Researchers at NJIT will soon find it easier to research, apply for and obtain patents thanks to $463,938 awarded last month to NJIT by the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology. “We’ll use these funds to promote the creation of new technology businesses in New Jersey through increased technology transfer and commercialization of inventions developed at NJIT,” said Judith Sheft, associate vice president, technology development. >>

NJIT today announced more than $5 M in innovative strategies to better prepare urban students to pursue 21st century engineering and science careers. Combining $4.5 M in National Science Foundation grants with NJIT’s own contribution, the university-wide initiative will enrich and strengthen high school curricula in science, mathematics and engineering in Newark and other urban districts including Perth Amboy, Union City and Orange. Jane Oates, executive director of the NJ Commission on Higher Education, was among those who spoke at the event. >>

With grants from the National Science Foundation combined with NJIT’s contribution, education leaders will explain their innovative plans for pre-college education in science and technology—from robots to how computers have transformed science and technology research—on April 19 at 10:30 a.m. in Eberhardt Hall, Room 112. >>

NJIT was awarded a five-year, $3-million National Science Foundation grant to impart and infuse computational methods and tools in a math and science context into high school classrooms in Newark. The “Computation and Communication: Promoting Research Integration in Science and Mathematics” or C2PRISM grant will place 24 Fellows—all working towards doctoral degrees in the computational sciences or mathematics— in one of three Newark public high schools and one private high school, St. Vincent’s Academy. >>

Governor Jon S. Corzine will announce the kickoff of the New Jersey Economic Innovation Alliance, made possible by a Workforce Innovation for Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant, on March 16, at 10 a.m. at NJIT. A public session from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Campus Center Atrium will feature Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor Douglas Small who will explain the initiative. The $5.1M WIRED grant will support community partners’ efforts to harness the regions’ unique resources to transform their local economies. The grant also will be used to expand employment and worker development opportunities in the award region. >>

Professors at NJIT were awarded a $1.1 million, three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to change the way inner city students learn about science and technology. The money will allow engineering professors from NJIT’s Newark College of Engineering and specialists from NJIT’s Center for Pre-College Programs to help public school teachers in Newark, Orange, Perth Amboy and Union City build an exciting, sophisticated science and technology curriculum. >>