Jan. 6, 2020 -- As part of SpaceX’s CRS-19 resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched Dec. 5, researchers from NASA, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and New York University (NYU) are set to begin a new scientific investigation to explore how a group of microscopic particles considered key “building blocks” for materials and products here on Earth, known as colloidal particles, behave and form in zero-gravity.

Where were you the night of Nov. 26th?

Anyone exiting the Summit Street parking garage that evening would have most certainly been counted among the witnesses to a brightly-lit, taped-off scene surrounding a faded-white ’98 Chevy Lumina where an investigation was underway — carried out by a special unit of NJIT’s own CSI students-in-training.

When trying to better the odds for survival, a major dilemma that many animals face is dispersal — being able to pick up and leave to occupy new lands, find fresh resources and mates, and avoid intraspecies competition in times of overpopulation. 

For birds, butterflies and other winged creatures, covering long distances may be as easy as the breeze they travel on. But for soil-dwellers of the crawling variety, the hurdle remains: How do they reach new, far-off habitats? 

Initiating, supporting and maintaining a high number of startup ventures remains the chief objective of innovation-ecosystem stakeholders: government policymakers, administrators of technology parks and small business incubators, and the entrepreneurs operating in such venues. The social capital (or interconnecting relationships with universities, industry and government organizations) provided by this world, along with strategies that help to remove barriers, promote networking and encourage relevant learning, would seem to be valuable contributors to startup growth and survival.

Brooke Flammang, assistant professor of biological sciences at NJIT, has been named winner of the 2019 Steven Vogel Young Investigator Award by the scientific journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics.

Flammang is the third-ever winner of the international award, started in 2017 in honor of biomechanics pioneer Steven Vogel. The honor is externally nominated by the journal to annually recognize early career excellence in the journal's field, and is open to researchers in the 10 years after completing their Ph.D. 

Can ants help predict the complex dynamics of future humanitarian crises, such as when and where large populations might move during disease outbreaks or armed conflicts?

It’s a question that has been posed by Simon Garnier, assistant professor of biological sciences at NJIT, who recently joined the exclusive company of up-and-coming researchers in the nation with a prestigious 2019 Young Faculty Award from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). 

TEDxNJIT aims to bring innovation and remarkable people together to share a TED-like experience in Newark. This year’s event was all about stories of resilience from guest speakers of all different backgrounds, including the following members of Martin Tuchman School of Management (MTSM).

Tomi Antoljak