Research Day 2026 Recap: Winners and Videos

April 21, 2026

The Bloustein School’s 5th Annual Research Day took place in person at the Gov. James J. Florio Special Events Forum on Friday, April 3rd. The event was an opportunity for Bloustein students, faculty, and staff to showcase their research, receive feedback, and build networks around common research interests.

This two-hour event featured 5-minute lightning talks by faculty and staff, a student poster session, and a keynote address.

See Photo Album

(If password is required, email webmaster [at] ejb.rutgers.edu)

POSTER SESSIONS

Saadia Shaik, B.S. Public Health candidate, first place winner of undergraduate best poster competition, stands in front of her colorful poster titled "Breaking Language Barriers: Transforming Healthcare Communications Through Technology."

Saadia Shaik, B.S. Public Health candidate, first place winner of undergraduate best poster competition.

UG Best Poster Awardee: Saadia Shaik
Transforming Healthcare Communications Through Technology
Faculty Advisor: Aakanksha Deoli, MHA

 

 

 

 

 

Landon Tanyeri, B.S. Public Policy candidate; Tiergan Reynolds, MCRP/MPI candidate; Isabella Alvarerz-Gomez, B.S. Public Policy candidate, first place winners of graduate best poster competition, stands in front of their colorful poster titled "Show Me Your Papers: Burden, Cost, and the Modern Voter."

Landon Tanyeri, B.S. Public Policy candidate; Tiergan Reynolds, MCRP/MPI candidate; Isabella Alvarerz-Gomez, B.S. Public Policy candidate, first place winners of graduate best poster competition.

Grad Best Poster Awardee: Tiergan Reynolds, Isabella Alvarez-Gomez, and Landon Tanyeri
Show Me Your Papers: Burden, Cost, and the Modern Voter
Faculty Advisors: Debbie Borie-Holtz, PhD

 

 

LIGHTNING TALKS

Introductions from Dean Stuart Shapiro and Professor Clint Andrews

Yen-Tyng Chen – Cannabis and Alcohol Co-Use and HIV Risk: From Patterns to Mechanisms

Michelle Stuart – Data Informatics Group (CUPR): Gather, Analyze, Manage, Communicate

Sharifa WIlliams – Topics in Survey Research: Methodology and Applications

Lily McFarland – Working from Home: Voices of the Family Child Care Workforce in New Jersey

Bernadette Baird-Zars – Relationships to Action: 32 Cases of Flood Adaptation

Jennifer Senick – Hyperscalers: the Grid’s Hungriest Customers aka The Data Centers that Ate our Electricity aka How BYONCE can support AI aka Hyperscaler Hysteria!

Janine Barr – New Jersey is Sinking and Sea Levels are Rising: An Overview of New Jersey’s 2025 Science and Technical Advisory Panel Report

Garin Bulger – Beyond Sustainability: The State of Regenerative Agriculture in New Jersey

Ashlyn Spector – Tools for Hazard Mitigation Planning & Beyond

Ruth Winecoff – The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act and the Advance Refunding of Municipal Debt

Kevin Majewski – Charting New Jersey’s Higher Education Landscape: Enrollment, Retention, and the Path to Completion

Laura Peck – What Drives Career Pathways Job Training Program Impacts? Evidence from a Meta-Analysis 

Marc Pfeiffer – Rebooting NJ Politics: An AI-Assisted Course Redesign

PANELISTS

Lauren Goodlad – What every researcher should know about generative AI (and “AI” about more generally)

Robert Wolfe – AI and the Future of Expertise

Jim Samuel – The Napkin Diagram Series: Lessons on Procrastination and the Future of AI

Recent Posts

NJSPL Blog: Overview of Literature for AI and Small Businesses

Authored by Sofia Cacchione, MPP candidate Researchers at the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, with funding from the New Jersey State Policy Lab, are currently engaged in a project to examine how New Jersey’s public artificial intelligence (AI)...

Bloustein School announces faculty promotions

The Bloustein School is pleased to announce the recent promotion of several school faculty. Juan Ayala and Jim Samuel have both been promoted to Professor of Professional Practice and approved by the Rutgers-New Brunswick Provost’s office as of May 7, 2026 “I am...

NJ State Financial Aid Outcomes Dashboard Released

The New Jersey Statewide Data System (NJSDS) is pleased to present the first release of the New Jersey State Financial Aid Outcomes Dashboard. This dashboard shows outcomes calculated by linking longitudinal higher education data from the Office of the Secretary of...