1. Like sushi? You’re going to love this
   Wendy E. Islas, BS in Molecular Biology, and Melissa Spigelman, MS in Molecular Biology, mentored by Dr. Carlos Molina, Department of Biology
2. Creating an Immersive and Interactive VR Game for Advancing Elementary Education
   Anthony Condegni, BS in Computer Science, Jianna Loor, MS in Computer Science, mentored by Dr. Rui Li, School of Computing
3. A potential TB target
   Uchenna Ezichi, MS in Chemistry, Citlaly Hernandez, BS in Biochemistry, Crystal Montero, MS in Pharmaceutical Biochemistry, mentored by Dr. Nina Goodey, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

In a beautiful display of collaboration, the new Richardson Hall Portrait Gallery captures the story of a group of professors’ ingenuity and a daughter’s generosity to honor her parents’ Montclair legacy.

Established in memory of Dow H. ’43 and Elizabeth Brann Rich ’43 to commemorate their years as science majors at ����vlog, the portrait gallery is made possible with the generous support of their daughter, Rev. Barbara E. Stephens-Rich.

This place, and this institution were very dear to my parents’ hearts. This was where they met and fell in love. This is where my dad came into his own in academic success and leadership… where Montclair opened doors for him, like being the physics lab assistant… that allowed him to see himself in a new light, and find new achievement.

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Sponsored by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) and Ocean Wind, the summit served as a forum to exchange ideas and discuss New Jersey’s plans for a sustainable future.

Tackling the biggest impacts of climate change is critical to the world today. Effective communication between academics/researchers and decision-makers is a challenge, this summit gives all of us the opportunity to assist the fight against climate change with our ability to provide data-driven and actionable management strategies.

A common thread from presenters and speakers throughout the day was the message that it’s not enough to just create policy. Building a path for a cleaner future means not only acting on the policies, but talking about them so that as many people as possible understand the sense of urgency surrounding climate issues.

Read the full article on the University News website.

The CSAM Dean’s Office welcomes Chris Moses as our new Vivarium Director. He comes to us from Washington University in St. Louis where he worked as an Animal Facility Manager. Mr. Moses is originally from Newport News, Virginia and graduated from Virginia State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. He has an extensive background in Lab Animal Medicine and has worked with a number of species including groundhogs, alpacas, and wolves.

The Department of Mathematics welcomes a new Clinical Specialist, Denis Sheeran. Mr. Sheeran has an ambitious vision for mathematics education bringing creative ideas for both teaching, recruitment, and mentorship. He has experience as a teacher, supervisor, and director, and he holds certifications as a teacher, supervisor, principal, and soon-to-be superintendent.

The CSAM Student Success Center welcomes three new staff to the team. In addition to the academic advising of CSAM undergraduates, the two new advisors will provide support for CSAM enrollment initiatives that include creating class schedules with blocks for new students and liaise with other Colleges/Schools to schedule science and mathematics courses for non-major new students.

Our first Academic Advisor and Enrollment Specialist is Jennifer Nuñez. Prior to joining CSAM, Ms. Nuñez was a Student Service Specialist at Red Hawk Central. She is an expert in issues related to Student Accounts, Financial Aid, and the Registrar. She has an MA in Educational Leadership and a concentration in Higher Education.

Our second Academic Advisor and Enrollment Specialist is Rebecca Pistilli. She previously served as a Temporary Academic Advisor in CSAM and a Temporary Clinical Specialist in CEHS last spring. Ms. Pistilli also has an MA in Educational Leadership and a concentration in Higher Education.

Bianca Perez-Cancino has also joined the Student Success Center team this semester as a University Success Coach. Ms. Perez-Cancino provides important support to CSAM students by actively reaching out to and assisting students with barriers to enrollment. This role is critical during the return to campus for continuing students who have been impacted by the pandemic. Ms. Perez-Cancino is an MSU graduate (BA English 2014).

