CERT Seed Grant Program

Collaborative Early Research Translation (CERT) 

Projects & Programs

Announcement

Collaborative Early Research Translation (CERT) Seed Grant Awards FY2026 (July 2025 - June 2026)

Congratulations to All Awardees!

To accelerate NJIT’s trajectory towards increased collaborative research and innovation funding for higher faculty and student success, a new strategic initiative, Collaborative Early Research Translation (CERT) Seed Grants supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation Accelerating Research Translation (ART) program was launched in 2023 to invest in translational research of high potential impact. These CERT seed grants will initiate early translation of research and innovation, working collaboratively with an external partner, towards developing proof-of-feasibility and potential intellectual property to build foundation to submit competitive proposals for external research translation acceleration funding opportunities, or internal NJIT TITA (Technology Innovation Translation Acceleration) seed grants for further advancement in translational research and market validation.

NJIT’s internal seed funding opportunities are critical components of the strategic Research, Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship (RITE) ecosystem as outlined in the 2030 Strategic Plan. We are pleased to announce the award of 5 CERT Seed Grants for very exciting translational research projects with external collaborators and partners. Each CERT Seed Grant is awarded $25,000 with a total investment of $125,000 which is partially funded by the NSF Accelerating Research Translation (ART) award and through the NJIT Center for Translational Research (CTR).
Congratulations to all recipients of the FY2026 CERT Seed Grants (listed below)!

Newark College of Engineering

NJIT Principal Investigator: Farid Alisafaei, Mechanical Engineering
Collaborator/Partner: Guy Genin, Professor
Collaborator/Partner Affiliation: Washington University St. Louis
CERT Project Title: DermaMech: Kirigami-Inspired Skin Grafts that Enhance Graft Success and Reduce Donor Site Morbidity
CERT Funding: $25,000

NJIT Principal Investigator: Rayan Hassane Assaad, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Collaborator/Partner: Wei Wang, CEO and founder Operating Officer
Collaborator/Partner Affiliation: UrbanTech Consulting Engineering
CERT Project Title: An Intelligent Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Drone Robotic System Featuring Dynamic Sensor Reorientation Apparatus, Multimodal Sensor Fusion, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Smart and Automated Infrastructure Asset Management
CERT Funding: $25,000

NJIT Principal Investigator: Xiaobo Li, Biomedical Engineering
Collaborator/Partner: Qinyin Qiu, Assistant Professor
Collaborator/Partner Affiliation: School of Health Professions, Rutgers University
CERT Project Title: Toward the Development of an Interactive Virtual Environment for Motor Activity Deficits Assessment and Rehabilitation in Children with ADHD
CERT Funding: $25,000

Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts

NJIT Principal Investigator: Sara Casado Zapico, Chemistry and Environmental Science
Collaborator/Partner: Victoria Dominguez, Assistant Professor
Collaborator/Partner Affiliation: Lehman College-CUNY
CERT Project Title: Bonepihist: new biomarkers for osteoporosis prediction and prognosis
CERT Funding: $25,000

Martin Tuchman School of Management

NJIT Principal Investigator: Jae-Hyuck Park, MTSM
NJIT Co-Principal Investigators: Jim Shi, MTSM
Collaborator/Partner: Bryan Santos, Director of Corporate Development at Aerofarms
Collaborator/Partner Affiliation: AeroFarms
CERT Project Title: AgriTech in the era of AI: Vertical Farming Innovation and Implications
CERT Funding: $25,000

Collaborative Early Research Translation (CERT) Seed Grants

To accelerate NJIT’s trajectory towards increased collaborative research and innovation funding for higher faculty and student success, a new strategic initiative, Collaborative Early Research Translation (CERT) Seed Grants has been launched to invest in translational research of high potential impact. These CERT seed grants will initiate early translation of research and innovation, working collaboratively with an external partner, towards developing proof-of-feasibility and potential intellectual property to build a strong foundation to submit competitive proposals for external research translation acceleration funding opportunities. NJIT’s internal seed funding opportunities including FSG, CERT and TITA seed grants are critical components of the strategic Research, Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship (RITE) ecosystem as outlined in the 2030 Strategic Plan. Nine CERT Seed Grants of $25,000 each on very exciting translational research projects with external collaborators and partners have been awarded in the inaugural cohort in 2024. The CERT Seed Grants are partially funded by the NSF Accelerating Research Translation (ART) grant and NJIT Collaborative Research and Innovation Strategic Partnership (CRISP) investment plan through the NJIT Center for Translational Research.