This month, the work of NJIT’s top student researchers was put on display at the 2018 Knox Student Research Showcase, “A Glimpse Into the Future”. 

The showcase, which annually honors outstanding research done at NJIT by its graduate and undergraduate students, awarded Najmaddin Akhundov first place among this year’s graduate researchers for developing a computational model to track and control invasive species that threaten the environment.

From large-scale weather or environmental disaster predictions and efficient design of vehicles and power generators, to understanding how bacteria propel themselves and how nutrients are delivered to different organs in our body at the cell level — researchers will need to find new ways of studying the complex flow of liquids, gases and plasmas that drive or characterize intricate climatic, transportation and biological systems.

The research that Assistant Professor of Physics Cristiano Dias is pursuing has the potential to expand our knowledge of phenomena that can affect the creation of dangerous obstructions in undersea pipelines transporting natural gas and the formation of protein-based fibers in the brain related to diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Battle-inflicted head injuries are as old as war itself, evidenced by the copper helmets worn by Bronze Age soldiers to deflect blows from spears and axes. Over the ensuing millennia, as weapons evolved, so did armor. Today, the powerful explosive devices of 21st century warfare have once again raised the stakes, prompting urgent calls to re-engineer protective gear.