NEWSLETTER - Albert Dorman Honors College

NEWSLETTER2004 Volume 3, Issue 2Spring 2004Honors Students In The Spotlightby Lisa Kardos and Vivek GangiredlaAlbert DormanHonors CollegeStudents from the Albert Dorman HonorsCollege have always been among the top studentsat NJIT, balancing academics with ahealthy mix of extra-curricular activities. A fewof the Honors students have been in the spotlightrecently.Biren Bhatt, a junior majoring in engineeringscience, was awardeda $26,000 scholarshipfrom the Harry S. TrumanScholarship Foundation,one of the most covetedand competitive collegescholarships in the nation.Bhatt was the onlystudent from a NewJersey college this yearto be named a TrumanScholar. Bhatt won the scholarship for hisBiren Bhatt with NJITPresident BobAltenkirch.Truman policy proposal to eradicate tuberculosisfrom American prisons, and for working toimprove public health in cities.Karisa Solt, another brilliant Honorsscholar, became the youngest student ever tograduate from NJIT on January 30th of 2004.Karisa graduated with a degree in Biomedicalengineering and was also the university’s valedictorian.She’s already been accepted on a fullscholarship to medical school, and intends tospecialize in orthopedic surgery or neurology.intends to specialize in orthopedic surgery orneurology.Manoj Bupathi, a sophomore in theHonors college, intends to work one day asboth a cardiologist and a surgeon. He says itwill take him “many years of schooling” to fulfillhis ambition, and will thus join medical schoolafter studying for just 2 years at NJIT. Bupathi,who joined an accelerated program in whichstudents spend three years at NJIT and thenproceed to medical school, will leave thatprogram a year early for medical school since hetook college-credit courses before enrolling atthe Honors College. He also took summercourses at NJIT in order to complete the programand join medical school as soon as possible.Sharae Robinson, a senior at the DormanHonors College, recently appeared on MTV’sRoom Raiders, a reality show in which a womanrummages through the bedrooms of three men,then selects one she’d like to date, based solelyon what she sees in his room. Robinson is aspoken word artist, and has been performing atvarious local venues. Shewill be opening for renownedpoet Nikki Giovanniat the Richard StocktonCollege in April, and isinterested in pursuing acareer in writing, spokenword, television, music andradio. She is hoping thather stint on MTV willeventually lead to a job asan MTV Video Jockey.Sharae Robinson onMTV’s Room RaidersTABLE OF CONTENTSHonors Students In The Spotlight 1Passing The Torch: Albert Dorman 2Honors Students Meet NASA Astronaut 3Athletic Field Redesign by Honors Student 4ADHC Appoints New Assistant Dean 5Spring Colloquia 6Honors Council 6Building a Community 7Graduating ADHC Senior Class of 2004 8Honorable Seniors 9Robotics Competition 10Siblings in the Honors College 11Honors Events 12One

Spring 2004Albert Dorman Honors CollegePassing The Torch: Albert Dormanby Rina ShahVolume 3, Issue 2This past winter, NJIT had a very special visitfrom one of the most honorable men in ourhistory, Mr. Albert Dorman. Mr. Dorman was herein December to rededicate the Honors Collegeafter it moved from Tiernan Hall to the fourthfloor of East Building, the latest addition to ourcampus. According to the January 2004 editionof Leadership and Management in Engineeringmagazine, Mr. Dorman is a “man of broad visionand many accomplishments, both within andoutside the field of civil engineering.”For example, he is the onlyperson to be both an HonoraryMember of the ASCE and a Fellowin the American Institute ofArchitects simultaneously. He hasalso worked for over fifty years onall seven continents and has evenhad a college named after him(Albert Dorman Honors Collegehere at NJIT). In the 1984 Olympics,Mr. Dorman also played animportant role – he carried theOlympic torch through the streetsof Los Angeles.Graduating number one inthe Newark College of Engineeringclass of 1945, Mr. Dorman wasonly 19, but already well established.He had earned his mechanicalengineering degree while maintainingpresidency of the college student body. He waseven the editor of his school’s yearbook. Mr.Dorman was going places and that was evenmore evident after he graduated with a 4.0 GPAfrom University of Southern California, where heearned his master’s degree in civil engineering.By the time he was 28 years