James E. Gunn, PhD, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Astronomy at Princeton University, will discuss "Cosmology: A Fifty-Year Perspective," on Dec. 15 at 9 p.m. in the Guttenberg Information Technologies Center, Rm. 3720/3730 at NJIT. The talk will follow the Amateur Astronomers, Inc. club membership meeting at 8 p.m. >>

"Computational Chemistry Analysis of Semiconductor Substitution into Zeolite Catalysts" is the topic of a seminar by Preeti Kamakoti, PhD, of ExxonMobil Research and Engineering on Dec. 12 at 11:30 a.m., Tiernan Hall, Rm. 373. >>

Tamara Vivens, of Silver Spring, Maryland, a student in the Albert Dorman Honors College at  NJIT, spoke during NJIT’s annual black-tie benefit dinner, Celebration, held Nov. 10 at the Pleasantdale Chateau, West Orange. Vivens, a junior, is majoring in mathematics with a concentration in actuarial science. >>

NJIT women's soccer coach Alyssa Radu and players Amanda Bayiokos, Katie Hepfinger and Briana Morales will participate in the NCAA Division I Women's College Cup YES Clinic for girls and boys ages 10-16 on Dec. 2 in Cary, NC. The three players were selected from among student-athletes from across the country who applied to take part as volunteers in the clinic. >>

The Research and Development Council of NJ presented one of its highest awards this week to Kamalesh K. Sirkar, PhD, distinguished chemical engineering professor at NJIT. Sirkar, an internationally regarded expert in the field of membrane separation technologies, holds a total of 22 patents; he received the honor for his patent to remove volatile organic pollutants from waste gas streams produced from manufacturing processes before the toxic pollutants are released to the atmosphere. >>

"Spinning Rods, Microfluidics, and Mucus Propulsion by Cilia in the Lung" is the topic of a lecture by Roberto Camassa, PhD, George Kane Professor of Mathematics at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, on Nov. 10 at 11:35 a.m., Cullimore Lecture Hall II. >>

Durga Misra, PhD, a professor in the electrical and computer engineering department at NJIT, was named a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society. The Society recognized Misra for his pioneering research on understanding and minimizing process induced damage mechanisms in metal-oxide-semiconductor devices and silicon-germanium devices and materials. >>

Amanda Reeser Lawrence and Ashley Shafer, editors of Praxis: Journal of Writing and Building, will discuss "The Practice of Praxis" on Oct. 23 at 5:45 p.m. in the Weston Lecture Hall at NJIT's New Jersey School of Architecture. The lecture is free and open to the public. For further information or reservations please call 973-596-3080. >>

Durgamadhab Misra, PhD, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NJIT, will present an invited research talk on “Negative Bias Temperature Instability in TiN/Hf-silicate Based Gate Stacks" at Cornell University's 2006 Lester Eastman Conference On High Performance Devices on August 2-4. >>

Durgamadhab (Durga) Misra, PhD, a professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering at NJIT, recently presented an invited research talk, “Interface Characterization of High-K Dielectrics on Ge Substrate" at the European Materials Research Society’s spring meeting in Nice, France at the symposium “Germanium-Based Semiconductors ... From Materials to Devices.“ >>

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. >>

Roberto Camassa, PhD, George Kane Professor of Mathematics at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, will discuss "Spinning Rods, Microfluidics, and Mucus Propulsion by Cilia in the Lung" on March 24 at 11:35 a.m., Cullimore Lecture Hall II. Contact: John Bechtold. >>

Chemical engineer Kamalesh Sirkar, PhD, a distinguished professor at NJIT and an expert in membrane separation technology, is leading a team of researchers to develop a breakthrough method to desalinate water. Sirkar said that using his technology, engineers will be able to recover water from brines with the highest salt concentrations. "We especially like our new process because we can fuel it with low grade, inexpensive waste heat,” he said. >>