Milestones

A Pioneer in Automation Receives NJIT’s 2019 Excellence in Research Award

Oya Tukel Appointed Dean of Martin Tuchman School of Management

(From left): Marjorie A. Perry ’05, president and chief executive officer of MZM Construction & Management and chair, NJIT Board of Overseers; MengChu Zhou, distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering; and Joel S. Bloom, president of NJIT.

MengChu Zhou, a pioneer in automation science and engineering who optimizes systems, from manufacturing and data centers to transportation, in order to glean efficiencies and improve outcomes, received NJIT’s 2019 Excellence in Research Award. Zhou, distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering, uses Petri nets — mathematical models that track discrete events in distributed systems — plus the internet of things, big data analysis and machine learning to build smart systems. He is currently working on information and control flows in semiconductor manufacturing that will increase productivity with cost- and time-saving improvements, among others. On the efficiency side, Zhou is exploring methods to realize net zero energy data centers, which require vast amounts of electricity to run their systems and to cool them, by accurately predicting the timing of tasks and scheduling them optimally to computing servers. He is also working with mechanical engineers on technology that would use inexpensive, highly-scalable heat sources to power potentially huge vacuum generators. Applications include water treatment facilities at hydraulic fracturing sites and tunnels for extremely high-speed trains. n

NJIT announced the appointment of Oya Tukel as dean of Martin Tuchman School of Management, effective July 1, 2019. Tukel received her Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from the Middle East Technical University and her doctorate in decision and information sciences from the University of Florida.

Tukel is an effective administrator, researcher and educator with over 27 years of experience at Cleveland State University. A professor of operations and supply chain management, her administrative experience spans the last 10 years as associate dean overseeing nine majors and over 2,100 students, department chair for supply chain management and finance, and director of graduate programs. n

NJIT Announces Appointment of New Dean for Hillier College of Architecture and Design

After an international search, NJIT announced the appointment of Dr. Branko Kolarevic as dean of the J. Robert and Barbara A. College of Architecture and Design, effective July 1, 2019. Kolarevic received his Diploma Engineer of Architecture degree from the University of Belgrade in 1986 and his Master of Architecture in design studies and doctorate in design from Harvard University in 1989 and 1993, respectively.

Kolarevic is an innovator, researcher and educator. He was one of the founding directors of the Laboratory for Integrative Design at the University of Calgary, where he held a Chair in Integrated Design from 2007 to 2016. He also has served in various administrative roles in Calgary, first as associate dean and then as co-director of the Computational Design Media program. n

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