Department News
Department News
The Department of Chemistry & Environmental Science Welcome New Faculty Member, Assistant Professor Trevor Del Castillo
Dr. Del Castillo joined the department fall 2023.
Trevor Del Castillo comes to NJIT from Stanford University, where he was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Chemistry. His research focuses on the design, synthesis, and characterization of polymeric materials for applications in drug and gene delivery, as well as the manufacture and chemical recycling of next-generation commodity plastics that are environmentally benign. Recently, he has worked on the development of mRNA delivery technologies which have been used to produce an experimental covid vaccine and immunotherapy treatments for cancer. In both cases, a self-assembled polymer nanoparticle delivers mRNA cargo to cells that enables the immune system to recognize and fight off viral infections or cancer cells. As a Ph.D. student at Caltech, Del Castillo was co-awarded the DOW Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge Award Grand Prize in 2015 for his work on catalytic nitrogen fixation toward less energy-intensive, distributed synthesis of nitrogen-containing fertilizer. He has published in top journals such as ACS Central Science and the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) and has two patents pending.
Dr. Omowunmi Sadik, Chair and Distinguished Professor who is named a member of the 2023 ACS fellows!
2023 ACS Fellows Announced! | ACS Matters | August 1, 2023
42 new fellows honored for their contributions to science.
July 27, 2023 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 101, Issue 25
CONGRATULATIONS DR. SADIK!
The American Chemical Society has named 42 members as ACS fellows.
The fellows program began in 2009 as a way to recognize and honor ACS members for outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession, and ACS.
Nominations for the 2024 class of ACS fellows will open in the first quarter of next year. Additional information about the program, including a list of fellows named in prior years, is available at www.acs.org/fellows.
NJIT's Forensic Science Initiative Celebrates First Graduates
Special thanks to Drs. Parmelee, Sadik, and Pacheco for mentoring some of our FSI students last semester.
Written by: Jesse Jenkins
Published: Wednesday, July 19, 2023
A select group of local high school seniors have become the first graduates of NJIT’s Forensic Science Initiative (FSI) after successfully completing an intensive STEM training program this year.
FSI’s inaugural class recently drew plaudits from the professional forensic science community at a New Jersey Association of Forensic Scientists (NJAFS) conference, where they showcased their capstone research projects — the culmination of their work throughout the program dating back to last summer.
Please continue reading here. https://news.njit.edu/njits-forensic-science-initiative-celebrates-first...
The Rise of a Climate-Triggered Neurotoxin in the Arctic Tundra with Dr. Liji Zhang
Written by: Tracey Regan
Published: Monday, July 17, 2023
Lijie Zhang, an assistant professor of chemistry and environmental science who studies the transformation of industrial pollutants in the environment. Please click here to read more.
In situ with Wunmi Sadik...
The interdisciplinary innovator on moving beyond silos and communicating the real-world impact of chemistry.
Wunmi Sadik is a distinguished professor and chair in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science at the New Jersey Institutes of Technology (NJIT). She is also the director of the NJIT BioSMART Center.
Please continue reading here.
2023 Summer REU Program in Chemistry & Environmental Science
Research Experience for Undergraduates on BioSensor Materials for Advanced Research and Technology (BioSMART) at the Environment/Biotechnology Nexus
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2023 REU BioSMART PARTICIPANTS!
Back row: Joel Duzha-New Jersey Institute of Technology; Hannah Shahinian-New Jersey Institute of Technology; Quentin Young-New Jersey Institute of Technology; Adam Leszczynski-Stevens Institute of Technology;
Front row: Mira Sapozhnikov-New Jersey Institute of Technology; Bryan Aguilar-New Jersey Institute of Technology; XingZhi (Gigi) Chen-Haverford University; Anne Nong-Rowan University; Rafiatou Bikienga-Essex County College; Director, Chair & Distinguished Professor Omowunmi Sadik
Amid the WildfireHaze, NJIT Researcher Alexei Khalizove Eplains What's in the air.
Please click on the link for more info.
https://news.njit.edu/amid-wildfire-haze-njit-professor-explains-what-we...
Senior Success: Kristen Mogerman Lands Fiserv Role After Internship with DOJ's Violent Crime Squad
Written by: Jesse Jenkins
Published: Thursday, May 18, 2023
Like any talented forensic science student would, Kristen Mogerman ’23 has been using her sharp analytical skills to unlock one opportunity after the next — from an internship with the U.S. Department of Justice assisting its regional violent crime squad, to her post-graduation destination as a credit and risk analyst with Fiserv. Please click on the link to read more about Kristen success story.
https://news.njit.edu/senior-success-kristen-mogerman-lands-fiserv-role-...
