PhD

Trini S. Balart is a PhD student in the Multidisciplinary Engineering Department at Texas A&M University. With a focus on Engineering education and the impact of Artificial Intelligence on education.  She completed her bachelor of Computer Science Engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Her main research interests include improving engineering students’ learning, innovative ways of teaching and learning, and how artificial intelligence can be used in education in a creative and ethical way. Developer of the Artificial General Intelligence Integration into Engineering Education (AGIIEE) Framework.

Pearl Darwin-Ortega is a Ph.D. student in the department of Interdisciplinary Engineering with a focus on Engineering Education. Her current research focuses on the usability of remote resources in campus classrooms, particularly competency-based learning modules for sophomore aerospace engineers. She received her undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, TX and a M. Eng. degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University with a research focus in remote healthcare. Pearl is currently a graduate research assistant for the Revolutionizing the Diversity of Engineering (REDO-E) grant funded by the National Science Foundation.

 

Hannah is a second year PhD student and NSF GRFP Fellow at Texas A&M advised by Dr. Darren Hartl. Her research focuses on multiphysical computational modeling of degrading structures under flow, e.g. coupling fluid-structure interactions with corrosion/erosion material models. Hannah specializes in unconventional applications of aerospace engineering tools and skills, and she is seeking to apply her current work to biomedical devices.

Hannah is passionate about education and STEM outreach. She is currently teaching an undergraduate level course she designed to instruct students on methods for developing outreach activities to bring aerospace engineering to K-12 students; her class has partnered with the Girl Scouts to test the activities they develop. She has previously designed curriculum for a senior design elective on unconventional applications of aerospace.

Naila Syed is a full-time Physics faculty member at Dallas College. She has an Electrical Engineering background from University of Texas at Dallas. Her interests include conducting informal STEM workshops for K-12 students, and writing children’s books with a STEM theme. Her future plans include becoming a better Physics instructor and writing more children’s literature. Her research focus has been Black Engineering student retention from first year to second year, and the first higher education institutions in world history and their inclusive model and STEM innovations. Her graduate thesis was about Interests and Motivation Factors for Female Minorities in Engineering.

Naila is a self-published author, you can learn more about her book at: https://a.co/d/dazWLVO