The Governor’s STEM Scholars announced today their 2022-2023 class, made up of 128 high school and college STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) students from across the Garden State, the largest class the program has seen since its founding in 2013. The Governor’s STEM Scholars is a public-private partnership between the Research & Development Council of New Jersey, the Office of the Governor, the New Jersey Department of Education, the New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education, and public and private research institutions based in New Jersey. The Governor’s STEM Scholars believes that maintaining a pipeline of talented individuals is critical to maintaining excellence in innovation. In recognition of this and to counter the state’s brain drain, the Governor’s STEM Scholars was created to engage the next generation of research and innovation leaders in the state’s vast STEM economy early. “New Jersey has always been at the center of innovation excellence and scientific discovery led by some of the world’s most talented STEM professionals. The Governor’s STEM Scholars looks to secure this legacy into the future by inspiring students who will make up the next generation of these scientists, engineers, and innovators. As we welcome 128 exceptional high school and college STEM students into our 2023 Governor’s STEM Scholars class, we look forward to seeing the impact they make on the Garden State, the country and across the globe,” said Anthony Cicatiello, President of the Research & Development Council of New Jersey. The Governor’s STEM Scholars introduces New Jersey’s high achieving high school and college students to industry, academic, and government research in New Jersey, to establish a profound relationship between these students, STEM, and New Jersey. By making genuine connections between the Scholars and STEM representatives from the research community, we are keeping these STEM students here to become New Jersey’s future STEM professionals. This year marks the ninth class of Scholars. The Governor’s STEM Scholars is proud that its class represents the diversity of New Jersey. Eighty-four percent of the Scholars identify as a Person of Color; 30 percent with a racial identity underrepresented in STEM fields, specifically Black, Latinx or Indigenous. Sixty-four percent of the 2022 class are female and 36 percent male. Eighteen percent of the Scholars are or will be first-generation college students. The Scholars come from across the state and represent 20 New Jersey counties. When they graduate in May 2023, they will join an alumni cohort of over 700 students. The Scholars were selected from a pool of more than 600 applicants. Scholars must have at least a 3.5 GPA, be a high school sophomore through doctorial-level student at a New Jersey-based high school or university, and demonstrate a passion for STEM. Throughout the academic year, Scholars will participate in four conferences to explore different aspects of New Jersey’s STEM economy focusing on STEM in government, academia, and industry. During the 2022-2023 programmatic year, these conferences will be held at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University, Rowan University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Stevens Institute of Technology. Scholars will participate in a research project, led by undergraduate and graduate-level Scholars, that advances the work of New Jersey’s research community. Additionally, Scholars will tour New Jersey STEM facilities and laboratories and network with STEM professionals to gain a 360° view of STEM opportunities throughout the state. The Governor’s STEM Scholars is free for all Scholars to attend, due to sponsorships by BASF, Bristol Myers Squibb, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Ocean Wind 1, the PSEG Foundation, Spencer Savings Bank, Stryker, and Verizon. The 2022-2023 Governor’s STEM Scholars are:
