of the department of chemical & biomolecular engineering at Johns Hopkins University, will discuss “Spontaneous Ordering of Particles at Surfaces and Interfaces” on March 3 at 2:45 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Room 117. The lecture is part of the Spring 2008 Chemical Engineering Department Graduate Seminar Series at NJIT. 

Paul Chaikin, PhD, Silver Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics & Center for Soft Matter Research at New York University, will discuss “Toward Self-Replication with Colloids” on Feb 25 at 2:45 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Room 117. The lecture is part of the Spring 2008 Chemical Engineering Department Graduate Seminar Series at NJIT.

Gintaras Reklaitis, PhD, Edward W. Comings Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, will discuss “Progress in Decision Support Approaches for Pharmaceutical Product Pipeline Management” at a joint seminar of the Chemical Engineering Department at NJIT, the NSF Engineering Research Center and the New Jersey Center for Engineered Particulates. The talk is set for Feb. 20 at 2:45 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Room 117. 

Howard A. Stone, PhD, Vicky Joseph Professor of Engineering and Applied Mathematics at Harvard University, will discuss “Manipulating Thin-Film Flows: From Patterned Substrates to Evaporating Systems” on Feb. 18 at 2:45 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Room 117. The lecture is part of the Spring 2008 Chemical Engineering Department Graduate Seminar Series.

Thomas H. Epps, III, assistant professor in the department of chemical engineering at the University of Delaware, will discuss “Combinatorial Studies of Surface Interactions in Block Copolymer Thin Films” on Jan. 28 at 2:45 p.m. in Kupfrian Hall Rm. 117.

Chemical engineer Kamalesh Sirkar, PhD, a distinguished professor at NJIT, will discuss Thursday new technologies for desalinating and treating water. Sirkar, an expert in membrane separation technology whose work is supported by grants from the US Department of the Interior and the US Office of Naval Research, will speak at 4:30 p.m. on June 8 at the Harvard Club in New York City.