Faculty & Staff Accomplishments
We are excited to share recent accomplishments from faculty and staff members at our campuses around the world.
Accomplishments are listed by date of achievement in reverse chronological order, with the most recent first.
Milan Toma
College of Osteopathic MedicineMilan Toma, Ph.D., assistant professor of clinical sciences, published a paper, "," in Algorithms, an academic journal, published on February 25, 2026. The paper systematically evaluated five leading multimodal large language models (including GPT-5, Gemini 3 Pro, Llama 4 Maverick, Grok 4, and Claude Opus 4.5 Extended) on a standardized radiological interpretation task. The authors found a high rate of fundamental diagnostic errors and significant variability between models, even on straightforward cases. Sungjoon Hong, a NYITCOM first-year medical student, and Mihir Matalia, development security operations engineer from the NYITCOM Academic Technologies Group, were co-authors of the paper.
Milan Toma
College of Osteopathic MedicineMilan Toma, Ph.D., assistant professor of clinical sciences, working with 懂色帝 medical students Rachel Lee and Sarah Landman, have published a research paper, "Feature-Limited Performance in Machine Learning Prediction of Endometriosis from Clinical Symptoms," in the academic journal Medical Research Archives, on February 24, 2026. The paper highlights the ongoing challenges women face in healthcare, particularly with conditions like endometriosis that are historically underdiagnosed and under-researched. This paper underscores the urgent need for better diagnostic tools and richer data sources.
Cameka Hazel
College of Arts and SciencesCameka Hazel, Ed.D., assistant professor of psychology and counseling in the College of Arts and Sciences, published "," in the Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision. She was the first author of the article, published on February 16, 2026.
Sebastien Marion
LibrarySebastien Marion, M.L.I.S., M.B.A., librarian III, and Eduardo Rivera, librarian III, have been awarded a (LILRC) grant as co-principal investigators. The project, "Building AI Fluency Through Prompt Engineering: A Scalable Model for Long Island Libraries," was awarded on February 11, 2026, and will pilot Long Island鈥檚 first shared Prompt Engineering Literacy Toolkit, aligned with the Association of College and Research Libraries AI Competencies.
Colleen Kirk
School of ManagementColleen P. Kirk, D.P.S., professor of marketing, co-wrote an . It focused on using AI to write Valentine's messages. The article, , was also published in Fast Company magazine on February 8, 2026. The research suggests that having AI fully ghostwrite heartfelt Valentine鈥檚 messages can backfire by triggering guilt and reducing authenticity (a 鈥渟ource-credit discrepancy鈥�). The article recommends using AI for brainstorming while ensuring the final note is meaningfully one's own. Her research, on the same topic, was cited in a on February 9, 2026.
Jonathan Goldman
College of Arts and SciencesJonathan Ezra Goldman, Ph.D., professor of English, Department of Humanities, published an article "Luis Mu帽oz Mar铆n: Boricua Modernism between Poetics and Politics" in the collection "" (Oxford Universty Press), on February 6, 2026. The article analyzes the 1920s fiction, verse, and journalism of Luis Mu帽oz Mar铆n, written two-plus decades before Mar铆n became the first democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico.
Kate E. O'Hara
College of Arts and SciencesKate E. O鈥橦ara, Ph.D., associate professor of interdisciplinary studies, presented 鈥淎ge is Only a Number: An Exploration of Intergenerational Learning鈥� at the , on February 3, 2026. O鈥橦ara鈥檚 autoethnographic study positions intergenerational learning in higher education as a transformative space where shared experience, reflection, and action merge to promote civic engagement, digital literacy, and social activism. Additionally, the study reflected findings on the health and wellness that emerges through social interaction, knowledge sharing, and emotional support.
Colleen Kirk
School of ManagementColleen P. Kirk, D.P.S., professor of marketing, was interviewed by Long Island newspaper Newsday on January 23, 2026, about why so many of us feel compelled to rush to the store for groceries before a storm hits.鈥� In the article, titled . Kirk discussed how stocking up is not just about practical preparation, but also about restoring a sense of control when the weather, and our routines, feel uncertain.
Robert Amundsen
College of Engineering and Computing SciencesRobert N. Amundsen, Ph.D., associate professor and director of energy management, presented 鈥淯nconventional Energy Storage: Paving the Way for Renewables鈥� at the third , held January 20鈥�22, 2026.
Wei Zeng
College of Engineering and Computing SciencesWei Zeng, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineering, mentored a team of 懂色帝 engineering students that won first place at the 2026 KEEN Bridge Design Competition. Tasked with building a 36-inch span using only cardstock and staples, the team achieved a staggering 18.6 strength-to-weight ratio鈥攕upporting nearly 2,000 grams with a bridge weighing just 107 grams.