old, Mr.Dorman already formed his own civil engineeringcompany in California. At the same time, heestablished an architectural/engineering firmand was also the civil engineer on record forDisneyland in Anaheim, California (1954-1955).The New Honors Logo willfeature a torch in themiddle of the scroll.Featured above is a veryrough draft of the design.Mr. Dorman has had a great deal ofsuccess throughout his lifetime, including thecompletion of notable projects such as Interstate70 in Colorado, Air Force One complex inMaryland, Batman Bridge in Australia, and manymore. The most important thing to note howeveris that Mr. Dorman, once he was successful,remembered where he came from and gaveback to everyone who helped him get to wherehe was. He gave back to the community ofNJIT thus enabling the establishmentof an Honors College sothat students can succeed andhave the best education possible.Mr. Dorman, who is so successfulthat he is a licensed professionalengineer in nine states and anarchitect in two, did not forgetthe “little people” that helped himget to where he is today.His two guidelines for life are:“Always do more than is expectedof you, and understand theperspectives of those you workfor and with.” Mr. Dorman is aman who listens, who cares, andwhose generosity surpasses all ofhis good traits. The most importantthing to learn from him is topass on the torch of wisdom andsuccess so that those who follow your footstepscan also succeed. All Honors studentsthus need to remember one thing above allelse, to pass the torch and pass the wisdom,giving back to our communities so that othersmay succeed.The Honors College is also going to havea new design emphasizing this motto. Insteadof just having the scroll as the logo, they willput a torch in the middle of the scroll to illustratethe importance of the “passing of thetorch,” which Mr. Dorman emphasizes greatly.Two

Albert Dorman Honors CollegeSpring 2004Volume 3, Issue 2Honors Students Meet NASA Astronautby Haresh VisweshwarOn March 5, 2004, veteran astronautFranklin Chang-Diaz, from the National Aeronauticsand Space Administration (NASA), visitedNJIT. Costa Rican by birth, Dr. Chang-Diazreceived a bachelor of science in mechanicalengineering from Connecticut University, adoctorate in applied physics from MIT, and is arecipient of four honorary Doctorates from theUniversidad Nacional de Costa Rica (Doctor ofScience), the University of Connecticut (Doctorof Science), Babson College (Doctor of Law),and the Universidade de Santiago de Chile(Doctor of Science).Dr. Chang-Diaz hasthe record for the mostnumber of space flightshaving been on seven ofthem since he joined NASAin 1980. His space flightexperience includes SpaceShuttles Columbia, Atlantis,Discovery, Endeavour andMir. His current area ofresearch has been onrocket propulsion based onmagnetically confined hightemperature plasmas.The topic of hispresentation at NJIT wasthe Variable Specific ImpulseMagnetoplasmaRocket (VASIMR), a hightech propulsion methodthat could cut current space travel times byhalf. Dr. Chang-Diaz heads the ongoing programat the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratoryat NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC). Thetechnology uses universally found propellantssuch as helium, hydrogen, deuterium, etc.Heated ions are then accelerated via an expandingmagnetic field produced by superconductingmagnets operating at space tempera-Astronaut Chang-Diaz with Dean Bloomand the Honors Students who attendedthe presentationtures. The total system weight, including thepower conversion systems, is expected toweigh about one metric ton and have a payloadcapacity of thirty-six metric tons. Theoretically,with VASIMR rockets, one could travel to Marsin less than two months with enough suppliesto sustain a crew for an extended period oftime.A highly complicated process, the technologyis expected to power manned flightwithin the next twenty years and shows greatpotential for success. A revolutionary propulsionsystem, it still has a longway to go in crossing someof the technological barriers,but will someday finduse in a variety of propulsionapplications.Along with Dr.Chang-Diaz, other guestattendees were CongressmanRobert Menendez ofthe 13 th District, his DistrictDirector and Press Secretary.The presentationwasalso attended by professorsfrom the NJIT Departmentsof Physics, MechanicalEngineering and ElectricalEngineering, seniormembers of administrationand eight undergraduatestudents, including fourscholars from the Albert Dorman Honors College.Seating at the event was by invitation only,and the honors students who attended weregrateful to the Honors College for giving themthe opportunity to attend the presentation andinteract with a distinguished astronaut whorose to great heights from humble beginningsand continues to be an inspiration for manyyoung students aspiring to reach for the sky.Three

