The Governor’s STEM Scholars have announced their 2021-22 class, consisting of 100 high school and college STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) students from across Garden State.

The Fellows are a public-private partnership between the New Jersey Research and Development Council, the Governor’s Office, the State Department of Education, the Secretary of State for Advanced Education, and institutes of public and private research based in New Jersey.

“By 2027, STEM jobs will increase by 9% in New Jersey,” said Anthony Cicatiello, president of the Research & Development Council of New Jersey. “The Governor’s STEM Fellows introduce the best and brightest STEM students in the state to the companies, professionals, research and STEM opportunities available in the Garden State.

“Through the Governor’s STEM Fellows, we are ensuring that our state’s talented students stay in New Jersey to fill these roles, securing our pipeline of academics and workforce for the future.”

The effort introduces top performing students from New Jersey high schools and colleges to industrial, academic, and government research in New Jersey.

This year marks the eighth and most diverse class of academics. Of the 100 members, 66% are female, 82% identify as a person of color, and 32% have an under-represented racial identity in STEM fields, particularly Black, Latinx or Indigenous. In addition, 27% are or will be first generation college students. The researchers come from across the state and represent 20 of New Jersey counties.

Fellows were selected from a pool of over 600 applicants and were required to have at least a GPA of 3.5, be in their second year of high school through to a PhD at a New Jersey high school or university, and demonstrate a passion for STEM.

“From light bulb to submarine, transistor to unique COVID-19 vaccine, New Jersey has an illustrious history of research and innovation led by its vast pool of talented STEM professionals,” said Alise Roderer , director of Governor’s STEM. Scholars. “In generations from now, it is these 100 future scientists, inventors and innovators that we will admire and study for their contributions to society.”

Fellows will attend four conferences to be held at New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rowan University, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Kean University. They will participate in a research project, led by undergraduate and graduate scholars, that advances the work of the New Jersey research community and visit New Jersey STEM facilities and laboratories and network with STEM professionals.

2021-22 Governor’s STEM Fellows are (* denotes a college academic):

Atlantic

• Krisha patel
• Isabelle simpson
• Pierre Tran *

Bergen

• Shriya Dani
• Shivam dave
• Sumana Gadiraju *
• Hailey Haglid
• Zain Kamal *
• William lee
• Gianna Meurer
• Habiba Morsy *
• Hannah Park
• Erika Toliao

Burlington

• Nikhil arayath
• Devin Torres
• Camden
• Lesslie Montiel *
• Cape May
• Emily Mawhinney

Cumberland

Essex

• Leonard Jasper
• Alexander John
• Elaine mann
• Deborah McDougall
• JéVanni Napoleon
• Achunike Okafor
• Julia schanen
• Nathaniel Vinoya *

Gloucester

• Sofia Capitillo-Villasmil
• Vincent Renard
• Senay Tesfamichael *

Hudson

• Shrutee Sangeeta Behera
• Sophia benavente-sayani
• Kamila Esquivel *
• Ankit Mithbavkar
• Abigail Negron
• Sade Peña
• Aileen Rangel
• Mitchell Tillman *
• Nicolle Vilca *

Hunterdon

Mercier

• Ananya Balaji
• Gabriella Dong
• Fadi Farag
• Janani Rajan
• Siddharth Satish

Middle-sex

• Natasha Antin
• Arnuv batra
• Ramrithvik gadhamsetty
• Moho Goswami
• Ella Joasil
• Tamara Kasikovic
• Madeline Keel
• Sanya Kohli
• Shricharan Kulavanikerpuram Subramaniam *
• Darshan Lakshminarayanan
• Aliza lopez
• Sydney munn
• Bhavini pandey
• Diya Patel
• Ariyana Rahman
• Kayla soto
• Prasiddha Sudhakar *
• Shivam Syal
• Alvin wu

Monmouth

• Cassidy Brennan
• Sophie dengler
• Alexandre garbuz
• Amanda guan
• Annette kersten
• Anita osuri
• Justine Prophet
• Shreshth Rajan
• Audrey yan

Morris

• Willy chan
• Isa khan
• Siya Kulkarni
• Andric Lu
• Mihir Rao
• Christophe Sebastien
• Ella-Maria Sharkey
• Ananya Shrivastava
• Lisa Stites *

ocean

• Jacquelyn Anderson
• Nayeli Rojas

Passaic

• Cameron Farid
• Nona Fulmore Harris
• Fhameda Sultan

Salem

Somerset

• Yuhua chen
• Daisy dong
• Isha Gangavaram
• Xavier Garay *
• Jiya mody
• Anika Parthiban
• June Yin
• Daniel Zhang
• Helene zheng

union

• Sweksha Mehta
• Antonio Mena *
• Claudia Reines
• Diana stinkova