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.

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.

On September 27, 2023, the IEEE and Robotics E-boards hosted “A Glimpse into The Robotics Industry”, with guest speakers from one of the biggest global leading robotic companies, ABB Inc. This event received great support from the CSAM Dean’s Office and the School of Computing.

Starting with introductory remarks from IEEE Montclair Student Branch Chair Omar Obidat, and Vice-Chair Jesse Parron, both graduate students in computer science, and research assistants for the CRoSS Lab, the seminar began, with them passing the stage to Christelle Keefer and Sivan Levy from ABB Inc.

Christelle Keefer, the Director of Education at ABB Inc, and Sivan Levy, Channel Specialist, enthralled the audience of over 34 on-site/online attendees from different departments by showcasing the Swedish built robotics manufacturing company, ABB Inc. Christelle and Sivan initially discussed their roles in the company. Christelle stated that her goal is to “get turnkey solutions into schools locally in the United States, and globally, by networking with teachers and students to build mobile cell packages with engineers, course designs and materials, and a certificate program”. Sivan Levy, a recent UCLA graduate and current member of the ABB rotational program expressed her role as Channel Specialist as “working with all integrator partners, distributor partners, and education partners to support them with insight sales, marketing materials, and business.”

Following the brief introduction of their roles, they continued to divulge insight into ABB Inc. ABB has 4 business areas, “Electrification, Motion, Process Automation, and Discrete Automation”, which holds 20 divisions within the company. Thus, employing nearly 11 thousand people in more than 50 countries. ABB, being one of the world’s leading robot suppliers, has a comprehensive and integrated portfolio covering robotics and machine automation solutions. ABB’s robots are used in a variety of industries, such as the food industry, 3D printing architecture (concrete for houses), medical centers (research and improving hygiene), entertainment industry (special effects for shows), and automotive (printing car parts). Christelle then went on to discuss the education aspect of ABB. Currently, ABB has robots in over 50 universities and has 5 STEM cobots (collaborative robots) that educators could purchase for students to learn on. As well as, a globally recognized STEM certificate, which can be achieved while working alongside courses for your degree.

Sivan went into detail regarding the ins and outs of RobotStudio, and how powerful this tool is for industry and educators. She stated that it is a “simulation tool that lets you model the concepts of your work cell in a virtual world, and the environment for creating programs is much more powerful, open, and easy to use than others in its class”. Lastly, Sivan expressed that ABB has many internships and Co-op opportunities all over the U.S., and for recent college graduates, the rotational program is excellent to get you well-versed in different areas of the company. This two-year program allows for new hires to travel across the United States, explore different cities and offices, learn different parts of the company, and be provided with an abundance of opportunities to learn from.

Following the conclusion of the presentation, Christelle and Sivan opened the floor to discussion and questions. Students took this opportunity to ask questions such as “What kind of things through classes or otherwise should someone do to prepare themselves to get into the field”? Christelle and Sivan explained to make sure you are good with a programming language and make sure you are passionate with it, for ABB specific look into RobotStudio. Another student asked, “Can you integrate multiple robots, and would they be aware of each other in Robotstudio?” To answer that question, they stated, yes you can, and you can implement as many as you want, you can also implement CAD or SolidWorks models. Entire factories have been simulated before. In particular, CRoSS Lab talked with ABB about the collaboration opportunities to develop Montclair-ABB STEM certificate and Co-op education programs.

Overall, the first newly established Montclair Robotics and AI Seminar Series, “A Glimpse into The Robotics Industry” was a huge success. Vice-Chair Jesse Parron, asked the student audience how they felt regarding the seminar, and was welcomed with happy feedback. A big thank you to ABB Inc’s Christelle Keefer and Sivan Levy for taking the time to provide Montclair students with an amazing presentation.

Keep an eye out for future events of the Montclair Robotics and AI Seminar Series!

The School of Computing will provide academic leadership and facilitate collaborations for computing, and embody the vision of an academic unit without walls. It will strive to achieve its academic goals through effective programmatic integration with other units, increase its research activity in basic computer science and selected computing areas in which computer science is a key, but not exclusive, component, and expand partnerships and entrepreneurial activities by applying computer science to other areas.

The School of Computing will house existing undergraduate and graduate degrees in Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Data Science, Applied Mathematics, and Statistics, with planning for new academic offerings underway. Computer Science, and its related programs, is one of the most in-demand occupational job areas for the next decade, with U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections for future employment four times that of all occupations.

Participating in a hackathon provides an ENORMOUS amount of benefits. You learn more in a short amount of time than you’d learn in the span of several months. You can go above and beyond your comfort zone to create exciting projects in an intensive environment. You get to polish and test your skills and take the challenge to compete with other people. You get to meet new people, including our external sponsors, who may be your potential employers. You can add a shining point in your resume when you hunt for jobs. If you’d like to participate, please fill out the survey to help us organize a hackathon that is tailored to your tastes.

If have any further questions, feel free to contact:

• Dawei Li | Faculty Advisor of Computer Club
  dawei.li@montclair.edu
• Rami Alhussein | Vice President of Computer Club
  alhusseinr1@montclair.edu
• Sammy Samkough | Project Manager of Computer Club
  samkoughs1@montclair.edu

1. accommodate professionals from diverse academic backgrounds
2. provide a broader coverage of Cybersecurity topics with computational as well as legal and ethical training.  This approach will address demands in both technical and managerial fields of Cybersecurity.

Additional benefits of this program include:

• Comprehensive and affordable
• Students gain state-of-the-art cybersecurity skills to meet the demands of fast-growing industry
• Flexible curriculum taught by Ph.D.-level cybersecurity experts
• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge research projects
• Access to modern infrastructure and computing equipment in the Center for Computing and Information Science

In summary, the Master in Cybersecurity will provide students with a comprehensive and affordable education to meet the growing demand for trained Cybersecurity professionals.  While many other university programs require a substantial technical background and train students for technical positions our program also takes in account other aspects of Cybersecurity such as legal, ethical and policy.

For more information and to learn how to apply, visit the Graduate School’s webpage for the Cybersecurity program.

The allows students who are showing a significant interest in computing to gain the basic skills in the field of Computer Science and Information Technology. It teaches the fundamentals of computer software programming and computer hardware and also covers discrete mathematics and data structures and algorithms.

The students took third place for their product NeatSweeps in the third annual , an innovative statewide collegiate business model competition showcasing the Garden State’s top young talent.

Matin and Siddiqi, who are EOF Scholars at the university, also won the Audience Choice Award, which included a $100 gift card. The students were taught and mentored by Prof. Jason Frasca as they completed the Feliciano Center’s Certificate of Entrepreneurship.

Learn more about Dr. Aparna Varde’s work on her .