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Anyone else have a raging cough too? HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISY!
We write Stevens history HOBOKEN, NJ | OCTOBER 3, 2025
VOLUME CXXIII No. 4
NEW STUTE EVERY FRIDAY • EST. 1904
The flu won’t wait. Why should you?
In case you missed it: investing 101 BY MAYA MEETS , STAFF WRITER On September 24, 2025, the Stevens Undergraduate Student Life office hosted a short seminar on the basics of investing: What it is, why someone should take interest in it, some basic terminology associated with investing, and why investing may be a better option for some people to reach certain financial goals. The speaker, Professor Sven Esche, grew up in Germany and came to the United States, building himself from the ground up. While he may not be abundantly rich, he is financially free, which he defines as having enough passive income to cover most living expenses. Essentially, this translates to not having to rely on a traditional 9 to 5 to sustain yourself. According to him, this should be a lot of people’s goals, because when you’re financially free, making money stops being a constant stressor in life. You may have more opportunities to work less, pursue work that is more fulfilling, or even simply have more time for family, friends, and hobbies. He argued that investing is one of the best
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BY VINCENT OLIVIERI, STAFF WRITER
Since its relaunch in 2023, The Semcer Center for Healthcare Innovation (CHI) has had “interdisciplinary research at its core.” The CHI’s mission to improve the patient experience through technology will now continue under the leadership of researcher and biomedical engineering professor Dr. Jennifer Kang-Mieler, who has long been involved in health research. Dr. Kang-Mieler’s NIH-supported research projects include ocular drug delivery, retinal imaging, and biomarkers, as shown on the Stevens Faculty page. Alongside her research record, she brings a strong focus on translational work, aligning closely with the CHI’s vision of advancing healthcare innovation and creating real-world impact for patients. Dr. Kang-Mieler didn’t always know she’d end up in biomedical research. As a math major at Northwestern University, she first pictured herself taking a different path — until an NEWS (2-3)
The Clark Foundation donates $21 million to Stevens! Learn more about The Clark Scholars Program, how that money will be used, and how A. James Clark knows Favardin! FEATURE (4)
Fall Festivities Discover the best PSl in Hoboken and the fall festivities near you!
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SAMUEL STRASSBURGER FOR THE STUTE
Stevens receives $21 million donation from Clark Foundation BY CHARLES BEALL, OPINION COLUMNIST On September 9, Stevens Institute of Technology announced it had received the largest investment in university history — a $21 million commitment from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation. The donation provides $10 million in endowed funds to directly support the Clark Scholars
Jennifer Kang-Mieler Appointed Director of the Semcer Center for Healthcare Innovation BY GAVIN MCCRARY, CONTRIBUTOR
gram for all incoming Clark freshmen, and an emergency fund for situations where a student’s family circumstances change, affecting their financial aid,” McKee wrote in an email response to questions from The Stute. President Nariman Farvardin also noted that the investment “focuses on deepening the transformational impact we’ve already seen rather than simply ex-
Whenever a new school year starts, there is always one thing present during every class, lecture, or test: sniffles. As September comes to an end and the fall finally creeps in, flu season likes to come along for the ride. Cold and sicknesses have no trouble spreading either, with tightly packed classrooms creating a gateway for one cough or sneeze to infect 10 or 20 people. Once the air begins to chill, viruses and infections will have a much easier time surviving and making their way throughout campus. Since cases of major respiratory illnesses like influenza seem to reach their peak between late November and December, the best time to take preventative measures is… right now. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every person over six months old should be updated on their flu vaccine every season. With a range of 20 to 40 million flu cases and six to 50 thousand deaths in the United States each year, a
opportunity in a biophysics lab introduced her to modeling protein crystals. This experience pulled her toward lab work and eventually to a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, where she began focusing on vision science. Over the years, her research has grown to cover ocular drug delivery, retinal imaging, biomarkers, and blood flow, gaining recognition both nationally and abroad. Now Chair and George Meade Bond Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Stevens, Dr. Kang-Mieler is taking on the role of CHI director, where she hopes to expand lab opportunities and build stronger ties with clinical and industry partners to better serve patients. Outside of her research, she often engages with her personal hobbies, which include playing the ukulele, building Legos, and attending Broadway shows. She explained that these creative outlets help her stay balanced as she focuses on her goals as a researcher As the new director of the Semcer Center
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Ozone layer hole gone? Gestational diabetes? Smart dogs? Read about what’s going on in the world of science. PULSE (10)
Read answers from the Stevens community to our weekly Roving Reporter, plus solve our weekly puzzle and sudoku.
