New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) today announced the launch of PureTrace Labs, a startup created to bring NJIT-developed technology for rapid detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to market.

The company marks the first official launch from NJII’s Venture Studio, supported by an investment of up to $1 million.

Tara Alvarez, a distinguished professor of biomedical engineering at NJIT, won first place in the inaugural Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU) / National Academy of Inventors (NAI) International Patent Award competition.

Her patented technology, branded as VERVE (Virtual Eye Rotation Vision Exercises), is a virtual reality game to correct an eye motor disorder called convergence insufficiency, in which the muscles that control eye movements do not coordinate to focus on near objects, to see them singly and clearly.

NJIT President Joel S. Bloom says that a STEM education at a public university will accelerate the economic recovery and bolster global competitiveness. To read his full op-ed, click here.

Partnering with New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and The Tuchman Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Hamilton has established a freestanding COVID-19 testing center on its campus that was fashioned from four 40-foot-long, repurposed shipping containers.

Two pioneering researchers, Rajesh Davé, a distinguished professor of chemical and materials engineering, and MengChu Zhou, a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering, were recently elected fellows of National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

Davé and Zhou join 173 other academic innovators, together representing 115 research universities and governmental and non-profit research institutes, in this year’s class of fellows. Collectively, the group holds more than 4,700 issued U.S. patents. Davé has 15 U.S. patents and Zhou has 14.

To overcome production hurdles for cell and gene therapies, a promising new class of biologic medications, NJIT’s New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) has opened clinical-scale centers that will work directly with drug developers to streamline the processing of new therapies and manufacture them in large quantities.

NJIT researchers will look to continue a successful string of space-bound studies at the International Space Station (ISS) when a new payload of experimental samples launches to the station with the SpaceX CRS-20 commercial cargo resupply mission on Mar. 7.