Albert Dorman Honors CollegeSpring 2004Volume 3, Issue 2Athletic Field Redesign by Honors Studentby David LeeRick Rush, a 3rd year Honors Architecturemajor, is currently working on redesigningthe entrance to NJIT’s athletic field. Rick decidedto volunteer for this project partiallybecause he had prior experience designing forcollege campuses while working as an intern. Healso wanted to help out NJIT and improvestudent life in the school. While designing thenew spaces for the athletic field, Rick had tokeep both the goals of the athletic departmentand the needs of NJIT students in consideration.He spoke of the desire to attract morestudents to the field by creating a social areathrough “positive architecture”. The athleticdepartment’s objectives were to raise NJIT’sprofile in order to draw in more visitors andalumni who would see how the appearance ofthe campus had improved.The design needed to beaesthetically pleasing, costeffectiveand simple, insteadof being an expensive spectaclethat would divert attentionaway from the field. Theconcept of an interactivespace with multiple uses would be an importantaspect of his design. Rick would also have toavoid creating an “introverted” space thatwould be isolated from the rest of the campus.Currently there is only a dilapidatedconcession stand and a muddy grass patchnear the entrance. Rick intends to rebuild thisarea by creating a communal space next to theentrance while also allowing an unobstructedpath leading up to the stands. Talking about hisplans, Rick described three proposed ideas. Thefirst idea involves a concrete bleacher withtwo-foot intervals between each of the foursteps, which would be adjacent to a newconcession stand and two bathrooms. This areawould be placed immediately next to the entrancegate. On the other side of the mainbleachers would be two new bullpens. TheAn aesthetically pleasing ,yet cost-effective and simpledesignsecond idea involves the use of an ellipticaldesign to create seating spaces next to theentrance gate; these seats would be set atvarious levels, allowing various viewpoints. Aconcrete walkway would run through the middleof the bleacher and the concession stands, andthe bathrooms would be located on the otherside of the field. Rick also spoke of using varioustints of concrete in order to create apattern of light and dark hues. In the final idea,Rick uses a grid pattern with different coloredconcrete tiles. These tiles would be raised atvarious heights in order to allow for multipleuses such as seating, tables, etc.A common element in each of Rick’sthree ideas is the use of concrete. Aside fromits affordability, Rick cited an aesthetic reasonfor the use of concrete. Hepointed out that many of thebuildings on campus areconstructed out of concrete;therefore in order to preventan isolated space, he decidedto pursue the idea of integratingthe entrance area tothe rest of the NJIT campus by using the samematerial. He also hoped to design somethingthat would stand the test of time.When asked about how non-architectswould react to the design, whether or not theywould enjoy or understand the spatial qualitiesof the new entrance area, Rick noted that evenif people did not like the design, the socialinteraction that would be generated wouldnegate their aversion to the aesthetic qualitiesof the spaces. He then went on to say thatNJIT mainly has isolated social spaces, and thatthere were few places in which students couldinteract with each other. He hopes to helpchange this through his new design by creatinga more open environment that would bring morepeople together, thus improving the quality oflife on campus.Four

