Our Team

Rani Warsi Sullivan (PI) is a Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Mississippi State University (MSU) and the holder of the Richard H. Johnson Endowed Chair. Dr. Sullivan  is the Director of the High Performance Composites Materials Laboratory. She has teaching and research interests in the areas of engineering education, solid mechanics, and the testing and analysis of aerospace composite materials and structures. She is the founder and adviser for the Women of Aerospace student organization at MSU.  Dr. Sullivan is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.  She is the recipient of the 2019 Hermann Oberth Award and the 2014 SAE International Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award.  Dr. Sullivan is a member of the MSU Bagley College of Engineering Academy of Distinguished Teachers.

Dr. Jean Mohammadi-Aragh (Co-PI) is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Mississippi State University. Dr. Mohammadi-Aragh investigates the use of digital systems to measure and support engineering education, specifically through learning analytics and the pedagogical uses of digital systems. She also investigates fundamental questions critical to improving undergraduate engineering degree pathways. . She earned her Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech. In 2013, Dr. Mohammadi-Aragh was honored as a promising new engineering education researcher when she was selected as an ASEE Educational Research and Methods Division Apprentice Faculty.

Soundouss Sassi (Sou) is a doctoral student in Engineering Education, she has previously earned her MS and BS in Aerospace engineering and is now the graduate working on the culture project. Sou is part of the first Moroccan cohort that came to the Mississippi State University. Having been raised in the traditional culture of Morocco as well as having experienced the U.S. culture for the last four years, she will be a valuable resource during data analysis in this research, providing insight into the Moroccan culture and traditions. She will act as the liaison between the PIs and the Moroccan participants of this project.