Noteworthy Achievements

The PROFessionals of the Month program celebrates exemplary Rowan University employees, as nominated each month by their colleagues across the University community. To read honorees’ profiles, visit PROFessionals of the Month.

Jennifer Blaylock, Radio, Television & Film, recently received a John Hope Franklin Research Center Travel Grant to visit Duke University's David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library for her research project entitled “Ghanavision: Ayi Kwei Armah’s Work in Television in the 1960s.” 

Cori Brown, Early Childhood, Elementary Education, and Critical Foundations, received $900,364 from NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development to support the study “Growing apprenticeship in nontraditional sectors (GAINS): Teach South Jersey: Expanding teacher pathways.” 

Ying Chen, Biomedical Engineering, received $200,000 from National Science Foundation to support the study “ERI: Engineering bioactive metallo-elastomer vascular grafts with integrated piezoelectric stimulation.”

Harold Connolly, Geology, received $60,763 (total project amount funded to date: $1,511,306) from University of Arizona (prime sponsor: NASA) to support Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx).

Ronald Ellis, Molecular Biology, received $102,771 (total funding to date: $292,049) from University of Maryland (prime sponsor: National Science Foundation) to support the study “Reconstructing the evolution of novel developmental regulators.” 

Peter Galie, Biomedical Engineering, received $50,000 from Venture Well (prime sponsor: National Science Foundation) to support the study “I-Corps: Continuation and expansion of training and evaluation support; Customer discovery for SFINS commercialization.”

Dianne Garyantes, Journalism, received $5,000 from New Jersey Civic Information Consortium for Google News Initiative Sustainability Accelerator – South Jersey Climate News.

Jun Jang, Chemical Engineering, received  $199,999 from National Science Foundation to support the study “ERI: Encapsulated catalysts for selective hydrodeoxygenation of lignin to sustainable aviation fuel blendstocks.”

Alicia Monroe, Strategic Initiatives, published the article “Bridging education and workforce: Integrating career learning across the PK-20 continuum” in the National Career Development Association (NCDA) journal Career Developments; presented “Aligned on purpose: Integrating learning, career readiness, and employer engagement with students at the center” at the 2026 Eastern Association for Colleges and Employers Conference; and presented “The human factor: Navigating AI bias in hiring and recruitment” at the 2026 NCDA Conference. 

Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM won four Communicator Awards from the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts. The Rowan Report Election Night Special received an Award of Excellence in the General Program category and an Award of Distinction for General Production; The Rowan Sports Review won an Award of Excellence in the General Production division; and Studio 89.7 won an Award of Distinction for General Interview. 

Andrea Vernengo, Chemical Engineering, received $154,917 from National Institutes of Health to support the study “3D bioprinted in vitro model: A new research tool for investigating bidirectional communication in chondrosarcoma.”

Zhihong Wang, Chemistry & Biochemistry, received $581,250 from National Institutes of Health to support the study “Unraveling the molecular mechanisms of the MRAS-SHOC2-PP1C complex.” 

Wei Xue, Mechanical Engineering, received $95,885 (total funding to date: $450,000) from the Office of Naval Research to support the study “Designing strong dielectrics for GHe-Cooled HTS Systems through nanocomposite property tuning.”