Upcoming Forensic Science Programs at NJIT - Summer 2023
For more information, please click on the links below.
- Intermediate Analysis of Friction Ridge Skin - June 5-9, 2203
- First Annual New Jersey Forensic Science Education Conference - June 26-28, 2023
Congratulation Sumbel Yaqoob!
Sumbel Yaqoob is a second-year doctoral student in Dr. Mengyan Li's lab in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science. She received her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University - New Brunswick.
She began her research as an undergraduate studying intragenomic evolution patterns of Plum pox virus where she learned a suite of bioinformatic tools and was named a Paul Robeson Scholar in 2019.
Currently, she is exploring the biotransformation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to determine how microbial interactions can influence, and possibly degrade, these "forever chemicals." Yaqoob is utilizing pure cultures, aerobic enrichments, and anaerobic microcosms to observe PFAS metabolite formation and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for analysis.
Yaqoob has plans to continue studying PFAS in her graduate program with possible applications to bioremediation and attenuation processes, and aspires for a research career in industry or government. She is also the founder of Graduates for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (GIDE) and aims to increase diversity within the NJIT graduate student body and support traditionally marginalized communities in STEM-related disciplines.
A brief overview of the NSF GRFP award:
- Award: 2023 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP)
- Description:
- The NSF GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding students in NSF-supported disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited institutions in the United States. The GRFP provides a three-year annual stipend of $37,000, plus another $12,000 paid to the student’s home institution.
- The Graduate Research Fellowships are highly competitive, with annual acceptance rates of about 16% from among more than 12,000 applicants.
- Eligibility:
- U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents
- Early-career: undergrad & graduate students
- Pursuing research-based master’s and/or doctoral degrees (no professional degrees)
- Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) or STEM Education
- Full-time enrollment in graduate degree program at accredited, non-profit US institution of higher education
- Acceptance Rate:
- 2019: ~12,200 Applications - ~16% success rate
Wisdom from Accomplished Women in STEM
Written by: Gabrielle Marquez
There were no women's bathrooms for Dr. Steffen-Fluhr when she first joined The Newark College of Engineering (currently The New Jersey Institute of Technology) faculty in 1971. “There was a lot of very crude behavior in those early days that now is actionable and wouldn't exist at all. So the university in that regard, and my experience here has changed dramatically in the last 51 years.” Murray Center Director and associate humanities professor Dr. Steffen-Fluhr said. Women in STEM have made a significant amount of progress for themselves and their fields over the past 6 decades and will continue to do so. Accomplished women in the field each have their individual journeys of success and hardships.
As a practicing structural engineer and senior university graduate lecturer Dr. Taher has experience with the bias that comes with working in STEM as a woman. “People are not always used to the idea of a woman as a structural engineer. The challenge is that they don't always tell you to your face, but sometimes you feel it. and you feel that this is probably what they're thinking.” Dr.Taher says. “They start asking you, how long have you been doing that? Have you worked a lot? Do you have enough experience? I'm not sure they would ask these questions, if I were a man. They're not really sure whether they want to hire a woman. And sometimes you feel that they may not trust you as well as they would have if you were a man.”
Unfortunately experiences similar to this is something that many women who are currently practicing their careers in STEM face. However, the stories of these professional women can be used to teach students tools on how to persevere in the face of bias.
Union County Sheriff Office CSI Unit and Union County Forensic Lab
On a brisk November morning student from the Forensic Science Program traveled to Elizabeth, NJ where they were proved the opportunity to visit the Union County Sheriff’s Office CSI Unit. The tour of the CSI unit was coordinated by Sergeant Adrian Gardner, with the assistance from her co-workers in the unit. The students were provided demonstrations of crime scene techniques that utilized alternate light sources, fingerprint development techniques, and blood reagent chemicals used in locating latent blood, not readily visible to the naked eye. The group was then provided the opportunity to review two "real world” criminal cases. The sheriff officers outlined the cases and highlighted how forensic science played a critical role in solving the crimes.
