Awards and Recognition – School of Computing

Information Technology Student Earns 2nd Place in Paper Competition at IEEE Region 1 & 2 SAC 2026

wiesea — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:10:45 +0000

Elijah Abban Baidoo, a student in the School of Computing, earned second place in the paper competition at the . The conference brought together approximately 300 students and faculty from more than 35 universities across IEEE Regions 1 and 2.

Elijah is a Information Technology major focused on artificial intelligence. His research explores how AI can support small businesses through automated customer service on Instagram, improving response times and reducing the burden on staff.

Under the guidance of Professor Debapriya Hazra, Elijah developed an AI-powered framework for 24/7 text-based customer engagement. Built using n8n software, the Meta Graph API, and Gemini, the system demonstrates how small businesses can provide always-available support without the waiting times of traditional customer service. His work draws on advances in Natural Language Processing, enabling conversational agents to handle multiple customer inquiries simultaneously.

The IEEE R1 & R2 Student Activities Conference (SAC) is an annual event organized by the IEEE Regions 1 and 2. This conference provides students with the opportunity to participate in hands-on workshops, compete in various technical and professional competitions, and network with fellow students, industry professionals, and IEEE leaders.

In recent years, the IEEE Montclair Student Organization has organized numerous academic events, including seminars, hands-on workshops, and showcases in intelligent systems, robotics, AI, and computer science, helping students develop practical technical skills, explore emerging technologies, and engage with the broader engineering community.

Joining IEEE will help to enhance students’ professional records and gain recognition for their future career development. Learn more about and the benefits. Montclair Students are eligible for membership fee reimbursement via the IEEE North Jersey Section and IEEE AP Society.

Process for Membership and Compensation

Visit the website
Click Join as a student
Download your receipt after completing the registration for both IEEE and IEEE AP Society
Email the receipt to Dr. Weitian Wang (IEEE MSU Student Branch Advisor) at wangw@montclair.edu

School of Computing Students Place at ISC2 Capture the Flag for Novices Hackathon

wiesea — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:57:16 +0000

On March 21, 2026, students from the School of Computing at ��vlog participated in the , hosted at in Jersey City, NJ. The event brought together approximately 200 participants from over 20 colleges, universities, and organizations across the state for a full day of interactive learning and challenges in cryptography, web exploitation, digital forensics, and network defense. The hackathon emphasized problem-solving, teamwork, and practical cybersecurity skills.

Montclair State student teams demonstrated strong technical ability and collaboration, earning first place and third place among dozens of competing teams. This marks a significant improvement from the University’s fourth place finish at the same event in 2025, reflecting the continued growth of the university’s hands on cybersecurity education and experiential learning programs. The teams competed across challenges in network defense, forensic analysis, and web exploitation areas identified as critical skill gaps in the national cybersecurity workforce.

Student Teams and Placements

The Hawkers – First Place

Samuel Reyes
Edwin Benitez
James Barrera
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Temi Salami

CyberHawks – Third Place

Dina Mansour
Fernanda Castro
Krishita Vaghani
Tushar Moradiya
Benita Prince

Multiple teams of students were organized, trained, and mentored by Ramy Othman, Assistant Director of Technology and Infrastructure in the College of Science and Mathematics. Othman prepared the students through hands-on workshops in applied cybersecurity techniques, including network traffic analysis, vulnerability assessment, and forensic investigation leveraging the university’s dedicated Cybersecurity and AI research labs, which he built and manages. These labs provide students with enterprise-grade computing and give them direct experience with the tools used in industry and government cybersecurity operations.

The university’s participation was coordinated in collaboration with the ISC2 New Jersey Chapter, with Darryl Carpenter helping facilitate the team’s engagement with the event.

Graduate Students Team Win Best Paper Award at the IEEE UEMCON 2025 Conference

wiesea — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:37:16 +0000

The was held at the IBM Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Center for Learning in New York City in 2025. The student team presented their paper, Extending GANterpolate: Multi-Variable Synthetic Data Generation for Climate Modeling which introduces an advanced AI-driven framework that reconstructs critical atmospheric variables (including temperature, pressure, wind speed, and precipitation) using Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) combined with interpolation techniques.

The proposed hybrid model demonstrated lower reconstruction errors and stronger preservation of inter-variable relationships compared to traditional methods, significantly enhancing the quality of climate simulations and forecasting applications.

Computer Science Student Received NJM Insurance Group Sustainability Award

keanejo — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 17:52:28 +0000

The School of Computing’s student, Yousef Ghaly, received the NJM Insurance Group
Sustainability Award. Ghaly is a Computer Science major focusing on robotics research and
how robotics can improve everyday life and the world around us. He is passionate about using
technologies to develop innovative solutions that drive long-term ecosystem change and impact.

