The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has named two NJIT faculty members — Cesar Bandera, master teacher and Leir Endowed Chair for Entrepreneurship, and Sara Zapico, assistant professor of forensic science — to the 2026 class of Senior Members. Bandera’s work sits at the intersection of technology innovation, entrepreneurship education and mobile health. Zapico directs NJIT’s Interdisciplinary Forensics and Biomedical Sciences Lab (ForenBioS), where she applies biochemical, epigenetic and molecular approaches to advance forensic science.

Scientists have developed a new edge-of-field water-treatment system that reduces the load of excess nutrients washing into waterways from farm drainage systems. Their method combines a woodchip bioreactor with a two-step biochar water-treatment module. A one-year field trial demonstrated that the system reduced both nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from farmland.

In a Journal of Cyber Policy paper published late last year, Milton Mueller researched whether the existential AI threat was a real possibility. What Mueller found is that deciding how far AI can go, and its limitations, is something society shapes. How policymakers get involved depends on the specific AI application. 

Lehigh University announces five faculty members named 2026 Senior Members of the National Academy of Inventors. Prolific inventors Hannah Dailey, Martin Harmer, Mayuresh Kothare, and Carlos Romero represent the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, alongside Kai Landskron from the College of Arts and Sciences. This prestigious national honor recognizes academic researchers whose patented technologies have achieved significant societal and economic impact.