Upon completion of the Crime Scene unit tour, the group headed to Westfield, NJ to visit the Union County Forensic Laboratory. The laboratory was established in 1972 as the first county prosecutor’s lab in New Jersey. The group was met by Laboratory Director Britton Morin, who provided a tour of the facilities. The group visited the two major areas of biological and chemical analysis, where the lab tests for narcotics and DNA are performed. Members of the laboratory provided discussions regarding the work they perform and fielded questions from the students. The group was also provided a tour of the evidence vaults that house and maintain the evidence in organized spaces. The lab handles thousands of cases each year and was accredited through the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAAB) in 2008. In conclusion, it was a pleasant day for all, filled with opportunities to meet topic experts, hear their stories and experience their workplaces.
New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (NYC-OCME), Manhattan
On Monday, December 5, 2022, students from the forensic biology class had the opportunity to visit the largest public DNA laboratory in the world, the Department of Forensic Biology from the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (NYC-OCME) in Manhattan.
Guided by Dr. Craig O’Connor, Deputy Director and Technical Leader of the lab, the students learnt about the history of the OCME, the day to day operations of the forensic biology lab, the type of samples processed, the current efforts related to the identification of the 9/11 victims, as well as, the research carrying out to improve forensic identification techniques. The visit ended with a tour around the lab facilities, as Dr. O’Connor explained the forensic DNA workflow from the detection of the biological evidence to the DNA profiling. Dr. O’Connor also talked about his career path and how to become a forensic biologist. Thanks to this visit the students had the chance not only to see first-hand the operations of a forensic biology lab, they received advice regarding future career opportunities.
NJIT’s Green Energy and Climate Adaptation Panel
Jonathan Menard, Chief Research Officer at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, Dena Prastos, Founder of Indigo River and Dr. Som Mitra, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science at NJIT, discuss climate change initiatives and outlook from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec. Producer: Paul Brennan. Link to panel discussion (4:15 – 4:55 p.m.) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2022-10-26/njit-s-green-energy-and-climate-adaptation-panel-podcast
Congratulations,
Dr. Alexei Khalizov!
NJIT Researchers Awarded $620k Grant to Study Climate Change Impact of Soot
NJIT researchers have received a $620,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to advance our understanding of the way in which soot particles from combustion of fossil fuels are driving climate change in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Associate Professor of Chemistry Alexei Khalizov and Associate Professor of Chemical and Materials Engineering Gennady Gor will lead the project, “A Multiscale Model for Restructuring of Atmospheric Soot Particles”.
Researchers say the new three-year project aims to improve ways of describing soot nanoparticles in atmospheric models, while advancing atmospheric scientists’ fundamental understanding of the complex microphysics that govern how soot particles travel and change their composition in the atmosphere.
The results could also aid policymakers in developing more effective control strategies for soot pollution in the future.
“Soot is a potent climate-forcing agent with a warming contribution as much as one third of that from carbon dioxide, yet there is still much uncertainty over exactly what impact these particles are having in our atmosphere compared to carbon dioxide,” said Khalizov. “Our project will help reduce this uncertainty by improving the ability of models to describe the evolution of these particles in the atmosphere and produce more accurate predictions of climate warming caused by soot.”
Soot nanoparticles are typically released through combustion, produced by burning fuels or during forest fires for example. Once in the atmosphere, they absorb solar light, converting it into heat and warming the air.
The particles also engage in condensation-evaporation cycles with trace gas chemicals and water vapor.
Khalizov and Gor say that through this process, the transport and optical properties of the particles can be drastically altered — in turn, changing their impact on air quality and climate in a way that can be hard to predict using existing modeling approaches.
“Soot particles have complex lacy structure and can be best described as fractal aggregates of graphitic spherules. … But in the atmosphere, these aggregates collapse into compact globules, altering the optical and gas transport properties of soot,” explained Gor. “Existing models cannot capture such changes because they represent these complex particles in a highly simplified way, most often as single spheres.”
The team is now developing a new model that explicitly considers the complex morphology of soot particles in the atmospheric environment, with the scope of the project spanning atomic-level simulations of gas-surface interactions and advanced microscopy, performed at NJIT’s Otto H. York Center for Environmental Engineering and Science and Brookhaven National Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials.
Once developed, the research will be incorporated into a larger atmospheric model at University of Illinois–Urbana Champaign (UIUC), called PartMC-MOSAIC, through collaboration with UIUC Atmospheric Sciences Professor Nicole Riemer.
“These collaborative efforts to enhance our modeling capabilities should lead to a much clearer picture of soot pollution’s impact on our climate, our air quality and human health overall,” said Khalizov.