Adeola Adeoye-Davids, Passaic County Yara Aguilar, Hudson County Emelin Almanzar, Middlesex County Juhi Amin, Monmouth County Reva Amritkar, Middlesex County Sumuk Anand, Mercer County Niranjana Ananth, Mercer County* Angela Appiah-Kubi, Passaic County* Krithik Ashokkumar, Middlesex County Yhara Barba, Bergen County Anmol Bhatia, Somerset County Anthony Boyle, Union County Bertila Bruka, Bergen County* Giancarla Burgos, Hudson County Albert Caesar, Somerset County Jocelyn Calderon, Union County Isabella Castillo, Essex County Andrew Chang, Burlington County Vibhav Chaturvedi, Union County, Kevin Chen, Morris County Duran Chukumba, Mercer County Liv Chung, Middlesex County Jamie Lynn Connors, Bergen County* Deborah Cousin, Monmouth County Denise Coutinho, Warren County Jollen Dai, Somerset County Ashley Diaz Saguay, Essex County Enzo DiMasi, Camden County Cole DuHaime, Union County William Ee, Bergen County Lilya Eid, Bergen County* Jennah Elghamrawi, Bergen County Zayd Elhedoudy, Mercer County Ryan Elyakoubi, Atlantic County Nima Fallah, Hudson County* Thomas Gallo, Camden County* Catherine Gan Ung, Morris County Audrey Gang, Bergen County Sriya Ghankot, Middlesex County Rachel Glantzberg, Monmouth County Saanvi Goel, Somerset County Jack Goldberg, Hudson County* Jue Gong, Monmouth County Eric Gudiel, Mercer County Rachel Guhathakurta, Mercer County Supraj Gunda, Middlesex County Suhani Gupta, Mercer County Nicholas Hagedorn, Mercer County Ryen Hagg, Union County* Alexandria Hall, Essex County Alexis Halm-Owoo, Essex County Madeline Heng, Cape May County Gary Hernandez, Atlantic County Halimat Houandje, Hudson County Elorie Howell, Union County Atharva Inamdar, Middlesex County Emmanuel Ishola, Essex County Aashika Jagadeesh, Bergen County Zoe Jenkins-Hiscox, Hunterdon County Mrunmayi Joshi, Essex County* Aaron Kahn, Monmouth County Sanika Karode, Middlesex County Joshua Karten, Middlesex County* Paola Kotori, Bergen County Katherina Krishtopa, Somerset County Srivatsa Kundurthy, Morris County Audrey Kuo, Morris County Ryan Lalani, Morris County Aliya Laliwala, Bergen County* Makayla Lecky, Union County Oliwia Lidwin, Bergen County Kevin Liu, Monmouth County Avantika Malla, Somerset County Maya Mann, Monmouth County* Naia Marcelino, Hudson County Elizabeth McNamara, Bergen County Saanvi Mehta, Atlantic County Sebastian Mercado, Cumberland County Sophia Merlino, Ocean County Kaitlyn Miranda, Union County Devam Mondal, Middlesex County Sareena Naganand, Middlesex County Meera Nair, Monmouth County Zachary No, Burlington County Kosisochi Okaro, Essex County Giovanni Olaya, Passaic County Allison Ore, Bergen County Nikhil Osuri, Monmouth County Anas Owais, Middlesex County Udgita Pamidigantam, Middlesex County Danielle Park, Bergen County Samiya Pathak, Bergen County Ali-Tyana Peynado, Somerset County Shuohao Ping, Middlesex County* Sruthi Potluri, Mercer County Steffani Rajapaksha, Hudson County Sriya Sadhu, Somerset County Sajoud Saleh, Hudson County Yash Samat, Morris County Mauricio Sanchez, Union County Abhay Sankar, Somerset County Rhea Sethi, Burlington County Diya Shah, Middlesex County Kareena Shah, Bergen County Vinav Shah, Somerset County Vinesha Shaik, Middlesex County Riya Shenvi, Somerset County Trevor Sherman, Morris County Saloni Singh, Hudson County Shriya Sudhakar, Mercer County Davidi Tawfiles, Hudson County Krishnan Tholkappian, Middlesex County Megan Tseng, Middlesex County Vjosa Ukella, Sussex County* Sarah Usman, Middlesex County Kavya Venkatesan, Middlesex County Vaishvik Vidavalapati, Somerset County Advika Vuppala, Monmouth County Ananya Vuppala, Monmouth County Alex Wang, Morris County Grace Xia, Mercer County Jeffrey Xu, Essex County Yug Yadava, Ocean County* Daisy Yao, Essex County Samuel Yeboah-Manson, Middlesex County Xinyi Zhang, Middlesex County Aleicia Zhu, Monmouth County Shawn Zou, Gloucester County *denotes college-level Scholar
Read more about the 2022-2023 Governor’s STEM Scholars at www.govstemscholars.com/scholars.