Spring 2004Albert Dorman Honors CollegeADHC Appoints New Assistant Deanby Victor KetoVolume 3, Issue 2The Albert Dorman Honors College hasrecently appointed Ms. Shane Williamson as thenew Assistant Dean for Academics. Working inconjunction with the Honors College faculty, MsWilliamson will be helping students fulfill theircourse requirements, as well as utilize thecollege’s many educational and career opportunities.The opportunities availableto students include leadershipdevelopment skills training, experiencewith research projects, andacademic scholarships.Ms. Williamson can identifywith the needs of students,because she understands theimportance of making the most ofone’s education. Prior to comingto NJIT, she was a First YearCounselor at Montclair StateUniversity since 2001, where herprimary responsibilities includingadvising, teaching FreshmenSeminar, collaborating with faculty,and coordinating orientation.She was the director of theMulticultural Center at BloomsburgUniversity in Pennsylvania from1997 to 2001, and is currentlyfinishing a series of doctorate level courses atRutgers University for her degree in Social andPhilosophical Foundations in Education.The Honors College administration,including Ms. Williamson, is committed to providingstudents with the skills needed to performwell in the job market. Ms. Williamsonbelieves that students who benefit from theeducational resources of the Honors Collegecan become successful in the career paths thatthey choose, and that as alumni they will beable to support the Honors College communitythat has fostered their intellectual growth. Thenew Dean, Dr. Bloom, describes this process astMs. Shane Williamsona cyclical trend that will benefit both studentsand the Honors College community.The Albert Dorman Honors College iscurrently expanding the range of services itprovides to students, including the addition ofmany new honors courses. Ms. Williamson willbe helping students decide which honorscourses to register for, as well asthe number of courses they enrollin each year. With the aid of anew state-of-the-art computerizedtracking system, Ms.Williamson and the Honors Collegefaculty can be sure that studentsare taking the honors coursesnecessary to receive honors creditin their respective majors. Thenew Assistant Dean for Academicswill be helping the Honors Collegeto further increase its students’success in both academia and thejob market.Ms. Williamson can be reachedvia e-mail at syw@njit.edu, or atthe Honors College main office inroom 422 of the East Building.Other Honors College AdministrationDr. Joel Bloom: joel.s.bloom@njit.eduDean and VP for Academic & Student ServicesDr. David Reibstein: reibstein@njit.eduAssociate DeanMaria Kihiczak: kihiczak@njit.eduAssistant Dean for RecruitmentLois Chipepo: chipepo@admin.njit.eduAssistant to the DeanHarriette Massey: massey@njit.eduHonors College SecretaryFive

Albert Dorman Honors CollegeSpring 2004Volume 3, Issue 2Spring Colloquiaby Matt FalsettiHonors Councilby Ariel Ravell and Christina RecineThe colloquia scheduled for this semesteroffer exciting new lectures by industry andgovernment leaders on various subject matters.The following is a list of the upcoming colloquia.• On Wednesday, the 14th of April, DennisLongstreet, the ETHICON Worldwide (a Johnson& Johnson Company) Company Group Chairmanwill visit NJIT. This colloquium will be held at2:30pm in 1400 GITC.• On Monday, April 19th, from 11:30 -1:00pm in GITC 1400, Congressman Donald M.Payne, who represents Newark, will be giving atalk on Education and the Workforce of theFuture.• Honors Night at the Theatre will be heldon Thursday, April 22. Students of NJIT andRutgers will perform a special production ofSomething to Declare: Tales of Immigration.Directed by Timothy Raphael, the performancewill be held at7:00 PM inBradley HallTheatre atRutgers Newark.• James P.Fox, Chief ofStaff in GovernorMcGreevey’sOffice, will bepresenting aVisit Washington D.C!colloquim on the21st of April,from 2:30 - 4:00pm in GITC 1400.• Another exciting oppurtunity beingprovided to Honors Students is a trip to WashingtonD.C at the invitation of CongressmanDonald M. Payne, who represents Newark. Thetrip is scheduled for May 18-19 or May 19-20,and students will be required to pay $50.Interested students should contact Ms.Chipepo, Assistant to the Dean, as soon aspossible since only a very limited number ofstudents can be taken on the trip.The Albert Dorman Honors College,established in 1993, continues to encourageand motivate NJIT’s scholars through specialcourses, colloquium, and activities. As such,the Honors Student Council serves to helphonors students in these respects.The purpose of the Honors Council is toprovide a medium for honors students to voicetheir