2026 Honorary Doctorates

A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Navy helicopter pilot, former federal prosecutor, former congressional representative of New Jersey's 11th District, and now governor, Sherrill’s career has been defined by service to her country and to New Jersey. 

Sherrill was inspired to join the military by her grandfather, a World War II veteran. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1994 – the first class of women eligible for combat roles on ships and aircraft – she spent almost 10 years on active duty in the United States Navy. As a Sea King Helicopter pilot, she led missions throughout Europe and the Middle East. She worked on the Battle Watch Floor in the European Theater during the Iraq War, served as a Flag Aide to the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and was a Russian policy officer aiding in the implementation of our nuclear treaty obligations while overseeing the relationship between the U.S. Navy and Russian Federation Navy.

Following her service in the Navy, Sherrill earned a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a law degree from Georgetown University. She subsequently worked in private practice and later joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey. As an Outreach and Reentry Coordinator, Sherrill established programs to develop trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve and helped people leaving prison to gain employment, housing, and education in order to restart their lives. Later, as an assistant U.S. attorney, she prosecuted numerous federal cases. Sherrill was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019 and served there until she was elected as New Jersey’s 57th governor and began her term in January of 2026.

John Martinson is a venture capitalist, software industry leader and philanthropist. He founded Edison Partners and Martinson Ventures, which have made over 50 investments in NJ based private technology companies. Martinson is a major donor to 10 universities in New Jersey. 

John co-founded NJ Technology Council and was Chair of National Venture Capital Association. During his career, Martinson has advised hundreds of entrepreneurs and innovative businesses. Martinson was a Board member of 80 companies, 5 industry trade associations, 10 non-profits and 6 universities.

Recognized among America’s largest donors to higher education, he currently supports 10 honors colleges and 12 performing arts programs. Martinson has been a donor to NJIT for over 30 years. Funded 7 projects to improve K-12 STEM instruction and NJIT teaching innovations. Albert Dorman Honors College is located in the John Martinson Residence Hall.

His degrees include BS Aero Engineering US Air Force Academy, MS Astronautics Purdue University and MBA Southern Illinois University. Awarded honorary doctorates from Rider, Rowan, Southern Illinois and Thomas Edison State.

In the Vietnam War and other conflicts, Martinson flew 500 combat missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and 9 air medals. Received both major alumni awards from US Air Force Academy.

After graduating from Newark College of Engineering (NCE) in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Virginia Sulzberger began her engineering career at Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), Newark, NJ. While working at PSE&G, she graduated with a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from NCE in 1966. Sulzberger held various positions with increasing responsibilities during her 14 years at PSE&G, advancing to Manager of Transmission Planning, responsible for the reinforcement and expansion of the PSE&G transmission system. At PSE&G, she also became interested in the development of methodologies for measuring or evaluating the reliability of the electric transmission systems, a topic that went full circle throughout her career.

In 1976, Sulzberger joined Exxon Enterprises in New York City, the new business diversification arm of Exxon Corporation. As a Senior Planning Advisor in advanced energy systems, Sulzberger performed technology assessments and developed business plans for possible new ventures and investments for Exxon. In 1984, when Exxon Corporation decided to relocate all of its New York City operations to Dallas, Texas, Sulzberger began a search for new opportunities in the area of electric system reliability.

In 1985, Sulzberger joined NERC in Princeton, NJ, as Director-Engineering, a position she held for 20 years, retiring in 2006. She was responsible for the activities of the NERC Planning Committee and its subgroups. She also was responsible, along with NERC’s nine Regional Reliability Councils, for the development and publication of NERC’s annual flagship report on the future ten-year reliability of the bulk electric systems in North America (United States and Canada). These NERC reports were provided to the U.S. Department of Energy and were available to the public. Sulzberger also had a key leadership role in the development of the first NERC planning standards for the bulk (100-kV and above) electric transmission systems, approved in 1997 by the NERC Board of Trustees. These initial standards are the foundation for today’s NERC standards for which compliance is mandatory under the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005.

In 2015, Sulzberger became the first woman in the United States elected by the National Academy of Engineering into its Electric Power and Energy Systems Engineering section “for leadership and development of electric power system reliability standards.” She also is a member of Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi engineering honor societies.

To keep abreast of transmission system reliability developments, Sulzberger became a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and its Power and Energy Society (PES) in 1963, and a senior member in 1976. Sulzberger was elected an IEEE Fellow in 1990, “for development and application of reliability techniques for the analysis of power systems.” The IEEE Fellow is the highest membership grade in IEEE. Sulzberger was only the second woman to receive this membership grade. She also was elected by the PES to serve a two-year term (2002-2003) on the IEEE Board of Directors. Sulzberger received the PES Meritorious Service Award in 1999 for her 30 years of service to PES and the PES Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

During the 1991-2008 period, Sulzberger became an active member of the U.S. National Committee (USNC) of CIGRE, the International Council on Large Electric Systems, headquartered in Paris, France. She served on the USNC’s Executive Committee as a Vice President and later as Secretary–Treasurer of the USNC. She also was the coordinator of the USNC member activities at the CIGRE meetings held every two years in Paris, France. She received CIGRE’s Distinguished Member Award in 2006 and the USNC’s Attwood Associates Award in 2007.

In 2023, NJIT awarded Sulzberger the Edward F. Weston Medal for professional achievement by an alumnus. Prior to the Weston Medal award, Sulzberger received NCE’s Outstanding Alumni Award in 2007 and the Achievement Honor Roll Award in 1991. From 2007 to 2017, Sulzberger was a member of the Industry Advisory Board to the Helen and John J. Hartmann Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.

Virginia met her husband Carl Sulzberger (also BSEE ‘62 and MSEE ‘66) at NCE. They were in many of the same classes in their undergraduate and graduate programs.