C-3PO walked upright and spoke six million languages, but never did much with his hands beside gesticulate on the odds of surviving space battles.

Such is the state of modern robotics and cyberintelligence, where a Boston Dynamics droid does backflips and Apple Siri maintains natural-language conversations, while precision manipulation of physical objects remains elusive, explained Cong Wang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Roberto Adamson, an aspiring technology leader who aims to create AI-driven convenience and efficiency for peoples’ homes and workplaces, will begin the next stage of his professional journey at one of the world’s preeminent STEM universities. 

Named the “Outstanding Senior” for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Adamson will move to Switzerland this fall to pursue a master’s degree in electrical engineering at ETH (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule) Zurich, where he will specialize in control systems and artificial intelligence.

Hieu Nguyen’s pandemic-inspired lighting would not only illuminate classrooms, offices and airport lobbies, but also disinfect them with invisible ultraviolet light that destroys pathogens such as the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

With three possible settings, his LED panels would emit visible light, ultraviolet light or both, irradiating air, water and surfaces in enclosed settings. Backed by a CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation, he is exploring novel nanotechnology to generate light that would cut the energy consumption of these devices by half.

New Jersey Institute of Technology has been ranked in three subject areas in the 2021 QS World University Rankings By Subject list, marking the third year in a row NJIT has earned a spot on the global ranking.

NJIT alumna Dayrene Martinez, who earned her electrical engineering degree in 2018, recently published a textbook of Python computer programming after mastering the language as a systems engineer for defense contractor Raytheon.

Communicating by sound underwater works great for dolphins and whales, so an NJIT expert decided to try a new variant of this method for autonomous vehicles, divers and sensors, too.

Radio signals used by traditional wireless devices become too weak underwater, explained Ali Abdi, a professor of electrical engineering and director of the Advanced Communication and Signal Processing Laboratory, in NJIT’s Center for Wireless Information Processing.

MengChu Zhou, a pioneer in automation science and engineering who optimizes systems, from manufacturing, to data centers, to transportation, to glean efficiencies and improve outcomes, is this year’s winner of NJIT’s Excellence in Research award.

Throw on any iconic rock album from the mid-1970’s to early 1980’s, and chances are, you’ll hear the distinct sound of pitch-shifting and harmonizing effects that were just beginning to revolutionize how records were being produced — from the rhythm instruments on David Bowie’s 1975 album “Young Americans”, to the arena-sized choruses of AC/DC’s “Back In Black”, to the signature double-tracked tones of Eddie Van Halen’s finger-blistering guitar work in his band’s 1978 debut album, “Van Halen”. 

College Factual, a leading source of higher education analytics and insights, has ranked NJIT in the top 10 percent of all schools in the nation when it comes to offering a quality education to veterans studying electrical engineering.

NJIT’s electrical engineering program is ranked #27 out of 269 for veteran friendliness of all colleges and universities reviewed by College Factual.

NJIT improved its ranking position 5 slots over the previous year’s ranking of #32.