The Biology Department welcomes a new Laboratory Technician, Lauren O’Neil. Ms. O’Neil is a proud MSU graduate, with an MS in Marine Biology and Coastal Sciences (2018). Before returning to MSU, she was a Research Specialist at Princeton University in their Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department. Ms. O’Neil will increase our laboratory computational support, utilizing her advanced computer and technology skills including certifications in Data Science and GIS.

We welcome Michelle Kight as the new Program Associate in the Department of Computer Science. Ms. Kight has a BA in Psychology and prior to CSAM, she was a Program Assistant in the office of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Ms. Kight is also a certified Emergency Medical Technician Instructor at Passaic County College.

Klodiana Shkembi was reappointed as Program Associate for the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics. Ms. Shkembi was previously a Coordinator in the Red Hawk Mathematics Learning Center. She is a proud MSU graduate with BS and MS degrees in Mathematics.

Weston, 93, and his late wife, Judy, founded the Weston Science Scholars in partnership with ����vlog and the Montclair Public Schools 22 years ago and have provided generous support to make the program possible each year. The former CEO of Automatic Data Processing (ADP) showed that his enthusiasm for the summer science program remains as high as ever as he peppered this year’s cohort of high school students with questions, hopping among various buildings, laboratories and classrooms on the Montclair State campus to learn about experiments in marine biology, physics, genomic sequencing, cybersecurity, magnetic imaging and more. Talking to a group of Montclair High School students working with Biology Professor Julian Keenan, director of the Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory at Montclair State, Josh Weston expressed his hope to the students.

Hopefully you’ll discover something your professor doesn’t know

Through the Weston Science Scholars, more than three dozen high-performing ninth, 10th and 11th graders working in six cohorts are spending five weeks using the scientific method to study everything from racism to jellyfish before presenting their results at a colloquium on July 28. In the process they’ll experience hands-on experimentation and virtual lectures from leading experts from around the world. This fall, they’ll enjoy field trips to the Liberty Science Center, Community Food Bank of New Jersey and beyond.

Program director and Montclair High School science teacher Lynn English keeps it all humming along with the help of fellow teacher Dede Portas. Like Weston, English has a passion for the program, with plans to expand to include other area high school students in coming years.

We want to spread the word about Weston Scholars. These kids are amazing. They’re learning, they’re discovering, and they’re having the time of their lives.

And so, it seems, is Weston.

View photos from Summer 2021 Weston Science Scholars

Their behind-the-scenes work includes advising President Susan A. Cole on policies and protocols, overseeing student health care, directing an extensive program of testing and contact tracing, providing training and guidance, overseeing environmental safety, managing Hawk Check and compiling data and examining it to find ways to further enhance COVID-19 safety.

The team’s roster comprises Janice Smolowitz, dean of the School of Nursing; Lora Billings, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics; Patricia Ruiz, director of the University Health Center; Donna Sadlon, associate vice president of Enterprise Application Services; and Gena Coffey, assistant director of Environmental Health and Safety for University Facilities.

Read the full article on the Montclair News Center

Update – March 22: Campus offices will now be closed in accordance with statewide regulations, please consult the department or office website for contact information.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email us, csam-deans-office@montclair.edu

University Resources

• University’s Coronavirus policies and procedures
• Coronavirus FAQ

• B.E. Visvesvaraya Technological University, India
• M.S. North Dakota State University
• Ph.D. North Dakota University

Dr. Anu works at the intersection of Cognitive Psychology and Software Engineering. His research explores how the failures of human cognition (or simply, human errors) that occur during the software development process affect the quality of software. A particular theme of his research is developing human error based approaches for improving the quality of software requirements. Dr. Anu received a Ph.D. in Software Engineering from the Department of Computer Science at North Dakota State University in May 2018, advised by Dr. Gursimran Singh Walia. He also received an M.S. from the Department of Computer Science, North Dakota State University in May 2013.