Supported by the PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies, the NJM Insurance Group, and the
Collaborative Robotics and Smart Systems Laboratory, in partnership with the Foodshed
Alliance, Ghaly will work on the development of smart robotics and multimodal sensor systems
to help farmers manage soil health more effectively, advance technology-driven farming
practices, and contribute to the advancement of smart agriculture. This project is supported in
part by the National Science Foundation under Grant CNS-2117308.

Research Team Win Best Paper at IEMTRONICS 2025

wiesea — Tue, 06 May 2025 14:15:20 +0000

The research group won a best paper award at the (Imperial College, London), based on Reviewer’s Choice. The project was titled and was in the Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning category. The paper presentation was conducted in the hybrid mode at this conference.

Julia C. Rodano from ��vlog Awarded SMART Scholarship

wiesea — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 19:20:09 +0000

The SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program is a comprehensive initiative awarding students full tuition for up to five years, mentorship, summer internships, a stipend and guaranteed post- graduate employment with the Department of Defense. This unique opportunity opens doors to over 100 cutting-edge facilities across various branches of the Department of Defense, providing scholars hands-on experience in their field. During their summer internships, scholars are paired with experienced mentors to enhance their technical expertise. Upon completing her studies, Rodano will work full-time at Air Force Research Lab Sensors Directorate at Wright- Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

Rodano said, “I am honored to have been awarded the SMART Scholarship. I found my passion for robotics and STEM in high school at Mount Saint Dominic Academy. Here at ��vlog, I searched out research opportunities to extend and apply what I was learning in my coursework. I look forward to returning to Montclair in the fall of 2025 to complete a MS in Data Science and then beginning a career with the Department of Defense.”

The Department of Defense is the largest employer of federal scientists and engineers, with nearly 300,000 civilian STEM professionals, and plays a pivotal role in developing the nation’s future STEM workforce. Initiatives like the SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program, combined with other Department of Defense education and outreach efforts, continue to build the future STEM workforce, upholding our nation’s scientific and technological edge. For more details on the SMART Program and application guideline, interested students are encouraged to visit the . The application is open annually from August through the first Friday in December.

Graduate Students Repeat Win in RAISE Competition

wiesea — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 15:54:48 +0000

challenged teams to unravel the scope of AI’s impact on our lives and human society. RAISE-25 is a novel Informatics, Advanced Data Science, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Competition. This year competitors were asked one of the most defining questions of our time: What will our AI-powered future look like? From February through the culminating event on April 11 the Next-Gen Tech Thinkers worked meticulously to answer this question. The team representing Montclair this year consisted of students: Blessing Austin-Gabriel, Ernest Chianumba, Shibbir Ahmed Arif, Cristian Noriega and Keerthana Gajari and Faculty Mentors: Dr. Aparna Varde and Dr. Hao Liu.

Our students demonstrated exceptional dedication and innovative thinking throughout this prestigious competition. As mentors, we are immensely proud of their hard work and intellectual contributions.

Drs. Varde and Liu

Please join us in congratulating Team Next-Gen Tech Thinkers on this great achievement and for continuing the School, College and University’s tradition of excellence in data science!

Student Wins Two Awards at ASME IMECE 2024

wiesea — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 19:24:56 +0000

Jordan Murphy, a graduate student majoring in Computer Science, attended the at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon, in late November 2024 to compete in a National Science Foundation (NSF) student research poster competition. In this competition, he received both the “Most Attractive and Organized” Poster Award and the Travel Award.

Jordan Murphy is a graduate research assistant at the , led by Dr. Rui Li, in the School of Computing. His research focuses on multimodal human-machine interaction, affective computing, and 3D modeling and animation.

Research Team Win Best Paper at IEEE UEMCON 2024

wiesea — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 15:15:26 +0000

The 2024 IEEE 15th Annual took place at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, New York. Dr. Wang’s research team were awarded best paper in the Whole Conference, Full Research Papers, Student 1st Authors category. The project was titled .

Robotics Professor Received IEEE Technological Innovation Award

wiesea — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 18:34:46 +0000

CSAM Faculty, Dr. Weitian Wang, a robotics professor, received the 2024 IEEE R1 Technological Innovation (Academic) Award for his contributions to collaborative robotics and human-robot interaction research as well as university, college, and pre-university education.

IEEE R1 Technological Innovation (Academic) Award is a prestigious award to recognize faculty members whose work is for distinguished development, advancement, and pursuit of the IEEE’s technical objectives.

Dr. Wang is an Associate Professor in the School of Computing and the Founder Director of . He has long-standing and extensive research experience in robotics, autonomous systems, human-robot interaction, and artificial intelligence. His research and education initiatives have been supported by multiple programs from different federal agencies and organizations such as NSF CAREER, CRII, MRI, and ERI grants.