The project was initiated with support from the NJIT Faculty SEED award, and builds on research themes from Khalizov’s previous NSF project, “Kinetics and Mechanism of Restructuring of Atmospheric Soot and Associated Impact on Light Absorption”.
Through the course of the grant, the project will also provide interdisciplinary training for a postdoctoral researcher, as well as offer cutting-edge research experience for graduate, undergraduate and high school students, including students from low-income families (via the ACS SEED program).
NJIT students recently involved in the team’s related NSF-supported projects include chemical and materials engineering (CME) graduate Ogochukwu Enekwizu, now a postdoctoral researcher at Brookhaven National Laboratory; Ali Hasani, NJIT Ph.D. student joining the U.S. FDA as a postdoctoral researcher; Ella Ivanova, a CME Ph.D. student involved in theoretical and computational work; Egor Demidov, an undergraduate CME student and two-time Provost Summer Research awardee; and Divjyot Singh, an NJIT math and physics double major and two-time Provost Summer Research awardee who joined Los Alamos National Laboratory as a post-baccalaureate researcher.
Congratulations, Dr. Hao Chen!
NJIT Researchers' Paper Earns Cover Feature in Journal of Organic Chemistry
The recently published paper, "One-Step Regio- and Stereoselective Electrochemical Synthesis of Orexin Receptor Antagonist Oxidative Metabolites" was featured on the cover of the Nov. 18 issue of Journal of Organic Chemistry. Huifang Yao, a Ph.D student, and professor Hao Chen are authors on the paper, which is collaborative work with Merck. Their research reports on a novel, one-step electrochemical synthesis of milligrams of chiral α-hydroxyl amide metabolites of two orexin receptor antagonists, which would need multiple tedious steps for synthesis if using a traditional approach. This process can significantly shorten the time cycle for electrochemical synthesis.
Alexei Khalizov (CES) and Gennady Gor (CME) received a $620k grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve ways of describing soot nanoparticles in atmospheric models. Soot is a potent climate forcer with a warming contribution as much as 1/3 of that from carbon dioxide. However, unlike with carbon dioxide, for soot this contribution is known with a large uncertainty. The project “A Multiscale Model for Restructuring of Atmospheric Soot Particles” will help to reduce the uncertainty by improving the ability of models to describe the evolution of soot particles in the atmosphere and allowing to produce more accurate predictions of climate warming caused by soot. Notably, this collaborative project was initiated with support from the NJIT Faculty SEED award. It is also a natural extension of Alexei's previous NSF project “Kinetics and Mechanism of Restructuring of Atmospheric Soot and Associated Impact on Light Absorption”.
Among the many things that made the grant application successful is the research contributions from Alexei’s and Gennady’s students. One of them, Dr. Ogochukwu Enekwizu (CME), is now a postdoctoral researcher at Brookhaven National Laboratory. She contributed to both experimental and computational aspects of preliminary work. Ali Hasani (CES), who is about to defend his PhD thesis, was responsible for the experimental aspects of the project. Ella Ivanova, a PhD student in CME, has been carrying out the theoretical and computational work. An undergraduate student, Egor Demidov is a CME senior and a twice Provost Summer Research awardee, sees his near future as PhD student. Divjyot Singh, a math and physics double major and a twice Provost Summer Research awardee, contributed to the computational part of the project. He graduated last year and joined the Los Alamos National Laboratory as a post-baccalaureate researcher.
NJIT Researchers Unlock a New Method for Testing Protein-Based Drugs
Written by: Jesse Jenkins
Published: Monday, September 26, 2022
NJIT researchers Yongling Ai (left) and Hao Chen (right) say a newly developed lab technique could spark a “paradigm shift” in biopharmaceuticals testing, promising to speed up drug discovery and development of therapeutic proteins and vaccines.
Please click here: https://news.njit.edu/njit-researchers-unlock-new-method-testing-protein...
NJIT Forensic Anthropologist, Sara Zapico Investigates New Leads to Identify the Nameless
Ever since police ended the 40-year hunt for the Golden State Killer and identified Joseph DeAngelo by uploading crime scene DNA to a popular genealogy website in 2018, advances in DNA forensics have sparked an explosion in once-unsolvable criminal cold cases being resurrected and cracked after a generation. Yet, for the missing and unidentified, it is another story — often referred to as the “nation’s silent mass disaster.” Read more
New Jersey Association of Forensic Scientists (NJAFS) Scholarship Award
Congratulations to Mira Sapozhnikov for being awarded the New Jersey Association of Forensic Scientists (NJAFS) scholarship award. Mira was presented with the award at the NJAFS annual seminar in Lambertville, NJ on Friday, May 6th for her academic achievement in the Forensic Science program at NJIT. This is the second year in a row that an NJIT forensic science student has won this award. Congratulations Mira!
