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Public Servant Receives NJIT Alumnus Award
Picciano, who has devoted his career to public service, received the award at the NJIT Newark College of Engineering (NCE) awards banquet. From NJIT Picciano earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1971 and a master's degree in environmental engineering in 1976. As Acting Regional Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Region 2, Picciano played a pivotal role in managing major U.S. disasters. He was deeply involved in the recovery effort at the World Trade Center site. Since September 11, FEMA has coordinated the responses to ground zero of some 30 federal agencies, including structural engineers, rescue and debris removal teams and medical and veterinary outreach units. He also managed the efforts to assist neighborhood residents and business owners. Picciano is responsible for assuring that multilingual services are provided to accommodate all language groups in affected areas and he monitors fund drives to help victims' families. He manages the federal assets used for response and recovery efforts at disaster sites, and is responsible for the day-to-day direction, management and monitoring of all FEMA programs within the region. He also helps develop policies on mitigation, preparedness and response and recovery relating to disasters or emergencies in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In carrying out these tasks Picciano coordinates federal, state and local government preparedness, provides guidance to private sector preparedness planning and is the liaison with counterpart officials of bordering or neighboring countries. Picciano has been with FEMA since the agency's inception in 1979. In the past, he has worked as hazardous materials coordinator, chairman of the regional advisory committee for radiological emergency preparedness, deputy director of the emergency management and national preparedness division, director of the natural and technological hazards division as well as director of the mitigation division. Additionally, he has served in major disasters and emergencies, including floods in Texas, Oklahoma, California, New York and New Jersey and hurricanes in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He received the meritorious service award for his work during the Hurricane Hugo recovery operation and has been appointed Federal Coordinating Officer by the U.S. President for a number of disaster operations. NJIT is a public, scientific and technological research university
enrolling more than 8,800 students. The university offers bachelor's, master's and
doctoral degrees to students in 80 degree programs throughout its six colleges:
Newark College of Engineering, New Jersey School of Architecture, College of Science
and Liberal Arts, School of Management, Albert Dorman Honors College and College of
Computing Sciences. The division of continuing professional education offers adults
eLearning, off campus degrees and short courses. Expertise and research initiatives
include architecture and building science, applied mathematics, biomedical engineering,
environmental engineering and science, information technology, manufacturing, materials,
microelectronics, multimedia, telecommunications, transportation and solar astrophysics.
Yahoo! Internet Life magazine cites NJIT as a "perennially most wired" university.
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