own opinions and suggestions to improvethe honors college. It mainly serves as a liaisonbetween honors students and the DormanHonors College Administration. Further, itcarries out many important projects throughcommittees and Council events. Both electedand appointed positions exist on the Council.The elected positions consist of the executiveboard and the class/architecture representatives.Committee chairs, due to the requirementfor specific experience or skill sets, however,require a nomination from a current committeechair and then must be voted in from a separateCouncil hearing.The Current E-Board:President:Vice President:Treasurer:Secretary:Class Reps:Freshman:Sophomore:Junior:Senior:Lisa KardosJohn PershouseMartha RozynskiJabeen RezaMark HannaAnisha GulrajaniHaresh VisweshwarUsama ElmalakThe Honors Council meets every otherFriday to discuss and make decisions for theimprovement of the Honors College. HonorsCouncil elections are planned for April 14th. Formore information contact Lisa Kardos atlmk2@njit.eduSix

Albert Dorman Honors CollegeSpring 2004Volume 3, Issue 2Building a Community: Social and Student Center Committeesby Chris HodacIn an effort to encourage greater interactionamong Honors Students community, theSocial Committee has planned various eventsthroughout the Spring Semester here at NJIT.So far, a Luau was held in January, which turnedthe new Honors Lounge into a carefree partyzone filled with chilled drinks like PinaColadas,Mudslides and Daiquiris. The Committee also helda flower sale for Valentine’s Day and the proceedsfrom this sale went towards buying t-shirts for their next event, a volleyball gamebeing held during SpringWeek. Although thisannual game usually pitsfaculty against the students,this year the facultyhave bowed out andthe students will be playingeach other.Another fun sportsevent is the 3-on-3 basketballtournament scheduledfor March 31 st , featuringan entry fee of $15per team and a prize of$75 for the winning team.Other events planned forthis semester include agame day on April 14 th ,which will include boardgames as well as console games for HonorsStudents to relax before exams begin. AnotherLuau has been planned as a final event for thesemester, although a date and time has notbeen fixed yet. The Committee has alreadystarted planning for next semester, discussingthe addition of a cookout at the Newark Bearsstadium as a new event.As the Honors College Office has movedto a brand new building, so too has the HonorsCollege Center. This move has greatly improvedthe quality of the Lounge, with new furniture, aThe new Honors Lounge, part of theHonors student centerkitchenette with sink, a full sized refrigerator/freezer, a coffee maker, a microwave, an entertainmentsystem with a DVD player, a VHS tapeplayer and a stereo making the Lounge a comfortableplace for Honors students. Aside fromthe new Lounge, the Honors Center has a largerstudy room with more cubicles and a balconythat looks towards the center of the campus. Abrand new addition to the Honors Center is aProject Room, which can be utilized by HonorsStudents to exhibit their work to other studentsor faculty. And last but notleast, the new ComputerLab located right next tothe Lounge provides HonorsStudents with exclusivecomputers for their work.In an effort tofurther improve these brandnew accommodations forthe Honors College, theStudent Center Committee,formerly known as theLounge Committee, decoratedthe Lounge, providedmovies for students towatch, and has conductedvarious fundraisers, includinga magazine subscriptionsale, bake sales, and sellingcandy in the Lounge. The proceeds from thesefundraisers have been utilized for buying a pooltable for the Lounge, which will be installed andready for use by the end of this semester.For more information regarding the Social Committeeand future events, please contact Committee ChairpersonDeepti Sanjai at ds56@njit.edu or Jason Schooling atjps5@njit.eduFor more information regarding the Student CenterCommittee and suggestions for the lounge, please contactCommittee Chairperson Tom Magnifico at tam4@njit.eduSeven

