S t r at e g i c D i r e c t i o n s ■ 2 0 1 3
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The Inauguration
of Joel Stuart Bloom
M OVING
THE EDGE
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naugural festivities encompassed three days of
events, beginning on September 12 with the
University Convocation and a day of celebration for students. September 13 was a day focused on faculty and included a symposium by
three new members of the faculty. The Inauguration took place on September 14, and festivities came to a close with a formal gala for family
and special friends of Dr. Bloom.
9.12.12:
Convocation Energizes Incoming Students
T
he first day of the Inaugural celebrations was focused on
student activities.
resident Bloom
(above) tells first-year
students that they are the
largest and among the best
qualified incoming class in
the university’s 131-year
history. ■ Left: A Club Fair
on the green introduced
freshmen to the many
ways to “get involved” as
President Bloom urged.
■ Right: A laser light show
was one of the evening’s
entertainments.
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2013
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veryone became acquainted at a faculty reception after the symposium.
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tudents (left) show off their “Moving the Edge” souvenir tee shirts. ■
President Bloom (below) chats
with convocation keynote speaker,
Sean Duffy ’95, (below right) an
Albert Dorman Honors College graduate, and now a project engineer
for FMC Corporation, who offered
incoming students advice for succeeding in their academic careers.
S
Stephen Cordes ‘72, COO
of Clarion Partners and National Co-chair of the NJIT NEXT
C.
campaign, served as master of ceremonies for the Inauguration program.
9.13.12:
M
ichel Boufadel ,
professor of civil
and environmental engineering (below), spoke of
“Mitigating the Adverse
Effects of Unsustainable
Practices.” An expert in hydraulics and numerical
modeling of large-scale
systems, he is well-known
for his work in the investigation of the Exxon Valdez
oil spill and BP’s Deepwater Horizon blow-out
in the Gulf of Mexico.
fter the symposium,
all 24 new faculty presented poster sessions summarizing their research.
Rose and John Federici,
who is a distinguished professor of physics, (below
center and right) viewed
the work of Catalin Turc,
(below left) associate professor of mathematics,
in the emerging field of
mechatronics.
Focus on the Faculty
T
he second day of the Inaugural festivities was a celebration
of faculty. The centerpiece was a symposium, “Moving the
Edge in Sustainability,” organized and hosted by Fadi Deek, dean
of the College of Science and Liberal Arts, featuring three of the
new interdisciplinary faculty and highlighting three very different aspects of sustainability.
M
A
artina Decker (below),
assistant professor of architecture, spoke on “Material
Dynamics/Emergent Materials in
Architecture.” A pioneer in smart
materials in architecture, she is a
partner in Decker Yeadon, the
first architecture research office
to synthesize “buckypaper,” a
thin sheet of carbon nanotubes.
She is researching a range of
novel, high performance materials for future building projects.
“Emergent materials that have
been engineered on a molecular
level can be infused with very specific properties. These high performance materials have great
potential for giving us the tools to
respond to important issues, especially in architecture and sustainable design.”
ric Fortune (above), associate professor of biological sciences, spoke on “From Brain
Research to Environmental Monitoring.” He is a neurophysiologist with expertise in electrophysiology, ethology and evolution.
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“Animals do amazing things —
swimming, flying, walking, courting, feeding. Their behavioral
performances can be stunning,
and despite our rapid advances
in technological prowess, we neither understand how animals
achieve the level of precision in
their movements and coordination, nor can we build artificial
systems, such as robots, which
perform behaviors that are anywhere near as robust and reliable
as animals.”
rustee Elizabeth
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(“Liz”) Garcia, ’73
(right) gathers refreshments for the special
screening for faculty and
guests of Barrymore starring Christopher Plummer.
University friend and movie
producer Steve Kalafer
hosted the screening.
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S t r at e g i c D i r e c t i o n s ■ 2 0 1 3
A N N UA L R E P ORT ■ 2 0 1 1 ■ 2 0 1 2
The Inauguration
of Joel Stuart Bloom
M OVING
THE EDGE
9.14.12:
The Investiture Ceremonies
r. Joel S. Bloom receives the Presidential
Mace from K a t h l e e n
Wielkopolski, chair of
the Board of Trustees, (left)
marking his formal investiture as the 8th president of
NJIT.
D
he procession (above) was
led by 108 international
flags representing the countries
of NJIT students.
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ong-time benefactors
and friends of the university, Joan and Albert
Dorman, ’45 (right), travelled from California, and
Vincent Naimoli, ’62
(above), from Florida, to
take part in the inaugural
festivities.
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S t r at e g i c D i r e c t i o n s
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T
homas H. Kean , former
governor of New Jersey,
(far left) and Cory A. Booker,
mayor of Newark, were among
the guest speakers at the installation ceremony. Booker praised
Bloom for “his imagination for
what NJIT, Newark and the U.S.
could be,” while Kean declared
“Bloom and NJIT, Perfect Together!”
R
ochelle Hendricks,
(above), New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education called
Bloom “an innovator and a
visionary,” and drew a major
ovation with her closing, “Move
over MIT; here comes NJIT!”
n his inaugural address,
Above clockwise: Mary-
President Bloom
beth Boger, represent-
(left) pledged commitment
to the growth and development of the faculty; improvement of the quality
of life on campus; and expansion of the university’s
partnerships with business
and industry.
ing staff, Joseph Stanley
’78, ’85, representing
alumni, John Schuring,
representing faculty, and
Johnathan Weiss ’14,
representing the student
body, all gave enthusiastic endorsements of the
Bloom presidency.
naugural festivities ended with a formal gala
for family and friends of
President Bloom. At left,
the Blooms share a light
moment with benefactor Albert Dorman and
Mary Jane Pohero, executive assistant to the
president.
Above: President Joel
Bloom and First Lady Dr.
Diane Bloom lead a folk
dance.
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resident Bloom (above, left)
spends a pre-inaugural moment
with his sister, Renee L. Karp , a
religious educator, who gave the
invocation.
P
irst Lady Dr. Diane
F
Bloom (above), re-
ceives f l o w e r s f r o m
Stephen DePalma,
’72 , chair-elect of the
board, while Dr. Bloom
and son Ean look on.
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