Toms River East Senior Named To Governor's STEM Scholars

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River East student has been accepted into the 2022-23 Governor's STEM Scholars program.

The program announced 128 students across New Jersey have been accepted out of 600 applicants for the 2022-23 school year.

The students will participate in four conferences that will explore different aspects of New Jersey’s STEM economy, focusing on STEM in government, academia, and industry, and take part in a research project.

The conferences will be held at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University, Rowan University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Stevens Institute of Technology, and the high school students will work with undergraduate and graduate-level students on research to advance the work of New Jersey’s research community.

The students will tour New Jersey STEM facilities and laboratories and get to meet with STEM professionals to get a deeper perspective of STEM opportunities throughout the state, program officials said.

"New Jersey has always been at the center of innovation excellence and scientific discovery led by some of the world’s most talented STEM professionals," said Anthony Cicatiello, president of the Research & Development Council of New Jersey, which sponsors the STEM program.

"The Governor’s STEM Scholars looks to secure this legacy into the future by inspiring students who will make up the next generation of these scientists, engineers, and innovators," he said. "We look forward to seeing the impact they make on the Garden State, the country and across the globe."

The Governor’s STEM Scholars, which was founded in 2013, is a public-private partnership between the Research & Development Council of New Jersey, the Office of the Governor, the New Jersey Department of Education, the New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education, and public and private research institutions based in New Jersey.

"The Governor’s STEM Scholars believes that maintaining a pipeline of talented individuals is critical to maintaining excellence in innovation. In recognition of this, the Governor’s STEM Scholars was created to engage the next generation of research and innovation leaders in the state’s vast STEM economy early," program officials said.

The scholars come from across the state and represent 20 of New Jersey's 21 counties. When they graduate in May 2023, they will join an alumni cohort of more than 700 students.

To be selected for the program, students must have at least a 3.5 GPA, be a high school sophomore through doctorial-level student at a New Jersey-based high school or university, and demonstrate a passion for STEM.

Participation in the program is free for students due to sponsorships by BASF, Bristol Myers Squibb, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Ocean Wind 1, the PSEG Foundation, Spencer Savings Bank, Stryker, and Verizon.

The Research & Development Council of New Jersey serves as "a unified voice for the industry, academia, and government working with the State to create an environment where R&D can thrive."