Alumni Leadership
Our alumni volunteers are critical to advancing NJIT’s STEM-focused mission of education, research, service, and economic development.
The Alumni Association of NJIT supports the University through the development and implementation of programs, activities, and events for alumni and friends. The Association promotes connections among alumni and with students, supports the advancement of education and research, and engages alumni with activities that foster unity and good will towards the University. Among our activities, we provide a network for alumni to be active in the affairs of the University, and opportunities for social interaction, and celebration of college memories. We keep alumni informed of research, technology, and new developments, assist with the recruitment, recognition, and professional placement of well-qualified students and alumni, facilitate links between business and University resources, and represent the interests of the University to the general public.
Officers of the Alumni Association |
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Dennis Ciemniecki, PE NCE '82 (Branchburg, NJ) Dennis is Manager, Business Performance Improvement at Public Service Electric & Gas, New Jersey’s largest investor owned utility. He focuses on strategically important Operational Excellence projects particularly in the areas of utility operations, regulation and financial performance. His career in the utility space nationally includes senior management and executive positions. He founded and successfully grew his management consulting firm which focused on helping companies shape operational strategies and obtain real, measurable performance improvements. Dennis is an experienced alumni advisor, having served on not-for-profit Boards including the Association for Corporate Growth, National Association of Water Companies, NJ Utilities Association as well as multiple investor owned utilities. |
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Ralph Jimenez '02 CCS (Newark, NJ) Ralph Jimenez received his B.A. in Information Systems with a minor in Management in 2002. As a charismatic new alumnus, he quickly became a member of and chaired the NJIT Young Alumni Club. As an active participant within the alumni community, Ralph was then able to serve on the Alumni Association of NJIT board of directors as Secretary. With his degree grounded in both technology and business, Ralph was poised for a career in Product Management. He has been in the Product Management space for 12+ years, serving in a number of different industries including Real Estate, Payments, Technology and Financial Services. Keeping abreast the latest trends in his field, Ralph took an interest in Agile Software Development, leading him to obtain his Certified Scrum Product Owner® designation. Currently, Ralph is a Senior Manager within the Strategic Initiatives group at Prudential Financial. In his spare time, Ralph enjoys biking, hiking, snowboarding and staying connected to friends and family. |
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Vatsal Shah PE, Ph.D. NCE '08 NCE '09 NCE '15 (Green Brook, NJ) Vatsal is a lifelong Highlander, having graduated with honors from NJIT in 2008 with his BS, 2009 with his MS, and in 2014 with his Ph.D in Civil Engineering. Vatsal is a proud graduate of both NJIT's Newark College of Engineering and the Albert Dorman Honors College. Vatsal serves as Vice President of the Alumni Association. He is also an adjunct professor in NJIT’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and has been named a Faculty Fellow of the Albert Dorman Honors College in Spring 2019. Vatsal works full-time at Mott MacDonald, a full-service consulting engineering firm headquartered in Iselin, NJ. Vatsal currently manages a geotechnical department of 25 staff at Mott MacDonald’s Iselin headquarters office and is a technical lead for a multitude of civil, geotechnical, and environmental projects. He was voted nationally as "Young Engineer of the Year" in 2019 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, and was named the “Face of Civil Engineering” by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2012. Vatsal was also one of the youngest Professional Engineers licensed in the State of New Jersey and is licensed as a Professional Engineer in multiple states. He is currently Outside work and academia, Vatsal is currently Past-President of the New Jersey Society of Professional Engineers. In July 2014, Vatsal was the first recipient of the NJITGeNext Award which is presented by NJIT’s Alumni Association for their professional accomplishments, community engagement, and service to their alma mater as well as exceptional accomplishment in any field of endeavor which brings honor to NJIT. Vatsal remains active at NJIT and with the future STEM community with his over 11 years of involvement in the Raytheon and National Society of Professional Engineers’-sponsored MATHCOUNTS Competition Program as well as co-founding NJIT’s Engineers Without Borders chapter in 2007. Vatsal maintains personal work-life balance with very effective time management and by spending free time enjoying outdoor activities, ice hockey, fitness and spending time with close friends and family to whom he attributes much of his drive and success. |
