Improving Water Safety In Newark: Public Symposium Open To Community

NEWARK, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

On June 4, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and the Newark Water Coalition (NWC) will co-host the First Annual Community Science Symposium, convening students, faculty, community members and local organizers to address concerns and strategies for improving Newark water quality and safety.

The event aims to raise community awareness about water in Newark, highlighting efforts by NJIT faculty and exploring the collaboration between NJIT and NWC. Talks and presentations from scientists and community organizers will address building coalitions; bridging the gap between data collection, research and action; and finding opportunities that enable young people to get involved and make a difference.

Opening remarks will be delivered by Sean Stratton, an environmental health scientist and researcher at the Rutgers School of Public Health specializing in drinking water quality and community-facing research.

The symposium will also showcase work from NJIT’s Community-Data, Equity and AI Lab (Community-DEAL), where researchers are constructing an AI-powered platform to help members of the Newark community access and share data about drinking water quality. The Community-DEAL initiative is a collaboration between the NWC and NJIT faculty members Aritra Dasgupta, Alison Lefkowitz, Neil Maher and Alisha Pradhan.

"The idea for the app came from the Newark Water Coalition," says Maher, a professor of federated history. "They’ve been undertaking their own community water testing for years, so we’re really learning from them and NJIT is supporting their efforts."

Maher was recently named a 2026 Andrew Carnegie Fellow for scholarship addressing how politics and inequality can sow division within American communities. The grant supports Maher's progress on an upcoming book with the working title Unequal Natures: Building Consensus Across a Segregated City. In the book, Maher will address how Newark residents faced challenges to public health and safety — a topic that still resonates today — and worked together to build an environmental justice movement that supported social change.

The symposium will be held in NJIT's Student Center's Campus Center from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

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