Rais-Rohani named interim associate dean of engineering
July 17, 2013
A Mississippi State alumnus with more than 20 years of faculty experience will assume the role of interim associate dean for research and graduate studies in the Bagley College of Engineering (BCoE).
Masoud Rais-Rohani, a professor in aerospace engineering, transitions into the role July 16. He replaces Lori M. Bruce who was recently named dean of the graduate school.
“Masoud is well respected as both an educator and a research scholar,” said Royce Bowden, interim dean of the BCoE. “He has a distinguished record, and his service as interim associate dean will help keep the college moving forward.”
Rais-Rohani earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mississippi State in 1983 and 1985 respectively, working as an instructor until 1987 when he went to Virginia Tech to earn a doctoral degree.
He returned to the BCoE as an assistant professor in 1991 to begin his career as a tenure-track faculty member. Since that time he has taught classes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, advising 27 master’s and doctoral candidates. Rais-Rohani has been named a Hearin Professor of Engineering, a State Pride Faculty member, a Hearin Eminent Scholar, a member of the BCoE Academy of Distinguished Teachers and a John Grisham Master Teacher in addition to earning a Hearin Faculty Excellence award.
He has been a lead investigator on research grants from various federal agencies including the National Science Foundation, NASA, and Department of Energy worth more than $3 million. His work in the areas of structural and multidisciplinary design optimization, composite structures, uncertainty analysis, and engineering education has resulted in more than 70 conference papers, over 40 peer-reviewed journal publications, multiple book chapters and over 20 seminars, including presentations at the Institut Français de Mécanique Advancée and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne in France.
Rais-Rohani’s research portfolio helped him earn a Boeing Welliver Faculty Fellowship from the Boeing Co., as well as three NASA-ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowships which allowed him to work at the Langley Research Center and Marshall Space Flight Center.
Rais-Rohani is known for integrating his research and fellowship experiences into the classroom for the benefit of his students. He said he hopes this new role will help him encourage similar integration across the college.
“In my role as interim associate dean for research and graduate studies, I intend to facilitate and promote our faculty’s engagement in research and scholarly activities,” Rais-Rohani said. “I also plan to enhance our graduate students’ educational experiences and reward excellence in research and graduate education.”
Rais-Rohani is an active member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society of Automotive Engineers International, the American Society for Engineering Education and an Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, which awarded him the Konrad Dannenberg Educator Award in 2011.
With more than 600 students in its 12 degree programs, the Bagley College of Engineering’s graduate school is ranked 85th by U.S. News and World Report. The Bagley College distance education program, which offers 10 degree options, is ranked 12th by the same publication.
Composed of eight academic departments and more than 20 research centers, the Bagley College of Engineering is Mississippi State’s third largest college. It currently ranks 34th among all engineering colleges nationally in research and development expenditures according to the National Science Foundation.
For more information about the BCoE, visit www.bagley.msstate.edu.