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