Reading took center stage Aug. 9 when Book Lovers Day was celebrated throughout the country. The unofficial holiday honors reading and literature, and urges people to spend the day transported by a book.

Many members of the NJIT community are published book authors, with works ranging from historical accounts and scientific manuals to career handbooks and children’s stories. In observance of Book Lovers Day, here we highlight just a few of the recent page-turners by Highlander faculty and alumni (in alphabetical order).

Despite being such a tiny earth dweller, the roundworm species Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) has become one of the biggest workhorses in the lab for biological researchers. Due in part to the organism’s transparent skin and compact size — just about the size of a comma at 1 mm in length — it’s the only animal to have successfully had a complete mapping of its connectome, or its neural circuitry comprised of 302 neurons and their 7,000 synaptic connections. 

Cesar Bandera, associate professor of entrepreneurship at Martin Tuchman School of Management, has been named a Master Teacher by NJIT’s provost. The designation is the highest distinction given to a tenured faculty member at the university who has a sustained and recognized record of teaching excellence.

While Martin Tuchman School of Management ’s faculty, staff and students and their families could not gather traditionally this year for MTSM’s annual awards ceremony, the event, held virtually May 19, still emanated great pride in and affection for the school’s 2020 graduates. Like most other end-of-school-year celebrations worldwide, it was conducted online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Members of NJIT's string, jazz and wind ensembles are showcasing their collective spirit with a new inspirational performance for the university community.

Student-musicians of NJIT’s Music Initiative have collaborated to digitally stage a performance of Journey's "Don’t Stop Believin’," featuring an original arrangement by Dave Rimelis, NJIT jazz ensemble conductor and artist-in-residence for the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.