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Joseph G. Stanley, PE, PP '78 NCE '85 (Morristown, NJ) Joseph G. Stanley is a Senior Vice President at Mott MacDonald (MM). He is a recipient of the NCE Outstanding Alumnus Award, and Alumni Achievement Award. He is a member of the Newark College of Engineering Board of Overseers and a former chair of the Industrial Advisory Board for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He has been an adjunct professor in the Civil Department and has served on various university committees. Joe's work primarily involves designing water supply facilities. |
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Alfred Martinez NCE '10 NCE '18 (Clifton, NJ) Alfred S. Martinez received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from NCE in 2010 and is expected to receive his MS in Mechanical Engineering from NJIT in 2018. Currently, Alfred is a Senior Mechanical Estimator for cost consultant, Ellana, Inc, holding previous project management and estimating positions with Durr Mechanical Construction, Inc. Alfred is also Chair of the New York Metro Regional Alumni Club. In his free time, Alfred enjoys spending quality time with his family and playing golf. |
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Dania Shahzad, MTSOM ’13 (Rutherford, NJ) Dania Shahzad received her BS in Business Management from SOM in 2013. Dania is also a graduate of the Albert Dorman Honors College and served on the Honors Student Council. Dania is an Associate Manager within the Project Management Office at PGIM Fixed Income. Based out of Newark, NJ, Dania works with various groups across the organization to accomplish business objectives ranging from managing system upgrades to adapting to new regulatory laws for the business. Dania is the co-chair of the Prudential / NJIT Corporate Club. |
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Alumni Association Board Members |
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Paul S. Attallah, BS ME '05, MBA '15 (Kearny, NJ) Paul is a Global IT Sales Consultant for Cyxtera Technologies, where he originates leads and uncovers new opportunities through financial industry channel partners, serves as a business development resource to identify and cultivate new partners within the financial industry segment, and serves as an internal resource and subject matter expert for colocation/data center opportunities generated by the CenturyLink’s financial vertical and Cyxtera's sales executives. Paul has served on the Executive MBA Alumni Chapter since 2016, and was elected co-chair in 2018. Paul also serves as an Adjunct Professor at NJIT in the Martin Tuchman School of Management. *completing an unexpired term. |
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Chester M. Bracuto NCE '75 (Fairfax, VA) Chet grew up in Westfield and Clark, NJ and graduated from NJIT in 1975 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He also holds Masters in Public Administration (George Mason University -1998) and National Resource Strategy (National Defense University/Industrial College of the Armed Force -2003). Upon graduation from NJIT, Chet worked for 9 years as a Project Engineer for the Naval Air Warfare Center in Lakehurst, NJ and St. Louis, MO. After that he spent 26 years as a Senior Systems Engineer and Program Manager for the Naval Air Systems Command and the Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) in Arlington, VA. Chet retired from the Department of Defense in 2010 and has since worked as a Defense contractor in Arlington, VA, currently supporting the F-35 Aircraft program. Outside of work, Chet enjoys spending his free time with his wife Dorenda and traveling. Chet has coached soccer and basketball for 25 years in the Northern Virginia Youth Leagues, and since 2011, at public high schools in Virginia. He has been a volunteer for DC United in the Major League Soccer since 1999, and a volunteer for the NJIT Washington, DC Metro Regional Club since 2006. |
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Vincent L. Cerone, BS CIS '82 (Denver, CO) Vince is a product specialist for HP, one of the worlds largest technology companies ranking 55 on the Fortune 500. He focuses on introducing new disruptive technologies to traditional markets,new markets and HP resellers. Vince’s career in the technology sector spans almost 40 years, 27 of which were spent at Xerox. Starting as a programmer/systems consultant, Vince eventually transitioned into an account management role. He spent most of his career working with large companies in the NY//NJ area in the engineering, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and utility sectors. |
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Robert C. Cohen ’83 NCE, '84 NCE, '87 NCE (Basking Ridge, NJ) Robert Cohen currently holds the position of Vice President of Global Research and Development and Chief Technology Officer of Stryker’s Orthopaedic Joint Replacement division. He has worked in the orthopedic medical device industry for thirty-five years and has managed research, development, manufacturing, regulatory, clinical research, quality and marketing functions. Prior to their acquisition by Stryker in 2013, Mr. Cohen held the position of Senior Vice President, Clinical and Market Development, for MAKO Surgical Corp., an orthopedic robotics company, as well as having the role of General Manager of their New Jersey implant R&D and additive-manufacturing facility. From 2007 until MAKO’s purchase of Pipeline Biomedical, a company founded by Mr. Cohen, he served as its Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of R&D. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Product Development for Implex Corp, a developer of advanced joint replacement and spinal implants fabricated from a novel porous metal biomaterial trademarked as Trabecular Metal. Following the acquisition of Implex Corp by Zimmer Inc, a large manufacturer and supplier of orthopedic implants in 2004, Mr. Cohen served as Zimmer’s General Manager of their New Jersey engineering and manufacturing operations through 2006. From 1984 to 1992, he held various engineering positions at Stryker’s joint replacement division Osteonics, including Director of Product Development. Mr. Cohen has over 25 patents and speaks globally at medical education conferences. He also serves on numerous boards and is the Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, a leading US polytechnic university with over 12,000 students. Most recently, Mr. Cohen was inducted as a fellow to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Mr. Cohen has a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Engineering Management, all from New Jersey Institute of Technology. |
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Muhammad Elgammal, PE, PMP '12 NCE '15 NCE (West Orange, NJ) Muhammad is a Senior Civil Engineer for Stantec’s Aviation practice in the NYC Office. He provides engineering services for Aviation facilities throughout the region and beyond. In 2016, Muhammad was honored as Young Civil Engineer of the Year for ASCE's Central Jersey Branch and was nationally recognized in 2017 as a ‘New Face of Civil Engineering’ by ASCE-- for his outstanding contributions and personal achievements that represent the bold and humanitarian future of civil engineering. Muhammad attributes himself as an avid mentor and mentee. He credits much of his success to his willingness to expose himself to challenges and opportunities in all forms. Muhammad received his B.S. in Civil Engineering, with honors, and his M.S. in Critical Infrastructure from the Newark College of Engineering at NJIT. |
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Susana Holguin-Veras, BS ARCH '06 (Newark, NJ) Susana is a Principal at TheoryCo., a Newark-based digital marketing agency serving the design, architecture, and real estate industries, as well as cultural institutions. Prior to that, she served as Director of Marketing at Howard L. Zimmerman Architects and Business Development Manager at NELSON, both architecture firms located in New York City. Susana graduated from NJIT with a BS in Architecture in 2006. While at NJIT, Susana founded Studio Magazine, was an editor at The Vector, and was involved with the Architecture Student Union and the NJIT Art Club. After NJIT, she received an MS in Architectural History and Theory from the Bartlett School of Architecture in 2007, and completed coursework towards a Ph.D. in art history from Rutgers University in 2011. Susana joined the NYC Metro club in 2016, and mentored other NJIT alumni at at Zimmerman. |
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Lisa Moving '01 COAD (Kearny, NJ) Lisa Moving is a Project Manager with Turner Construction Company, one of the nation's largest General Contracting firms. Starting as a Field Engineer, she has attained over 18+ years of industry experience in cost control, change management project engineering, sales, business development, contracts, project engineering, risk and construction management. Throughout her career at Turner, she has worked on various construction progect types including commercial office fit-outs, data centers upgrades, infrastructure upgrades, retail and healthcare renovations. In addition to the Bachelor of Architecture (1991) and Master's Degree in Construction Engineering and Management (2004) earned from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Lisa holds a diploma in Architecture Technology (University of Technology, Jamaica) and a Master's Degree in Real Estate, Finance & Investment (New York University 2012. Lisa grew up in the Federation of St-Kitts and Nevis and migrated to New Jersey in 1997. |
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Ed Musa '14 NCE (North Brunswick, NJ) Edward J. Musa Jr. graduated with his B.S. in Computer Engineering and minor in Applied Mathematics in 2004, and his M.S. in Information Systems in 2006. While at NJIT, Edward held several positions within the NJIT chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Residence Life, and the Educational Opportunity Program. |
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Kevin J. O'Keeffe, P.E., NCE '15, NCE '17 (Shrewsbury, NJ) Kevin is a strong proponent of engaging with the NJIT community. He graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, and minored in Environmental Engineering, as well as an M.S. in Civil Engineering - Construction Engineering and Management. As a student, he was Vice President of three Civil Engineering Department clubs; American Water Works Association, Student Chapter of the New Jersey Society of Professional Engineers, and Chi Epsilon Honors Society. He also was president of Kappa Xi Kappa Local Fraternity. Now Kevin is a licensed professional engineer in the state of New Jersey working in both Municipal and Water Resources Engineering at Middletown-based T&M Associates. His responsibilities primarily include design and specification preparation, along with project management, for various project types such as roadway reconstruction, sewer/drainage networks, and recreational park facilities, along with construction administration/inspection of land development projects. Kevin still has strong ties to the NJIT community with being a co-councilman of the Greek Alumni Board and President of the Kappa Xi Kappa Alumni Association. |
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| Will Paul '95 CSLA (East Hanover, NJ) (2019-2021 elected term) UPS Corporate Alumni Club