The Department of Chemistry will host a Forensic Photography Workshop
Registration for the workshop can be found here.
Forensic Photography Workshop flyer
NJIT Co-Hosts Second Annual Forensic Science Summit for the Criminal Defense Bar
Written by: Jesse Jenkins
Published: Tuesday, March 1, 2022
The topic of racial and cognitive bias headlines one of NJ’s biggest forensic science conferences for defense attorneys this month.
On March 22-23, New Jersey’s forensic and legal professionals will convene again at the 2022 Forensic Science Summit for the Criminal Defense Bar to discuss the latest advances in forensic sience and its increasing influence in today’s courtrooms.
The summit is considered among the leading annual forensic science conferences for New Jersey’s defense attorneys and investigators, promising a variety of talks from experts and collaborative training workshops with forensic scientists, law enforcement, legal professionals and students from across the state.
For the second consecutive year, the event will be co-hosted by the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey (ACDL-NJ), New Jersey State Office of the Public Defender (NJOPD), and New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), which launched New Jersey's first forensic science undergraduate degree program in 2018.
"After the success of the inaugural summit, our aim again this year is to continue highlighting the importance of competency in the forensic sciences for members of the defense bar,” said NJIT’s Forensic Science Program Director David Fisher. “Through the great partnership formed between NJIT's forensic science program, the NJOPD and ACDL-NJ, we’re looking forward to another meaningful conference for defense attorneys seeking vital education about the ever-increasing science involved in their cases."
The summit’s keynote will be delivered by Janis Puracal, executive director of the nonprofit organization Forensic Justice Project. The nonprofit is aimed at preventing and correcting wrongful convictions due to false or misleading forensic evidence, which has been a contributing factor in 24% of all wrongful convictions nationally, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
Puracal is scheduled to give her talk on implicit racial bias in forensic science.
“The presumption of guilt facing Black and brown people is very real,” says Puracal, who started the Forensic Justice Project after her brother was wrongfully convicted and later exonerated. “We want to think that forensic science will save us, but it doesn’t work that way. Implicit racial bias can impact every aspect of the system, even the forensics. We can, and should, be doing much better than we are right now.”
This year’s summit will feature a number of other expert talks on emerging issues from the field of digital forensics, including discussion over geofence warrants used by law enforcement to access anonymized data from devices within targeted geographic regions.
The multi-day event’s diverse discussions also include presentations by former Somerset County investigator and NJIT Forensic Science Professor of Practice Kevin Parmelee, on recent advances and challenges of fingerprint evidence submitted in court, as well as talks covering the latest in underwater crime scene investigation techniques by professional diver and founder of the Northeast Public Safety Divers, Timothy Andro.
The summit will be free to students and will be held via Zoom webcast.
For further event details, visit: http://www.acdlnj.org
To register, email Judith Smith at judith.smith@opd.nj.gov.
Kevin Belfield, dean of NJIT’s College of Science and Liberal Arts, has been named fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
RSC is the world’s oldest professional society of chemists, founded in 1841, and has grown to over 54,000 members around the world. The society awards fellow status to distinguished chemists that have served a minimum of five years in a senior position and have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the chemical sciences.
“It’s humbling to even be considered for this recognition, yet alone receive it, particularly considering the distinguished chemists and Nobel Laureates that currently are fellows,” said Belfield. “These include David MacMillan, M. Stanley Whittingham and Sir Gregory Winter, winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2021, 2019 and 2018, respectively. … It’s a thrill to be in such company.”
Highlighting a decorated research career spanning more than 30 years, Belfield is perhaps most noted as a trailblazer in the field of photochemistry — specifically creating two-photon (light-activated) processes to nondestructively image and cause optical changes in three dimensions within materials. His pioneering work has led to breakthroughs in the development of rewritable 3D optical data storage, as well as two-photon absorbing materials that are now commonly used in microfabrication and 3D printing today.
Belfield is also widely recognized in his field for his research developing novel fluorescence contrast agents, useful in bioimaging for tracking cancer progression and wound healing. Such work is also now being harnessed to study processes associated with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
Belfield has published over 250 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and conference proceedings that have been cited over 7,500 times.
