Illia Kholiavin joined 234 of his peers inducted into the prestigious Matthew Leydt Society When Illia Kholiavin fled his war-torn Ukrainian hometown of Mariupol in 2022, he left behind the only life he’d ever known. “I didn’t leave my city for more than a week in my life,” said Kholiavin, who had to abandon medical […]
Biotechnology Major Mukhilan Saravanakumar Marches to the Beat of the Scarlet Knights
Sophomore Mukhilan Saravanakumar performs with the university’s marching band, which is bound for London in June Mukhilan Saravanakumar found a way to mix two passions – music and science – into a harmonious college experience at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. The sophomore, a member of the honors program at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, is pursuing a […]
Students in Food Development Class Unveil Plant-Based Beverage Creations
The lobby of the Food Science building on the George H. Cook campus was transformed into a teeming taste-testing venue on May 1 as students enrolled in the three-credit “Food Product Development” course showcased the plant-based beverages they created over the course of the semester. Taught by associate professor of food engineering Paul Takhistov, the […]
Live From Antarctica: Rutgers Opens a Portal to One of Earth’s Most Remote Places
The innovative program connects students with researchers in the Antarctic, inspiring a love of science Wearing overalls, layered sweatshirts, and a knit cap to fend off the chilly weather, Rutgers biological oceanographer Mya Sharpe stood on a deck of Palmer Station on Anvers Island near the Antarctic Peninsula, broadcasting live to students, some more than 6,000 miles away. As […]
Landscape Architect Major Josh Kover Plants Seeds for a Budding Future
Tired of being cooped up during the pandemic, Josh Kover started his own company, which has evolved as the Rutgers senior has progressed in his studies At Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Josh Kover finds himself adapting – much like how plants can adapt to their environment. Kover’s evolution took a dramatic turn four years ago. Shiftless […]
Dylan Dreyer (CC’03) Returns to Rutgers as SEBS 2025 Convocation Speaker
Dylan Dreyer, Co-Host, The 3rd Hour of Today,” and Meteorologist with NBC News, is the 2025 Convocation Speaker for the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences on May 19. Dreyer, who graduated cum laude from Rutgers Cook College in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in meteorology, served as weather anchor for the Rutgers TV […]
Not Mushroom for Debate – “The Last of Us” Spores Interest in Mycological Research
In the HBO hit series, The Last of Us, a global pandemic fueled by a mutated Cordyceps fungus turns people into zombies – a scenario seemingly realistic to anyone who watched nature documentaries under quarantine. While Cordyceps is a real fungus that affects insects, famously seen parasitizing ants in BBC’s Planet Earth hijacking their brains […]
Elise Schicker (SEBS ’25) Looks to a Future in Neuroscience
Elise Schicker, a biotechnology major from Hillsdale, NJ, is graduating in the spring 2025 with plans to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience. Schicker is currently working in the neurosurgery department at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School researching epilepsy, specifically SUDEP (sudden and unexpected death in epilepsy). She hopes to apply her experience to studying […]
Curiosity Cultivates Solar Solutions: Innovating Agrivoltaics for a Sustainable Future
Written by Aleen Mirza, intern in the Office of Climate Action and SEBS’26 (Environmental Policy, Institutions, and Behavior major), profiles Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI) affiliate Dunbar Birnie. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but for Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI) affiliate Dunbar Birnie, it sparked a decades-long passion for solar energy and […]
2025 Climate and Weather Day Students Learn From the Best
Students in grades 9–11 from across NJ attended Climate and Weather Day 2025 with the Meteorology program at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences on March 1. The day included a schedule of talks, activities, and demonstrations designed to introduce students to the world of meteorology and atmospheric science. Speakers included Mike Lee, […]
