UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Mohammad AlSager AlZayed always knew that he wanted to be an engineer, but he didn’t realize his passion for engineering education until he began his academic career at Penn State.
AlZayed came to the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering in 2012 because he wanted to earn his “degree from the first ever industrial engineering department in the world.”
He said industrial engineering was the best option for him due to its wide applicability.
“Industrial engineering includes a lot of the tools from the other disciplines in one,” AlZayed said. “Industrial engineers are equipped to make an impact, and there’s no better place to go than Penn State. I loved the community when I got here because of the spirit and energy everyone has.”
AlZayed completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial engineering at the University in 2016 and 2017, respectively. In summer 2020, AlZayed received his doctoral degree in industrial engineering, with a focus in human factors.
After graduation, AlZayed accepted an assistant professor position at Kuwait University in its Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering.
As a Penn State student, AlZayed was heavily involved with various organizations as an undergraduate student and took up roles with the American Organization for Quality, the International Student Council and National Organization for Business and Engineering (NOBE). He was also a member, and former president, of the Penn State chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
AlZayed said NOBE taught him the meaning of engineering education, which drove him to pursue his graduate studies.
“As a student-run club, we had to work to deliver fun, useful content to the members,” AlZayed said. “I really felt the power and impact that education can have from the content creator side and content receiver side.”
Moving forward with curiosity
AlZayed was a member of the Brite (Bridging Research in Innovation, Technology and Engineering) Lab run by Scarlett Miller, associate professor of engineering design and industrial engineering and director of the School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Programs’ (SEDTAPP) engineering design program.
“I got to know Dr. Miller during my sophomore year of college,” AlZayed said. “I had no hesitation in joining her lab. What better way to study creativity than to work with a creative person? She set a high bar for what it really means to be an engineering educator.”
AlZayed also joined the THRED (Technology and Human Research in Engineering Design) Group as a graduate student, where he worked with co-directors Christopher McComb, assistant professor of engineering design; and Jessica Menold, assistant professor of engineering design and mechanical engineering.