Mehdi Javanmard Named National Academy of Inventors Senior Member

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has named Mehdi Javanmard, an associate professor in the School of Engineering Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, a senior member. He is one of 95 of the foremost emerging academic inventors identified by NAI’s member institutions to be welcomed to the 2023 class of senior members. 

“I’m extremely delighted for this recognition by the NAI for my lab’s efforts in developing electronic and biomedical technologies,” says Javanmard. “It’s truly an hoor to achieve this career milestone in becoming a senior member of the NAI. 

“I must thank my students, postdocs, and collaborators for their efforts. I could not have achieved this without their help. I also give special thanks to the fantastic staff at the Rutgers tech transfer office for being so supportive of my team’s efforts.” 

NAI senior members are active faulty, scientists, and administrators from NAI member institutions whose remarkable innovations have produced technologies that have made, or aspire to make, real impact on the welfare of society The senior members have also achieved growing success in securing patents, licensing, or commercialization while educating the next generation of inventors.  

“This is a well-deserved recognition of Mehdi’s accomplishments, which brings national prestige and visibility to Rutgers, the School of Engineering, and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,” says interim dean Alberto Cuitiño.“ 

Cutting-Edge Inventions 

Javanmard holds 6 patents for his inventions, with another eight patents pending. Among his health-centric devices are: 

  • Lab on a Chip, hand-held or wearable devices equipped with biosensors that monitor exposure to bacteria, viruses, and toxic pollutants 

  • A graphene-based sensor for managing asthma and other respiratory diseases 

  • A tool that analyzes microbes in aquatic environments to help assess the effects of climate change on sensitive ecosystems 

  • The use of nanowell impedance sensing for a wide variety of medical applications, such as the detection of stress hormones like cortisol in blood; smart bandages for monitoring biomolecular activity during wound healing, in collaboration with biomedical engineering professor François Berthaume; and a covid breathalyzer in collaboration with mechanical and aerospace engineering professors Edward DeMauro, a German Drazer, and Hao Lin. 

Javanmard’s innovative wearable impedance cytometry and integration of machine learning and impedance cytometry analyzer has been licensed to RizLab Health. “This is a startup company spinoff out of my lab at Rutgers that’s working to develop a handheld blood cell analyzer for oncology, infectious disease, and mental health patients,” he explains. 

Javanmard will attend the Washington, D.C. celebration of the 2023 class of senior members at the NAI’s annual meeting, Diversifying Innovation for a Strong Economy and a Sustainable Future in June. 

Rutgers Team Wins First Place in Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition

A team of 12 Rutgers Security Club students made up of eight competition members and four alternates bettered 32 teams in February’s virtual Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (MACCDC) qualifiers.  

“We believe this is the first time a New Jersey team has won first place in the qualifiers for MACCDC, which is huge,” says electrical and computer engineering major Harris Ransom.  

“The universities we beat, many of which have dedicated and established cybersecurity programs, included Penn State, Virginia Tech, University of Virginia and the University of Maryland.” 

On March 30-April 1 Rutgers team will advance to the in-person MACCDC finals. The winning team will then move on to the national CCDC competition.  

To compete in the six-hour contest, the students were given seven servers to manage and protect against a team of hackers that was working to breaking the servers and shut them down.  

Putting Rutgers on the Map as a Cybersecurity Contender 

“The fact that we came in first puts us in a good position for the regional finals, but we’re still going to be putting a lot of work studying and preparing for the finals to give us the best chance of moving on to nationals,” Harris explains.  

“Our win also increases the opportunities for Rutgers students to explore cybersecurity and develop their skillsets. By progressing in this competition, we’ve also put Rutgers on the map for employers in the Mid-Atlantic – the nation’s most concentrated cybersecurity job market.” 

The win also earned the team an invitation to a selective job fair with recruiters from competition sponsors such as Palo Alto Networks, Battelle Institute, Raytheon National Cyberwatch Center, Cisco Networking, CrowdStrike, and the CIA.  

Learning about Cyber Defense 

The primarily self-taught team, according to Harris, enjoyed drawing on theoretical cybersecurity knowledge as well as practical real-word systems security in the competition.  

“It’s a great way to take what you’ve learned through studying and apply it to actual time-sensitive situations. The competition simulates a business environment, which is great not only for career experience, but also for personal learning,” he notes.  

“Finding new ways to defend computer systems and network infrastructure is not only interesting and exciting, but it’s also a valuable 21st-century skill to have. Our win was truly a team effort and we’re all looking forward to seeing what we can do at the MACCDC finals,” he adds. 

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