Biomedical engineer Tara Alvarez was given an opportunity to shine and build a brilliant career when she joined New Jersey Institute of Technology. She soared from one research breakthrough to another, garnering awards along the way. She then steered the spotlight on an institution that values excellence, integrity, civility, social responsibility, diversity and communication as it prepares its students and graduates for positions of leadership as professionals and as citizens.
With a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, she became part of the multitalented NJIT faculty in August 2001 as an assistant professor and worked in this capacity until 2006. She then moved up to associate professor from June 2006 to September 2013 and full professor from September 2013, a position she holds up to the present.
National Science Foundation Career Award
Dr Alvarez first bagged the NSF (National Science Foundation) Career Award in 2005. It is one of the most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through research, education and the integration of both.
Her award came with a federal grant for research and education activities for 5 consecutive years which she poured into the following projects: (1) enhance NJIT’s Vision and Hearing Laboratory, (2) design new courses which expanded NJIT’s bioengineering program for undergraduates and (3) develop a week-long course for NJIT’s FEMME program.
The FEMME Program teaches grade school girls the fundamentals of science, technology and pre-engineering concepts. The girls are encouraged to choose careers in scientific and technological fields where women are traditionally underrepresented through a 5-week intensive summer component which includes classroom discussion, laboratory experiments, projects and field trips.
Neuroscience research for vision recovery
Dr Alvarez is currently doing neuroscience research to help stroke victims recover their vision. Her ongoing work led to a diagnosis of other visual diseases. She also sought to study how the brain learns when visually locating objects in three-dimensional (3D) space. She believed that understanding the learning strategies that the human brain uses to control eye movement will also yield insight into the general problem of motor learning. Her research led to a better understanding of basic motor control and also discovered how dysfunctions in the eyes’ three-dimensional tracking system affected motor learning.
Nominee to the Women XR Laureate Award 2018
Alvarez has been nominated for the Women XR Laureate category of the Breakthrough Auggie Awards for her work on concussion diagnosis and VISION therapy. The Award honours a collaborative project by a female researcher or project manager in the field of extended reality (XR), real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables.
Other female nominees come from Stanford, Harvard, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Audi, Dell, Princeton, BMW, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Mercedes, Cornell, Columbia, Berkeley, Brown and dozens of other nominated teams.
Finalist to the 2018 Breakthrough Auggie Awards
Dr Alvarez was shortlisted among the 20 finalists to the 2018 Breakthrough Auggie Awards for her Virtual Reality Vision Therapy VERVE (Virtual Eye Rotation Vision Exercises) research. Her team is composed of engineers, game designers, artists, software programmers and business strategists.
The Awards is held in partnership with the world’s largest technical professional organisation, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and global network innovators VR First. The final winners will be given recognition on 19 October in Munich, Germany.
Dr Alvarez invented a device that measures how quickly people optimize their vision at various distances. The project was done in collaboration with Berangere Granger, an optometrist with French optics company Essilor International. Essilor is the world’s largest manufacturer of corrective lenses and the creator of the first progressive lens.
Biomedical courses taught at NJIT
As a lecturer at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Dr Alvarez taught such subjects as Neural Engineering, Biomedical Instrumentation and Biomedical Electronics. She currently heads the undergraduate department of Biomedical Engineering.
The Biomedical Engineering Department offers the following degree courses: Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering, Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering and PhD in Biomedical Engineering.
NJIT provides educational opportunities for a broadly diverse student body and responds to the needs of large and small businesses, state and local governmental agencies and civic organizations. It has partnered with educational institutions at all levels to accomplish its mission as it advances the uses of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses as a means of improving quality of life.
For education agents and international students interested in a biomedical engineering degree, please refer to the Course Finder for details on scholarships, intake schedules, fees, IELTS and other requirements.