He holds 15 patents and leads the Belfield Research Group, which is currently developing everything from light-activated cancer-fighting drugs, to probes for labeling biological samples and for advanced bioimaging, to novel lightweight high-strength polymers and plastics that can be used as artificial joints and cardiovascular implants, among other medical applications.
Belfield arrived at NJIT as CSLA Dean and Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science in 2014, and has since assumed a leading role in student mentorship and education in chemistry, launching a number of vital initiatives and programs at the college including New Jersey’s first Forensic Science degree program and the Professional Science Masters in Cell and Gene Therapy Sciences within the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science since 2018.
The latest honor from RSC follows several significant career achievements and honors, including being inducted into the National Commission of Cooperative Education Co-op Hall of Fame (2010), being elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2013) and being named Fellow of the American Chemical Society (2019).
Belfield is currently involved in research funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Education.
2nd Annual Forensic Science Summit for the Criminal Defense Bar March 22 and 23, 2022
For more information please click on the link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IMGQtZbf7-aHD0s_mFWMn627CPRUKFP6/view
Department of Chemistry Forensic Science Program
On Monday, February 7, forensic science majors taking Prof Fisher's Forensic Microscopy (FRSC 480) class visited the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Lab located in Newark, NJ. The Laboratories and Scientific Services is the forensic and scientific arm of US CBP, providing forensic and scientific testing in the area of trade enforcement, weapons of mass destruction, intellectual property rights, and narcotics enforcement. US CBP Scientific Services coordinates technical and scientific support to all CBP trade and border protection activities. Students in NJIT's FRSC program learned about this unique lab as well as employment in the federal government.
KUDOS to the Department of Chemistry Tutoring Center!
From the desk of Dean Kevin Belfield.
I wanted to share highlights of the Chemistry tutoring center in CKB for the past two weeks (see attached photo) as conveyed to me by Dr. Bhavani Balasubramanian of the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science. Every spot in the center has been occupied with more students than space permits on occasion.
After the Director, Dr. Balasubramanian, and her colleagues noticed that a large number of students did poorly in the second common exam (this has been observed by other departments as well) they implemented an extra credit assignment. The assignment covered all the relevant chapters for the exam and was broken into 3 separate quizzes. Students had to do the work in the presence of a tutor or an instructor and get their work checked. Attendance was recorded and it was required to obtain credit. This resulted in hundreds of students coming to the tutoring center and instructor office hours (office hours were expanding and students from any section could go to any office hour). The response has been amazing.
Students embraced this opportunity and have been spending anywhere from 4-5 hours with a tutor or instructor to complete these assignments. This afforded an opportunity to help them learn, teach them how to learn, and correct their mistakes. The tutors have been incredible and have handled the traffic admirably. We are all really proud of our tutors, UL's and the students as well and wanted to share this with you. Everyone has been going above and beyond to enable student learning and success.
Kudos to Dr. Balasubramanian and all involved.
Graduate Student Association Research Day, November 30, 2021
CONGRATULATIONS Indrani Gupta!
Indrani is one of our 4th year, Ph.D. student in Environmental Science. The title of her e-poster presentation: "Bacterial degradation and pure water generation by nanocarbon immobilized membranes via membrane distillation."
My research focuses on degrading microbial contaminants in water and generating high purity water via the use of nanomaterial coated polymeric membranes in a process known as membrane distillation.
Congratulations Dr. Hao Chen and his research group who recently received a Colgate-Palmolive Research Grant!
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PhD student Pengyi Zhao (graduated in Jan 2021 from my group) won 2020 EAS (eastern analytical symposium) graduate award.
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PhD student Qi Wang from my lab also won 2021 EAS graduate award.
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PhD (part-time) student Joanne Chiu, won the ASMS Student Travel Award from the Delaware Valley Mass Spectrometry Discussion Group.
Exciting news for the department of Chemistry Forensic Science Program!
$1.4 Million Federal Grant Launches NJIT Forensic Science Initiative
The Forensic Science Initiative (FSI) proposal builds upon our partnership with the City of Newark and Newark Board of Education by creating a new pathway that will: (1) provide additional trajectories to college for our city’s youth, (2) strengthen their science preparation for highly-employable STEM fields through an intensive Forensic Science experience, and (3) support their admission to NJIT beginning September 2023 as first-year college students.
CONGRATULATIONS Ali Hasani!