Program, $1 million to initiate a Clark Philanthropy Challenge, and $10 million toward a capital naming project for renaming the UCC South Tower in honor of A. James Clark. Since Fall 2018, the Clark Scholars Program has provided financial aid packages, mentorship and networking opportunities, and a breadth of research and cultural experiences to its cohort of students.
According to Alida McKee, Director of Special Programs and Administration, the Clark Foundation’s recent donation will allow for a larger cohort size, as well as increases in stipends for research, study abroad, and funds for cultural passport events. Additional aspects of the $10 million in endowed funds include “being able to admit more Pell grant-eligible students to the program, […] a Clark orientation pro-
Research on the relationship between CEOs’ character traits and companies’ social impact titis C, a breakthrough that
Professor of Practice Bill Windsor transforms classrooms into labs of discovery BY SERENA PANUCCI, NEWS EDITOR As a Professor of Practice in Stevens Institute of Technology’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Dr. Bill Windsor has turned classrooms into laboratories of discovery, mentoring dozens of young researchers and preparing them to thrive in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. His presence on campus illustrates how bringing industry leaders into academia can transform students’ experiences and create new opportunities for learning. Windsor brings over 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical research with him, including leadership roles at Schering-Plough Research Institute and Merck. Over the course of his career, he helped advance six drug candidates into clinical trials, co-authored more than 45 peer-reviewed papers, and earned 11 worldwide patents. Among his achievements was Boceprevir, the first oral therapy for hepa-
has helped thousands of patients worldwide. That deep industry background now fuels his teaching, giving Stevens students a rare chance to learn directly from someone who has been on the front lines of drug discovery. The title of Professor of Practice isn’t given lightly. Universities reserve it for professionals with significant accomplishments outside academia — leaders who have shaped industries, developed innovations, or held influential roles. Unlike traditional tenure-track professors, Professors of Practice are appointed for their real-world achievements rather than for publishing or grant funding. At Stevens, they focus on teaching, mentoring, and providing practical research opportunities. For Windsor, that means developing courses like Biophysical Chemistry and Cell Signal Transduction, leading seminars on cancer immunotherapies and COVID-19,
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BY TANYA AVADIA, OUTREACH CHAIR A CEO is responsible not only for driving the top managerial decisions within an organization but also for the reputation and impact that organization has within the world. A CEO is always the reflection of their company, but the opposite is also true with the company being a reflection of their CEO. This begs the question of exactly how CEOs impact their firms. Many studies have been conducted with regard to this, however, mostly through a financial and profitability perspective. Stevens School of Business professor, Dr. Sibel Ozgen Novelli, felt that it was important to look at organizational impact through a different lens. This is what led to the study of CEO characteristics and social impact of their organizations. The Stute had the opportunity to interview Dr. Ozgen regarding this research. Dr. Ozgen holds two PhDs, one from Florida International University in Miami and the other from
Universidad Rovira I Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. At Stevens, she teaches courses on strategy, organizational behavior, and leadership development. She is also involved in the First-Year Experience course for firstyear undergraduate students. The majority of her research centers around leadership, as shown in her study titled “CEO Characteristics and Corporate Social Responsibility and Irresponsibility: Mirrored or Distinct Correlates?” This article, a collaboration between Dr. Ozgen, Dr. Dasol Sim of Saint Louis University, Dr. Nathan Hiller of Florida International University, Dr. Yuyang Zhou of Bentley University, and Dr. Ronaldo Parente of Florida International University, was recently published in the academic journal Corporate Governance: An International Review. This paper looks into two key questions: • Do CEO traits influence a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
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