NJIT’s Jordan Hu College of Science & Liberal Arts (HCSLA) celebrated 44 years on May 6 with its annual awards ceremony, headlined by a special guest appearance from paleontologist and famed “dinosaur hunter” Dr. Kenneth J. Lacovara.

Held in the Central King Building’s Agile Strategy Lab, the event brought together students, faculty, and alumni alongside President Teik C. Lim to recognize the past year’s achievements across NJIT’s most academically diverse college, from the humanities to STEM sciences.

An orthopedic total joint knee replacement is not a hinge.

It bends, rolls, glides and rotates. It bears the force of walking, climbing stairs, rising from a chair and living an active life. It has to mimic naturally enough to restore function, but remain stable enough to last. Its materials must survive millions of cycles inside the body, where the smallest design decisions can affect wear, inflammation, bone loss, loosening and pain.

That was the kind of problem Michael J. Pappas ’59, ’64 helped solve.

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) historian and master teacher Neil Maher has been named a 2026 Andrew Carnegie Fellow, becoming the first faculty member in university history to receive the national honor.

Selected from more than 380 nominees nationwide, Maher is one of only 24 scholars chosen for the fellowship this year, which awards up to $200,000 to support original research in the humanities and social sciences.

This year’s fellowship theme focuses on scholarship examining political division and civic cohesion in American life.

Several New Jersey Institute of Technology leaders have been recognized in BINJE’s inaugural "BINJE’s Best: Higher Education" honorees list, a statewide package highlighting the people and programs shaping New Jersey’s higher education ecosystem.

Professional accolades started arriving early in the career of Matthew P. Adams, an associate professor of civil engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and co-director of the Materials and Structures Laboratory (MatSLab). In 2015, Adams was still working toward his Ph.D. when he was recognized by the American Concrete Institute (ACI), earning their Young Member Award for Professional Achievement for his work supporting young professionals in the concrete industry.

NJIT’s Homer Bonitsis, associate professor of finance in Martin Tuchman School of Management, was awarded the 2026 Lifetime Service Award from the Northeast Decision Sciences Institute.

NEDSI members methodically study the planning, execution and evaluation of organizational decision-making.

Over multiple decades, Bonitsis served in several NEDSI leadership roles such as campus representative, conference presenter, paper reviewer, and session/track chair. He was elected NEDSI president and served from 2023-2024.

NJIT’s Newark College of Engineering brought together alumni, students, faculty, staff and industry partners for its 28th Annual Salute to Engineering Excellence, an evening that celebrated the people and partnerships helping shape the college’s future.

Held April 16 at Stone House at Stirling Ridge, the annual event highlighted achievement across the NCE community. Proceeds from the night will support experiential learning and NCE competitive student teams and organizations.

New Jersey Institute of Technology and its affiliated innovation enterprise, New Jersey Innovation Institute, are well-represented among the honorees recognized in the 2026 INNOVATE100 awards, a distinction that celebrates leaders advancing innovation across industries, research, public service and entrepreneurship. The recognition highlights a broad cross-section of NJIT and NJII talent — from academic leadership and scientific discovery to health care transformation, venture development, artificial intelligence and athletics administration.

NJIT’s Andrew P. Christ, senior vice president for University Operations, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ), effective immediately.

What began in his third year attending NJIT came full circle this year for Stephen George, CEE’s associate director of undergraduate programs and academic advisor. In June, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) selected him as the recipient of the ASCE Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award.