Ali Hasani received Honorable Mention for Best Visuals in the 2021 GSA's Annual Three-Minute Research Presentation Competition, which took place on April 13. Competing students joined the challenge to describe their research to a general audience in three minutes, using only one slide as a visual aid. The goal was to communicate their research succinctly and effectively to those who are not familiar with their work or field. Ali’s presentation was about processing of soot in the atmosphere and its impacts on climate. Ali’s advisor is Alexei Khalizov.
CONGRATULATIONS, Dr. Ogochukwu Enekwizu!
Ogochukwu Enekwizu, who graduated with a PhD in Chemical Engineering under the advisement of Alexei Khalizov, will speak at the NJIT’s commencement event on May 12 of 2021. Ogo was nominated to be the graduate student speaker because of her significant accomplishments, including an outstanding academic performance, innovation in research, and excellent service to the university and broader community. Her research achievements, presentations, and service have been marked by multiple awards, including the 2020 APERG award, which provided her with a $25k scholarship towards her PhD research. Currently, Ogo is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Environmental and Climate Sciences Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory (https://www.bnl.gov/staff/oenekwizu).
CONGRATULATIONS, Dr. Pyong Hwa Kim!
Dr. Kim is also a Chemistry Ph.D. Graduate Spring 2021!
Dr. Pyong Hwa Kim will be joining the Laboratory of Genetics led by Dr. Michael W. Young (2017 Nobel Laureate) at Rockefeller University as a postdoctoral trainee.
Under the guidance of Dr. Yong-Ick Kim at NJIT, his graduate work focused on reconstituting the cyanobacterial circadian clock in a test tube and functionally analyzing the role of each clock protein. Upon joining the Young lab, this experience would transition into studying the clock components in Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies). Dr. Kim wishes to understand how the mechanistic interactions of endogenous clock components “tick” with a 24-h periodicity.
CES Welcomes another new Faculty member in 2021
Please join us to welcome Dr. Sara Casado-Zapico our Environmental Forensic Science Faculty member.
Dr. Zapico brief bio
Sara C. Zapico received her BS in Biology and her BS in Biochemistry from the University of Oviedo, Spain, and her MS in Forensic Anthropology and Genetics from the University of Granada, Spain. She completed her PhD in Biochemistry, with a focus in biomedical sciences, at the University Institute of Oncology of Asturias, Spain. This dual background defines her current research interests and projects, exploring the application of biochemical approaches to forensic science issues, like age-at-death estimation and the determination of post-mortem interval, with implications on aging and biomedical research. Based on these interests and applications, Sara was awarded with the Peter Buck Award Postdoctoral Fellowship at Smithsonian Institution, where she is still affiliated as a research collaborator. She completed her postdoctoral training as an associate at the Forensic Unit from the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland, and with other visiting scientist positions. After that, she was appointed as an assistant teaching professor and graduate program director of the Professional Science Master’s in Forensic Science at Florida International University. Sara will join the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences at NJIT this Fall 2021, and she will open her Interdisciplinary Forensic and Biomedical Sciences Lab (ForenBioS). Interested students and potential collaborators, please, contact her.
NJIT Co-Hosts 2021 Forensic Science Summit for the Criminal Defense Bar
March 23-25, New Jersey Institute of Technology is set to join the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey (ACDL-NJ) and New Jersey State Office of the Public Defender (NJOPD) in co-hosting the 2021 Forensic Science Summit for the Criminal Defense Bar.
Please click on the link to learn more! https://news.njit.edu/njit-co-hosts-2021-forensic-science-summit-crimina...
New Study Shows Microplastics Turn Into 'Hubs' for Pathogens, Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
It’s estimated that an average-sized wastewater treatment plant serving roughly 400,000 residents will discharge up to 2,000,000 microplastic particles into the environment each day.
Please click on the link to learn more! https://news.njit.edu/study-shows-microplastic-waste-becomes-hubs-pathogens-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria
CES Welcomes 2 new Faculty members in 2021
Please join us to welcome Dr. Genoa Warner our Biological Chemistry Faculty member & Dr. Lijie Zhang our Environmental Forensic Science Faculty member.
Dr. Genoa Warner brief bio
Dr. Genoa Warner is opening her lab in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science at NJIT in Fall 2021 to study endocrine disrupting chemicals. She received a BS from Yale University in Chemistry and a PhD from Carnegie Mellon University in Chemistry. For her graduate work, she developed small molecule oxidative catalysts for degrading micropollutants in wastewater. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Comparative Biosciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she trained in reproductive toxicology. She was awarded a K99/R00 Career Transition Award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to support her research on the mechanisms of environmental chemical toxicity in the ovary. At NJIT, she will continue to study the effect of endocrine disrupting chemicals on the reproductive system using chemical biology methods.