Dr. Bebbington holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Oxford. He was a postdoctoral researcher at Pennsylvania State University and held the Marie Curie Intra-European Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, France. Before coming to MSU, Dr. Bebbington was an Assistant Professor in Organic Chemistry at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. His main interest is to facilitate the synthesis of natural product-like molecules that are biologically active with potential for use as cancer therapies, antiviral and antibiotic drugs.

Dr. Chung received his Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh in 2004. Before joining MSU, he was a Research Assistant Professor at the Department of Bioengineering at the George Mason University. Dr. Chung’s research is in the areas of computational fluid mechanics and fluid/structure interactions with applications to biological problems and vortex dynamics. His focus is on the computational and mathematical modeling of problems in biophysics including the analysis of blood flow in the Circle of Willis, the material properties of arterial walls and fluid dynamics of the eye. He is also interested in problems of flow past rigid and flexible bodies in geophysics and biophysics.

Dr. Cui describes herself as a geologist and biogeochemist. She studies the interplay of the biosphere and the geosphere of the Earth system, the climate history of our planet, and the evolution of the biosphere. She grew up in NE China and studied geology in China University of Geosciences and Peking University. Dr. Cui received her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University, where she developed modeling tools based on biogeochemical cycle of carbon to reconstruct past climate. Before joining ����vlog, she spent time as a postdoctoral researcher at University of Louisiana and Dartmouth College. Dr. Cui’s other interests include swimming, playing Ping-Pong, and reading.

Dr. DiNapoli received a Ph.D. is in Mathematics Education from the University of Delaware in 2018. His research primarily involves the learning of mathematics and ways to support students’ perseverance during problem-solving, especially at moments of perceived impasse. He loves mathematics and is fascinated by the ways in which it is taught and learned. He is thrilled to be joining the wonderful scholars in the College of Science and Mathematics.

Dr. O’Hagan uses the nematode C. elegans to study the regulation of intracellular transport and cytoskeletal structure by the post-translational addition of the amino acid glutamate to microtubules. Microtubules are the “highways” of the cell; these added glutamates can act like “signposts” to control kinesins, which are the “cargo trucks” inside cells. Cargo transport and cytoskeletal stability are involved in neurodegeneration as well as regeneration of injured neurons; therefore, this work should have important therapeutic implications. Dr. O’Hagan received his B.A. in film studies at Wesleyan University, and was awarded his Ph.D. with distinction at Columbia University for his work on the transduction of touch sensation by a DEG/ENaC ion channel. Dr. O’Hagan is also an avid musician and cyclist.

Dr. Sultana received her Ph.D. from the department of Computer Science and Engineering of Mississippi State University. She completed B.Sc. Degree in Computer Science and Engineering of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in 2006. She received MS degree in Computer Science from Wayne State University, USA in 2011. Dr. Sultana’s research interests are in software engineering focusing on software security, software metrics, software quality, and empirical software engineering.

Ms. Sulikowski was trained as a field ecologist and has continued to work with a variety of species throughout her career. She was recently selected as a Grosvenor Teaching Fellow by National Geographic and awarded the “Women in Wildlife” Award for Education by the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ. Ms. Sulikowski earned her B.S in Conservation and Applied Ecology from Rutgers University and M.S. in Ecology and Evolution from ����vlog. Her thesis research focused on how land use impacts macroinvertebrate communities and she had the privilege of using the Flat Brook at the School of Conservation as her benchmark research site. During her off hours, she is an avid native plant and organic vegetable gardener and loves to hike, paddle, and explore the planet’s wildest places.

Ms. Deshchidn is the program assistant for the NJ School of Conservation. She earned her MFA from Solstice Creative Writing Program and her MA in Creativity Studies from Union Institute. Formerly an English professor, Suzanne enjoys editing projects and discussing her creativity theory. Presently, she is earning her MSW at Rutgers University. Her daughter is currently a Performance major at Montclair.