NJIT’s Dana Knox Research Showcase filled the Bloom Wellness and Events Center with student research spanning science, engineering, computing, management and the humanities. With poster presentations, two-minute elevator speeches and Board Day luncheon attendees moving through the event, the showcase offered a cross-disciplinary snapshot of research activity across the university.
Richard Calbi, director of Ridgewood Water, was astonished to discover the extent of PFAS contamination in New Jersey drinking water when the state adopted pollution standards for the industrial chemicals in 2020.
“The first thing we did was determine if we were affected and found them in every one of our 52 groundwater wells. We couldn’t find water to buy that didn’t have PFAS in it. We had to reimagine and rebuild our entire system to accommodate new filters,” Calbi said.
Inspiration often sprouts in unexpected places. For electrical engineering students Kermina David '27 and Santiago Garcia '27, the taste of a tropical fruit swiftly ripened into an interest in greenhouses. It then branched into a quest to help farmers manage greenhouse crops more efficiently.
Alexis Palmere is riding the wave of excitement from commencement day, and with good reason. The biochemistry major from West Orange graduated summa cum laude and is set to begin her chemistry Ph.D. studies at the University of Pittsburgh in the fall.
When asked about her personal NJIT highlight, Palmere pointed to her research.
NJIT’s Dana Knox Research Showcase returned in 2025 to once again highlight the innovative and impactful work of students across disciplines. The event celebrated undergraduate and graduate researchers tackling real-world challenges with creative, technical solutions.
Now in its 20th year, the showcase was also its largest — over 150 presentations by 200+ students spanned all six of NJIT’s colleges.
The average person is estimated to consume up to a credit card's worth of plastic particles each week. However, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) undergrad Allison Harbolic is now uncovering the effects that our regular intake of nano-sized plastics can have at a critical stage of life — during pregnancy.
Harbolic's latest research into how nanoplastics impact placental health recently won her prestigious honors from the Society of Toxicology (SOT), an international scientific organization with members from more than 60 countries.
As a sophomore at New Jersey Institute of Technology, Krishi Shah has already accomplished a lot.
Last summer, the computer science major helped engineer software as an intern at PULLATracker while conducting research at the NJIT’s Undergraduate Research and Innovation Program. She also began an apprenticeship at Cornell Tech that’s focused on artificial intelligence.
Brian Kiernan ’70, a visionary in wireless communication technology and a proud alumnus of Newark College of Engineering at NJIT, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). This honor recognizes his pioneering contributions to mobile and fixed wireless communications, a field he revolutionized through innovations that underpin technologies used by billions globally.
For the sixth straight year, New Jersey Institute of Technology's undergraduate program for entrepreneurship ranks top 50 nationally, according to The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.
Sudiksha Sahu, a fourth-year architecture student at NJIT’s Hillier College of Architecture and Design, wanted to diversify her career options this past summer. Without prior research experience, Sahu took on the challenge to participate in the 2024 Undergraduate Summer Research and Innovation Symposium.