Woodbridge Resident Wins Prestigious Scholarship

Woodbridge NJ

23 April, 2020

12:27 PM

Description

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) undergrads continue to earn the nation's top academic honors, the latest being a new university record of four students named Goldwater Scholars this year by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. The scholarship is recognized among the country's most prestigious for STEM undergraduates pursuing research careers. One of these scholars is Woodbridge resident Sara Abdelhamid. Abdelhamid is a sophomore chemical engineering major researching the impact that different bottom shapes of industrial stirring vessels have on the production quality of everything from the taste of our food, to the effectiveness of our drugs, to the texture and fragrance of our home goods. She started her work as a second-year student in the mixing lab of NJIT Distinguished Professor Piero Armenante, and has since been constructing her own customized mixing systems for her research at NJIT's Makerspace. Her work has been recognized nationally, receiving first prize in the 2019 AIChE Conference's Undergraduate Poster Competition. "In industrial mixing processes, the slightest increase in power dissipation can cost millions of dollars," said Abdelhamid. "My research is providing clear answers to the question of how different tank bottom shapes affect power dissipation and just suspended speed, or the minimum impeller speed needed to keep solids suspended off the vessel's bottom. ... The findings I soon hope to publish have the potential to make industrial mixing processes much more efficient and cost-effective." This semester, she is taking part in a co-op in Johnson and Johnson's consumer R&D department, investigating consumer products and ways to overcome production problems. She'll add her new Goldwater Scholarship to her many other accolades as an Albert Dorman Honors College scholar, which include Edward Rogers and Professor Kenneth MacFadyen, Chemical Merit and NJIT Honors scholarships, as well as selection into the McNair Scholars Program. On Her Scholarship and Future: "Coming from an Egyptian immigrant family, I have always been curious about the world outside my classroom and community, and about cultures beyond mine. The Goldwater Scholarship is a key milestone in shaping my career and establishing endless connections with scientists, mathematicians and engineers beyond my field of study. In the future, I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical engineering with a focus on pharmaceuticals." About New Jersey Institute of Technology: One of only 32 polytechnic universities in the United States, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) prepares students to become leaders in the technology-dependent economy of the 21st century. NJIT's multidisciplinary curriculum and computing-intensive approach to education provide technological proficiency, business acumen and leadership skills. NJIT is rated an "R1" research university by the Carnegie Classification®, which indicates the highest level of research activity. NJIT conducts approximately $170 million in research activity each year and has a $2.8 billion annual economic impact on the State of New Jersey. NJIT is ranked #1 nationally by Forbes for the upward economic mobility of its lowest-income students and is ranked 53rd out of more than 4,000 colleges and universities for the mid-career earnings of graduates, according to PayScale.com. NJIT also is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 100 national universities.