Spring 2004Albert Dorman Honors CollegeVolume 3, Issue 2graduating adhc senior class of 2004compiled by Jeff JaskotAbitogun, Olusola OlawoleAkkapeddi, SreelathaAucaylle, WalterBashan, IftachBhatt, BirenBhavsar, MayurBober, ThomasBoodhoo, ShivonBrown, JohnBurke, GeorgeChoi, PyungColoso, Timoteo SDellaFave, AnthonyDhaliwal, Jagjote K.Dorn, JenniferDouglas, MarioD’Silva, Justin GeorgeElmalak, UsamaFalquez, GuillermoFolgar, EdwardFreeman, EricaGrasso, JosephGuirguis, MarianHaque, TaufiqHarriman, Krystle J.Hoover, ChristianHsiao, KanquorJairam, NeelaKarasiewicz, MatthewKardos, LisaKeto, VictorLafond, IanLevy, SethLucas, Jason DManeta, EleniMawhinney, StephenModi, NilayNaik, MallavOelschlager, EthanOfoma, ChinyereOgunmefun, OOyawusi, BolajiPatel, VineshPerez, DanielPershouse, JohnPinto, AnaPorus, JonathanRamos, AntonioRizkalla, ThShah, ChintanSpinelli, DianneTomar, SurabhiVetter, MichaelVlasic, JovanaYu, ChiZhang, JianLingEight

Spring 2004Albert Dorman Honors CollegeHonorable Seniorsby Usama Elmalak and Danny PerezVolume 3, Issue 2After years of hard work, endless hoursof studying and a little fun along the way, theHonors Class of 2004 will be graduating in May.Many of our graduates have not only successfullytheir academic requirements, but have alsoexcelled in extracurricular activities. Throughtheir preparation and initiative, they have furnishedfor themselves a bright future.Lisa Kardos, president of the DormanHonors Council, is graduating with a Bachelor ofScience in Chemical Engineering in May, and hasaccepted an offer from Infineum, a petroleumcompany, to work as a process contact engineer.In addition, she will be part-time studentat NJIT pursuing her master’s degree. Whenasked how the Honors College had prepared herfor her future career, Lisa replied that “TheADHC has helped me by providing many opportunitiesfrom service learning to leadership positions.These well-rounded options helped giveme a wide perspective of life and accomplishment.”She has definitely utilized theoppurtunities provided by the Honors College,doing research with Honors faculty since herfreshman year, and starting the Honors CollegeNewsletter in 2001.Daniel Perez, another Honors Studentwho will be graduating from NJIT with a B.S. inChemical Engineering, has beifen admitted intothe PhD program at MIT. The excellence of thesetwo students has been recognized by the entireuniversity, and Lisa will be awarded the MadameMau Outstanding Female Student Award whileDaniel will be awarded the NCE OutstandingSenior Award from the Otto H. York Departmentof Chemical Engineering and 2004 NCE OutstandingSenior Award at the sixth annual NewarkCollege of Engineering banquet on April 2, 2004.Karisa Solt, a December 2003 graduatewith a B.S. in BME, and Sreelatha Akkapeddi,who will graduate in May with a B.S. in BME, alsoused the resources available to them throughthe ADHC to better their future plans. Karisa hasbeen accepted to the MD/PhD program at JohnsHopkins School of Medicine and will most likelybe going to school there in August. Sreelatha isalso planning on going to medical school anddreams of eventually becoming a physician.When asked how the ADHC had helped preparedthem, both answered that the Honors Collegehad exposed them to many different people whowere very bright and motivated, which helpedthem get to where they are today. Sreelathawon the NCE Outstanding Senior Award from theDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, adding tothe list of Honors students who will be awardedat the NCE banquet.Jennifer Dorn is another example of anHonors student who is involved in a lot of extracurricularactivities on campus, like being part ofthe women’s soccer team and the senior classcommittee, and also being a Resident Assistanton the Honors floor in Laurel Hall. The fact thatshe will be graduating as a double major inComputer Science and Math demonstrates theability of Honors students to effectively managetheir extra-curricular activities with their academics.Jennifer currently has the Bill GatesMillennium Scholarship to attend any graduateschool with all expenses paid. She has applied tomultiple universities, including Columbia University,for a degree in Math & Finance. Jenniferwas grateful to the Honors College since “thescholarship allowed me to have more time togive back to the community,” which is somethingshe enjoys.Thus at the conclusion of the four years,the class of 2004 has managed to leave itsmark on the NJIT community. Many students arealready leading successful lives and some havelucrative job offers. All due, in no small part, totheir involvement in the Honors College and thevarious opportunities it presented as part of theUniversity. The class’ dedication, commitmentand hard work has allowed the whole studentbody to excel.Nine

