The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has officially expanded its research footprint into the Northeast Science and Technology (NEST) Center, the former global research headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Merck.
The move, announced Thursday, establishes the NJIT @ NEST Center for Translational Research, a 25,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility designed to bridge the gap between academic inquiry and commercial innovation.
The new facility currently serves as the research base for four NJIT professors and 26 students. These researchers are utilizing world-class laboratories to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in science and sustainability:
- Biomedical Innovation: Developing polymeric systems for targeted drug delivery and gene therapy, as well as novel imaging materials to study disease processes.
- Sustainability & Recycling: Innovating new chemical recycling strategies to manage consumer plastics.
- Environmental Protection: Investigating water-particulate interactions to design global solutions for contaminant fate and water treatment.
“By becoming the first academic partner at NEST, NJIT is achieving a significant milestone in the creation of a life science, technology, and pharmaceutical research hub,” NJIT President Teik Lim said. “This center will expand upon our track record of translating fundamental research into products and services that benefit humanity.”
The lease at the Kenilworth campus provides NJIT with a “turn-key” environment that would be difficult to replicate on a traditional urban campus. Lim noted that by moving these specific teams to NEST—located just a few miles from the main Newark campus—NJIT has simultaneously freed up space in Newark to grow its environmental systems modeling and site remediation studies.
Matt Flath, senior vice president of Asset Management for Onyx Equities, emphasized the collaborative potential of the site. “Our site allows them incredible access to the researchers and organizations that are already at the NEST Center, and those who will join in the months and years to come,” Flath said in a release.
The NEST Center is a 100-plus acre campus owned by a joint venture including Onyx Equities, Machine Investment Group, and Pivot Real Estate Partners. It is specifically zoned to support the life science, bio-manufacturing, and office needs of the tri-state area’s burgeoning tech sector.
NJIT’s move into the former Merck site reinforces its standing as a “nexus of innovation” and a primary engine for New Jersey’s technological workforce. As an R1 Carnegie Classification research university, NJIT is consistently ranked as a top value institution.
