色界吧

On April 24, the College of Engineering and Computing Sciences hosted its fourth annual Ingenium Awards reception to honor luminaries in the engineering field. The guests, including staff, faculty, alumni, students, and industry collaborators, gathered at NYIT de Seversky Mansion on the Long Island campus to celebrate the achievements of the college and its partners.

Dean Babak D. Beheshti, Ph.D., began the award ceremony by welcoming guests and praising students鈥� research and innovation. 鈥淎s a university,鈥� he said, 鈥渨e are not only disseminating knowledge but actively creating new knowledge.鈥� He provided the audience with a brief recap of the year鈥檚 accomplishments, including new partnerships, facilities, and initiatives, demonstrating how the College of Engineering and Computing Sciences continues to expand its horizons.

Following Beheshti鈥檚 opening remarks, President Hank Foley, Ph.D., shared his aspirations for the future of the college and its students. 鈥淲e believe that a university should be more than a place of learning. It should be a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship,鈥� he said. 鈥淏y investing in our students, 色界吧 will empower them to grow this economy and help shape it for the future.鈥�

The award presentations began with the Rising Star Honoree, bestowed upon a recent graduate who demonstrated early professional achievements and the promise of continued success. Last year鈥檚 winner, Omair Khanzada (B.S. 鈥�16), executive vice president of Tower Consulting Engineers, presented the award to Khalid Hachil (M.S. 鈥�19), an electrical engineer at Stantec. Hachil is a LEED-accredited engineer, teacher, published writer, and founder of his own company. In his acceptance speech, Hachil encouraged engineers to learn how to market themselves. 鈥淲e need to highlight their personalities,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ngineers, drop the calculators for once and pick up Instagram!鈥�

Andra Voicu (B.S. 鈥�08) received the first Mid-Career Excellence Award, an honor presented to an alumnus with significant professional advancement, leadership, and contributions to their field. Voicu, president of Mac Fhionnghaile and Sons Electrical Contracting Inc., has worked with numerous city and state agencies and is an active leader in the movement to increase opportunities for girls in engineering and nontraditional career paths. Voicu spoke of the difficulties she faced as a woman pursuing engineering in the construction field but emphasized her appreciation for 色界吧鈥檚 early support. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see how much 色界吧 has grown and how many more opportunities there are for students,鈥� she said.

The inaugural Government-University Innovation Excellence Award recognizes outstanding collaboration and commitment to advancing technological innovation through academia. This year鈥檚 honoree was the NASA Technology Transfer (T2) program. The T2 program ensures that technological innovations are available to the public by allowing communities across the country to access hundreds of NASA patents and software programs. The Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC), led by Director Michael Nizich, Ph.D., partners with the NASA T2 program to help students gain hands-on engineering experience by building prototypes from NASA patents. Christie Funk, NASA T2X program manager, accepted the award. Speaking to the ETIC students in attendance, she said, 鈥淲ith Dr. Nizich鈥檚 leadership and your ingenuity, you are all contributing to the NASA mission to help us bring our technological innovations to life. It has been our privilege to work alongside such highly talented professionals,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are grateful and look forward to what we can innovate in the future.鈥�

Next was the Industry Partner of the Year Award, presented in recognition of a company鈥檚 high-level contributions that enrich the student experience and ensure the college鈥檚 innovative success. , chief information officer of last year鈥檚 winner, 1-800-Flowers.com, presented the award to A+ Technology and Security Solutions. President David Antar accepted the award on behalf of the company, a school and city safety and security supplier. Antar shared his company鈥檚 commitment to providing resources to promote interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) in K-12 education. 鈥淭he key is getting to kids early and getting them excited about engineering,鈥� he said.

The Hall of Fame Alumnus of the Year is given in recognition of professional achievements and ongoing service and support of 色界吧. Last year鈥檚 winner, Wilson Milian (B.S. 鈥�92), chief executive officer and principal of Milian Consultants, LLC, presented the award to Soyeb Barot (M.S. 鈥�05), vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, Inc., and adjunct professor of computer science at 色界吧. Barot is a data science industry expert and a key player in leading digital transformation initiatives for Fortune 250 enterprises globally. Barot expressed deep gratitude for his educational experience at 色界吧. 鈥淭his university introduced me to the world,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ot just the world of technology, but the world of possibility. It taught me how to think critically, adapt quickly, and never stop learning.鈥�

The final awards celebrated standout student engineers who demonstrated dedication and commitment to academic excellence, professional development, and community engagement. Peter Goldsmith, M.B.A., director of industry relations at 色界吧, presented the Co-op Awards to three past and present students of the cooperative (co-op education) programs: Meng Cheng (M.S. 鈥�24), who studied cybersecurity at 色界吧’s Vancouver campus, and computer science students Marcus Fredericks and Terry Yi.

Student representatives were also in attendance to showcase examples of the innovative projects taking place at the College of Engineering and Computing Science through the ETIC and the Necessary Eleven Steps to Tech Startup (NESTS) course. Guests enjoyed speaking with the talented students and engaging with their NASA-patented prototypes and award-winning technology startups.

By Sophie Yoakum