Founded in 1881 as the Newark Technical School, today’s New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) comprises six specialized schools offering 50 bachelors’, 46 masters’, and 19 doctoral degree programs.
Currently spending approximately $140 million annually on cutting-edge applied research across multidisciplinary centers of excellence and specialized high-tech labs, NJIT’s classrooms exemplify what eighth president Dr. Joel S. Bloom describes as NJIT’s unique “edge in knowledge,” and are a testament to the school’s mission to set the bar for technology-enabled learning. As such, NJIT’s Digital Media experts are second to none in evaluating video equipment for a wide array of educational projects and purposes. That those experts rely on Panasonic to meet and exceed their rigorous requirements for video displays underscores the brand’s class-leading imaging, reliability, and support.
Deployed in the “Science Commons,” the primary entrance to NJIT’s recently opened Life Sciences and Engineering Center, the video wall, which serves as an indoor/outdoor viewable information system when it’s not displaying instructional videos, diagrams or collaborative works in progress, may be the hardest- working device on campus.
“Even without its tech-heavy labs and classrooms, the Life Sciences and Engineering Center epitomizes the word ‘creative,’” House says of the “something old, something new” architecture of the 48-acre campus’ newest landmark.
“What the architects did was seamlessly merge the new structure with the existing York Building (the former Science and Engineering Center) by physically connecting the two buildings and creating a central entrance between them,” House explains. “The aptly nicknamed ‘Science Commons’ is a large space right inside that access point. In addition to the Video Wall, the Commons contains two interactive Panasonic TH-65LFE8U 65-inch display screens with integrated network connectivity, USB media player, and one interim PC.
“The Wall can be ‘fed’ with inputs ranging from VGA to HDMI on the PC side to a full range of Android and Apple ports on the displays,’ House notes. “The idea, which was quickly tested and verified after the system’s April deployment, was to empower folks working on challenging projects to just kind of pass through and communicate about their work.”
In addition to materials and messages created by NJIT staff and students, the Video Wall, deployed and programmed by Panasonic reseller Avectus A/V Systems in nearby Lebanon, N.J., is fully compatible with traditional internet and cloud-based learning systems and individual class content from “distance lecturers” and other universities.
