Less than 13% of our plastic waste is truly recycled today, with most consumer plastics either downcycled into lower-quality products or joining the billions of tons discarded in landfills and oceans each year. But what if our plastics could be endlessly recycled, like aluminum?

As Director of NJIT’s Polymer Laboratory for the Advancement of Sustainable Technology and Innovative Chemical Synthesis (PLASTICS), Trevor Del Castillo aims to do just that.

Katya Cunha took the stage at Commencement 2025 amid a wave of major honors — NJIT’s Presidential Award, selection as Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts' gonfalon carrier and the sole national recipient of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Undergraduate Award, a distinction that may now help launch her career as a forensic chemist.

Alexis Palmere is riding the wave of excitement from commencement day, and with good reason. The biochemistry major from West Orange graduated summa cum laude and is set to begin her chemistry Ph.D. studies at the University of Pittsburgh in the fall.

When asked about her personal NJIT highlight, Palmere pointed to her research.

NJIT’s Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts (HCSLA) capped one of the most eventful years in its history with its annual awards ceremony recently — the first under its new name, which was prominently displayed on gonfalons and signage decorating the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center to mark the occasion.

Standout seniors from NJIT’s Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts (HCSLA) are capping off their undergraduate journey with one last accolade for achievements across academics and research, athletics and campus leadership.

Fresh from receiving the Outstanding Student Award at the HCSLA Awards Ceremony, these four students share their proudest NJIT moments, future goals and the lessons they’ll carry into the next chapter.

Gala Krsmanovic, B.S. Cyberpsychology

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) chemist Pier Alexandre Champagne has received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to advance the understanding of sulfur-containing molecules that are key to cellular defense and health, but transform so quickly into different compounds — within fractions of a second — that scientists have struggled to understand them.

The average person is estimated to consume up to a credit card's worth of plastic particles each week. However, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) undergrad Allison Harbolic is now uncovering the effects that our regular intake of nano-sized plastics can have at a critical stage of life — during pregnancy.

Harbolic's latest research into how nanoplastics impact placental health recently won her prestigious honors from the Society of Toxicology (SOT), an international scientific organization with members from more than 60 countries.

We all know how bad smoking is for you, but what about vaping?

A new study at New Jersey Institute of technology (NJIT) led by forensic anthropologist and biochemist Sara Zapico is exploring the potential long-term health risks of e-cigarettes and how they might manifest in young adults at the genetic level, which up until now isn't fully understood.

Goldwater Scholarships, among the most prestigious awards for undergraduate students pursuing STEM degrees, are going to two juniors at NJIT. 

The recipients are: Dev Doshi, a biomedical engineering major in the Newark College of Engineering; and Brock Shahinian, an environmental science major in the Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts.

Chao Yan, a New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) alumnus and co-founder of Princeton NuEnergy, has been named one of Business Insider’s Climate Action 15 for 2024 — a list highlighting global leaders deploying innovative solutions to combat the climate crisis.