Angelo J. Perna

The use of undergraduate research experiential programs for promoting the path to advanced degrees

At New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), undergraduate research is an integral part of the curriculum. Two other research programs are available and in some cases grant curriculum credit. These programs, The Undergraduate Research Experience (URE) and the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program are designed to recruit qualified students from underrepresented groups and introduce them to research. The URE Program, which was initiated in 1990, has graduated 140 students, of whom, approximately 90 per cent have gone on for advanced degrees. The NJIT Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program, which was developed in 1999, seeks to recruit juniors and seniors from underrepresented groups majoring in Science, Engineering and Mathematics (SEM). The goal is to foster a desire to obtain a Ph.D. degree and enter the field of higher education. Since its inception, twenty-two students have been in the program with eight graduating and enrolling in Graduate School.

History of Chemical Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology 1881–1988

New Jersey Institute of Technology is an outgrowth of the Newark Technical School which was founded in 1881, by an Act of the New Jersey General Assembly, to meet the demands of the industrialization of northern New Jersey. During this period following the Civil War northern New Jersey, had undergone industrialization in all areas of mechanical, chemical and electrical engineering. Although civil engineering, the oldest of the engineering professions had played a significant role in construction of bridges in the New York area like the Brooklyn Bridge, the Newark Technical School initially focussed on chemical, electrical and mechanical programs. In fact, its yearbook was named, “KEM-LEC-MEK”. Northern New Jersey was also the center of invention. Thomas Alva Edison did his work not far from Newark and Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in this area. There were many other inventors and industrialists operating near Newark, and the financial capitol at Wall Street was only 10 miles away. The time had come to begin an educational program to support this industrial expansion.