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L. Richard “Rick” Pedersen BS ME '81 (Fulshear, TX) Rick is the CEO of Gas Logistics Consultants. Rick provides management support to any enterprise involved in buying or selling industrial gases, with a focus on optimizing thesupply chain for industrial gas distribution, especially by over-the-road transport. |
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George Post, BS ME '61 (Clearwater, FL) George graduated from Newark College of Engineering in 1961. After graduation, he served as CEO of EGF Realty Services Inc., and secretary at Meridian on Sand Key Owner's Association, Inc. He eventually formed his own business, George Post & Company, a corporate real estate company. He sold the company in 2014 and currently serves as a consultant. George has served on the faculty of New York University Real Estate Institute, as a member of the board of directors of the CEO Council of Tampa Bay, the board of advisors to The Florida Orchestra, board of directors of the Tampa Downtown Partnership, board of directors of The Tampa Bay Chamber Orchestra, and president of The Tampa Club. He has been Published in New York University's Real Estate Review and The Production Handbook by The Ronald Press. |
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Robert Rossi '67 NCE (North Bergen, NJ) Bob has greatly depended upon his NCE Chemical Engineering degree to support 29 years of corporate managerial experience in the development, marketing, and sales of high capital cost chemical process and steam generation technologies, and 10 years in the development of very large power generation facilities for the un-regulated affiliates of PSE&G and PG&E. This professional experience was gained in over 30 countries with major customers and partners such as Petrobras (Brasil), General Electric, Air Products and Chemicals, Conoco Chemicals, Dead Sea Works (Israel), V/O Metallurgimport (Soviet Union), Georgia Pacific, Cochin Refineries (India), and Chorzow Energy (Poland). He’s been, for the last 10 years, a senior consultant to Carbon Engineering, Squamish, BC, Canada for the development of a novel climate change remediation technology that produces liquid hydrocarbon fuels from atmospheric carbon dioxide and water, using sustainable fuels and green power from solar and wind sources. He also has been granted four (5) USPTO and Canadian patents for the recovery of carbon dioxide from various calcium carbonate materials. |
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Anita M. Rubino '83 CSLA (St. Petersburg, FL) Anita graduated from NJIT in 1983 with a BS in Industrial Administration and went on to earn an MBA from Seton Hall University in 1986. After a 15+ year career in Human Resources Management, including Chief Human Resources Officer for Nielsen Media Research, she moved into a variety of executive leadership positions within the Nielsen Company. She then founded AMR Solutions Network, LLC, a network of businesses dedicated to providing personalized business solutions to senior leaders and their organizations. A generalist who specializes in strategic counseling and coaching for C level executives, she combines expertise in organizational development and structure along with her experience in Client Relationship Management (CRM), Client Training and Support, Internet Marketing Services, Knowledge Management and eLearning as well as Business Process Management. Anita is currently the owner of EVOS Carrollwood, a fast casual restaurant in Tampa, Florida which specializes in healthy alternatives to your favorite American food. She has a passion for providing nutritious food to children of all ages and has been working with local schools to educate them on healthy eating habits. Anita is an avid Baseball fan and supporter of NJIT's Athletic programs along with her other alumni activities. She is currently serving on the Board of Visitors for the College of Science and Liberal Arts (CSLA) and is also the Chair of AANJIT Awards Committee. |
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Joseph M. Racanelli, BS ME '83, MS ME '90 (Park Ridge, NJ) Joe is currently the Senior Director of Orthopaedic Biomechanics and Device Evaluation at Stryker Corporation. His responsibilities include structural and biomechanic analysis and testing of major Stryker orthopaedic reconstructive hip and knee medical devices. Since 1983, when Joe received his BS in Mechanical Engineering at NJIT, Joe’s responsibilities have included research, design, structural and thermal analysis, testing, and program leadership. He has worked in various companies across four diverse industries: aerospace, telecommunications, elevator, and currently, medical devices, all based in New Jersey. |
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The NJIT Board of Trustees is the legal governing body of the university appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate.
The NJIT Board of Overseers serves as the governing body for the Foundation at NJIT, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization which is the fundraising arm of the university.
The Board of Overseers has fiduciary responsibility for the Foundation, provides a leadership role in fundraising, and provides a critical link between academe and the business community, providing information on corporate and state priorities and assisting NJIT in meeting research and funding goals.
Each college of the university maintains an Advisory Board to advise on academics and administration.