Albert Dorman Honors CollegeSpring 2004Volume 3, Issue 2ADHC Students help with Robotics Competitionby Shyam PatelFor nearly ten years, a group called ForInspiration and Recognition of Science andTechnology (FIRST) has sponsored annualrobotics competitions for High School studentsinterested in robotics and technology. Withnearly 20,000 participants each year from variousworldwide locales, this program encouragesa large number of youth to appreciate the powerand beauty of scienceand engineering.For severalyears, students fromthe Honors Collegehave actively volunteeredlarge quantitiesof their time to aidparticipants in thisprogram, and haveworked mainly withhigh schools in Newark.Given only a six-weekperiod in which towork, contestants andmentors alike oftenmust rush to constructtheir robot. Sometimesweighing nearly 100pounds, these devicesare a complex assemblageof motors,pneumatics, onboard computers and otherelectronic devices. The work is difficult and timeconsuming. Hard hours in the GITC building’sMachine Shop, frequent trips to the Home Depotand Radio Shack for materials, along with brainstormingsessions are only a small number of thetasks that volunteers must contend with duringthis project. All of this effort, however, becomeswell worth it when the project is completed. Thefinished product emerges as a verifiable work ofart, a synthesis of the engineering and roboticsexpertise of honors students and the sheerwillpower and hard work of contestants tocreate a fully synchronized, machine-preciserobot.For Joe Grasso, an Electrical EngineeringMajor set to graduate this coming May, volunteeringfor this event has been a yearly ritual forthe last three years. Starting as a participant inthe program several years earlier while attendingHigh Technology HighSchool, Joe is deeplycommitted to theorganization. Hebelieves that thecompetition “offerseducational value thatis hard to find in theclassroom”. Studentsare encouraged tobecome hands-onproblem-solvers andcritical thinkers. Joetakes pride in the factthat his services overthe last few yearshave allowed youngOne of the entries at the FIRST Robotics members of the Newarkcommunity to beCompetitionsteered towardscareers in science andengineering. “FIRSTteaches students that engineering really can befun and empowers them to solve problems forthemselves. It was there that my interest inrobotics really developed, and undoubtedly hadan effect on my decision to study engineering.”Overall, students who enter this programare opened to a new world of opportunities, allthrough the help of careful and consideratevolunteers like Joe. His involvement, along withthat of other Honors students, is the only thingthat makes competitions such as these evenpossible.

Spring 2004Albert Dorman Honors CollegeSiblings in the Honors Collegeby Cliff LauVolume 3, Issue 2In the Honors College, there are manybrothers and sisters who attend school and maydorm together. Their college experience may ormay not differ from that of other students, butnevertheless a student feels a different atmospherewhen he/she has family on campus.Many of the siblings interviewed were veryclose to each other; it was a given if they werealready close in high school. Of course, if theyweren’t close in high school, then it’s a differentstory, as Jeremy George says of his relationshipwith his older brother Jacks, “We’re not reallyclose.” Whether they are close or not, siblingstend to rely on each other for certain thingssuch as picking up books and food, runningerrands, helping each other with homework, andasking each other for advice. Usually for thosewho have age differences of one or two years,the older one gives advice to the younger. “Ilearn from her mistakes. She tells me whichclasses and professors to take,” says AngelieMascariñas of her older sister Dulce, who areapart by nearly two years. They also tend to dothe same activities together. Todd and MarkWill, brothers who are apart by three years(Todd was the younger; they were on campustogether for only one year), did fencing togetherand were both Safe Health Peer Educators.Academically, if siblings were in the samemajor, they would often find themselves helpingeach other, and age difference played no part init, unless the older one would be helping theyounger one with a class he/she had alreadytaken. On the contrary, if they were in differentmajors, they would barely find common