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Gov STEM Scholars

126 New Jersey STEM Students Graduate from Governor’s STEM Scholars

STEM Students Complete Year-Long Program Highlighting New Jersey’s STEM Economy


On Saturday, April 29, 2023, 126 New Jersey STEM students graduated from the Governor’s STEM Scholars, a year-long program that provided a 360° view of New Jersey’s STEM economy through conferences, lab tours, and research.


During the Commencement ceremony and conference held at Stevens Institute of Technology, each Scholar was honored for their efforts in STEM with a diploma signed by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and a Joint Legislative Resolution sponsored by Senate President Nicholas P. Scutari, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, Senator Andrew Zwicker, and Assemblyman Chris Tully.


The graduating Scholars heard from esteemed speakers including Assemblyman Tully, who serves as the Chairman of the New Jersey Assembly Science, Technology, and Innovation Committee; Research & Development Council of New Jersey Board Chairman Kevin Campos, Ph.D. Vice President, Head of Process Research & Development, Merck & Co; and Jianmin Qu, Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Stevens Institute of Technology.

During the Commencement conference, Scholars presented year-long research projects led by undergraduate and graduate-level Scholars, that advances the work of New Jersey’s research community. The research team led by Kean University student Angela Appiah-Kubi on Observing the Expression of Osteopontin in Tumor-Associated Macrophages was awarded an Excellence in Research Award. Team members included Emelin Almanzar, Juhi Amin, Cole DuHaime, Rachel Glantzberg, Supraj Gunda, Atharva Inamdar, Davidi Tawfiles, Megan Tseng, Vaishvik Vidavalapti, and Daisy Yao.

“Over the past year, 126 of New Jersey’s most promising high school and college students have received an immersive look into the state’s STEM economy, better preparing them for their careers here in the Garden State,” said Alise Roderer, Director of the Governor’s STEM Scholars. “As Governor’s STEM Scholars, these students gained a unique introduction to New Jersey’s STEM economy and opportunities through conferences, field trips, internship opportunities, and a collaborative research project.”  


Throughout the academic year, Scholars participated 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 were held at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rowan University, and Stevens Institute of Technology. Additionally, Scholars toured New Jersey STEM facilities and laboratories and engaged with STEM leaders at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Bristol Myers Squibb.

The Governor’s STEM Scholars is sponsored by BASF, Bristol Myers Squibb, Comcast, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, the PSEG Foundation, Spencer Savings Bank, Stryker, and Verizon.  

The 2022-2023 Governor’s STEM Scholars graduates 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  

Halimat Houandje, Hudson 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 

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   

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