Dr. Lijie Zhang brief bio
Lijie Zhang received her Bachelor’s degree from Tsinghua University (China) in 2012 and her Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis in 2018, with both degrees in environmental engineering. Her doctoral research was focused on mineral-water interactions and their implications in degradation of organic compounds and transport of fluids in subsurface engineered systems, such as geological CO2 sequestration or conventional/unconventional oil/gas recovery. After that, she joined Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a postdoctoral research associate, working on transformation of mercury (Hg) at critical interfaces. She investigated the biogeochemical and mineralogical processes that control Hg speciation, microbial uptake, methylation, and demethylation in natural water and sediments. Dr. Zhang’s research interests include mineral-microbe-water interactions, trace metal biogeochemistry, contaminant fate and transport, remediation, and greenhouse gas emission.
CES Welcomes Our New Inorganic Faculty member Dr. Michael Eberhart
Dr. Michael S. Eberhart earned his Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from New Mexico State University and his Ph.D. in chemistry from Columbia University. At Columbia, he investigated structural chemistry, electron transfer, and hydride transfer reactions of copper hydride clusters, which are reagents for the selective reduction of unsaturated carbonyls. In 2016, he began a postdoctoral appointment at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill to pursue his interest in photoinduced electron transfer reactions. There, he investigated factors that could be used to direct charge transfer processes with the objective of improving the efficiency and stability of water oxidizing photoanodes. In 2018, Michael Eberhart joined the Solar Energy Conversion group at Argonne National Laboratory where he uses synthesis, optical transient absorption spectroscopy, and synchrotron x-ray methods to investigate Copper(I) photosensitizers in confined environments. Dr. Eberhart’s research interests include molecular synthesis, photoexcited state charge transfer reactions, biomimetic strategies for artificial photosynthesis, electrochemistry/electrocatalysis, and photoelectrocatalysis for solar energy conversion. Dr. Eberhart will join the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Fall 2020. Students and other researchers interested in joining the group are encouraged to contact Dr. Eberhart.
President of the American Chemical Society visits NJIT
Professor Luis Echegoyen, President of the American Chemical Society, visited NJIT on February 5, 2020. He delivered a lecture titled Buckyball Maracas: Fullerene Nanocontainers that Stabilize Unusual Atoms and Clusters Inside. Professor Luis Echegoyen is also the Robert A. Welch Chair Professor of Chemistry at the University of Texas at El Paso. He was honored as the 2020 Organic Syntheses Distinguished Seminar Speaker and held meetings with faculty and students.
Professor Echegoyen (Center) flanked by Kevin Belfield, Dean of the College of Science and Liberal Arts and Wunmi Sadik, Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science.
Dr. Kevin Parmelee: Crime Scene Investigation - FRSC 307-101
On Tuesday, September 10, 2019, students from Dr. Kevin Parmelee's Crime Scene Investigation course (FRSC 307) visited the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Forensic Laboratory. The building also houses the Crime Scene Investigation Unit which uses the most current technology and equipment to gather physical evidence from crime scenes. The CSI Unit responds to the scene of major crimes and is responsible for crime scene examination, preparation of scene diagrams, photography, and evidence collection. The Forensic Laboratory has the capability to analyze or compare fingerprints, impression evidence, firearms & ammunition, tool marks, and more. Dr. Parmelee, who is also a Detective with the agency, explains to students some of the past cases his office has worked on (photo #2), how the ballistics laboratory retrieves bullets from a cotton box (photo #3) and water tank (photo #4) after test-firing a firearm. The students were also able to see the CSI Unit's Mobile Forensic Lab which can respond to crime scenes (photo #5).
Dr. Mengyan Li, Assistant Professor
Dr. Mengyan Li's team received a four-year grant from USDA to sponsor their research on the molecular mechanisms and ecological impacts of antibiotic resistance in crop agriculture. The team will focus on the soil and plant microorganisms that live symbiotically with crops. This study will greatly advance our fundamental understanding of the antibiotic biotransformation and antibiotic resistance transfer processes and provide tangible management guidance to promote green agriculture. In addition to the scientific communities, outcomes of this project will benefit a broader range of communities, particularly farmers and consumers with concerns of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance issues.