subjects,unless it was GUR related. Todd majored inManagement while his brother majored in MechanicalEngineering. He said, “Mark was helpfulwith the scientific classes…but besides that Iwas pretty much on my own…I guess you couldsay that it was almost like he did not go to thesame school that I was attending.”There is also an obligation between siblingsto live up to each other as they progressthrough college.Having each other campus definitely createsa social impact for siblings. If the older onewere quite popular, the younger one would havea unique way of meeting new people. In thecase of Angelie and Dulce, Angelie says, “Peopleask, ‘are you Dulce’s sister?’” This is the samefor Jeremy and Jacks. In Todd’s case, he wasintroduced to many new people and friends henormally wouldn’t have met on his own. “I thinkhaving him around made my transition from highschool to college much easier.” Angelie thinksthat to have a brother/sister on campus wouldmake one’s social life different. She has twoother sisters off campus, and when it was askedif she would feel better if all of them were oncampus, she said “No. We might become antisocialbecause would stick together all thetime.” Of course, this case is rare, but it occursnevertheless.It is quite interesting to have delved into theexperiences and feelings that siblings have whenthey have each other on campus. In fact, manyof them felt very fortunate to have each otheron campus, even Jeremy, because it was thethought of having someone on campus that hetruly knows. For Angelie, it “feels easier”. Out ofall who were interviewed, only Todd and Markwere commuters, and even though they went toschool at different hours due to differentclasses, Todd still felt he was fortunate to havean older brother who already went through mostof college. He is now a graduate student atNJIT going for his Ph.D., and has a youngersister who also goes to NJIT. “My brother wasable to help me out with various difficulties. Mysister now relies on me for the same help.” In away, it is like passing a legacy down the line,much like passing down a torch to the youngerand in order to the see the path ahead, a benefitother students don’t have, and siblings havecome to realize that in Newark, you really needsomeone. Jeremy puts it into stronger words,“NJIT feels lonely without family on campus.”

Albert Dorman Honors CollegeSpring 2004Honors Eventsby Radha YamarthyThere are two special events beingplanned for honors students, and these are theHonors Senior Dinner and the Honors Night Outat the Newark Bears.The Honors Senior Dinner celebrates allthe NJIT seniors who will be graduating at theend of this year. The event is scheduled to beheld on the 14th of May at the Frair Tuck Innat Cedar Grove, NJ. The dinner will start at6pm, with an open bar during the first hour,followed by a buffet-style dinner with a menuto suit all tastes. The dinner will be held in theCamelot Room of the Inn, and seniors will haveto pay $35 to reserve their spots.The Honors Night Out at the Newark Bearswill take place next semester, on Wednesday,September 1, and will feature a speaker fromthe Department of Mathematics who will give apresentation about baseball and its relationshipwith statistics. The talk will be followed by aBears baseball game. The Honors Night Out atthe Newark Bears has been made possible bythe recently signed contract between NJIT andthe Newark Bears. The Bears & EaglesRiverfront Stadium will now be the home fieldfor the NJIT baseball team, and many freetickets to baseball games will be available tostudents. In the future, there will be manymore such fun-filled events at the stadium thatwill bring students, faculty, staff and alumnitogether.Volume 3, Issue 2The Albert Dorman Honors CollegeNewsletter CommitteeChair/Editor-in-Chief: Vivek GangiredlaLayout Team: Usama Elmalak , Jessica Ho, Jeff Jaskotand Thomas RiccobonoEditing Team: Alan Andreani, Tambe Barsbay, SteveMawhinney, Anisha Gulrajani, Konquor Hsiao, MeiLi, Laura Medwick, Shamanth Muppidi, UmaPhatak, Jon Porus and Deepti SanjaiWriting Staff:Usama ElmalakMatt FalsettiChristopher HodacVictor KetoLisa KardosCliff LauDavid LeeShyam PatelDaniel PerezAriel RavelChristina RecineRina ShahRadha YamarthyHaresh VisweshwarPhotographer:Chris TrumSpecial thanks to Ms. Chipepo for her unendingassistance.To contact the newsletter committee, please emailVivek Gangiredla at vg7@njit.eduThe Camelot Room at the Frair Tuck InnTen