Legislation that would place a $350 million bond proposal for stem-cell research on the ballot in November was approved by a New Jersey Senate panel yesterday positioning the bill for a vote by the full house during the lame-duck legislative session. The bill would boost the state's funding for labs for stem-cell and other biomedical research and allow for $50 million for a biomedical center to be established at NJIT. Donald H. Sebastian, PhD, senior vice president of research and development, and Robert A. Altenkirch, PhD, president, spoke yesterday on behalf of the expenditure. >>

Donald H. Sebastian, PhD, senior vice president of research and development and director of the Homeland Security Technology Systems Center, and Michael Recce, PhD, associate professor of information systems, appeared on CNN's Paula Zahn NOW program last night. Sebastian and Recce provided commentary on smart gun technology as it relates to the recent courtroom shootings in Atlanta. >>

Donald H. Sebastian, PhD, senior vice president of research and development and director of the Homeland Security Technology Systems Center at NJIT, will appear on CNN at 2 p.m. today to discuss smart gun technology. >>

Under the guidance of NJIT’s Homeland Security Technology Systems Center and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s office, the “Model School” pilot program in the West Paterson schools will build on the “Model Mall” program now under way at the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus. Donald H. Sebastian, PhD, senior vice president of research and development and director of the Homeland Security Technology Systems Center at NJIT, provided comments at a press conference this morning at which Acting Governor Richard J. Codey launched the "Model School" program that will develop innovative ways to use technology in the effort to keep schools secure from terrorism.  As with “Model Mall,” the program will include smart security cameras that can be programmed to tell the difference between normal school behavior and possible terrorist behavior. >>

Donald H. Sebastian, PhD, senior vice president of research and development and director of the Homeland Security Technology Systems Center at NJIT, provided comments on the university’s contribution to a model mall project this morning at a press conference at the Garden State Plaza in Paramus. Sebastian addressed the role of technology in homeland security and emphasized the operational concept of NJIT’s center as a national model.  >>