People

Avneet Hira

Avneet Hira

Principal Investigator



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Avneet Hira

Avneet Hira

Principal Investigator

PhD, Engineering Education, Purdue University

MS, Aerospace Engineering, Purdue University

BS, Aeronautical Engineering, Punjab Engineering College

Avneet Hira鈥檚 scholarship is motivated by the fundamental question of how engineering and technology can support people in living well in an increasingly engineered world. Her research, which is in engineering education, focuses on affordances of technology, humanistic design, and engineering epistemology. Her work is inspired by Making and tinkering practices, especially those from different local knowledge systems. Prior to 涩里番下载, Avneet worked at the MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program and Education Arcade as a research scientist and at MathWorks as an education program manager.听She partners with students and educators (middle school to undergraduate), youth and their families, community organizations, artisans, Makers, designers, and technologists in her work. She is passionate about creating technology-rich inclusive spaces for supporting purpose and connection in engineering education.

Isabella Stuopis

Isabella Stuopis

Post-Doctoral Scholar



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Isabella Stuopis

Isabella Stuopis

Post-Doctoral Scholar

PhD, Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University听

BS, Mechanical Engineering,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Isabella Stuopis is a postdoctoral researcher in the HER Lab. She received her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the School of Engineering at Tufts University. She is working on Dr. Hira鈥檚 NSF Career Award research, 鈥淓ngineering in Youth-led Technology-rich Settings: Promoting Belonging and Preventing Harm.鈥 Dr. Stuopis鈥檚 doctoral work focused on 鈥淟earning Assistants in Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering: Goals, Discourse, and Community.鈥 Learning assistants (LAs) are near-peer members of the instructional team in undergraduate courses. They promote student thinking and discourse and learn pedagogical techniques in a weekly pedagogy seminar. Typically, LAs do not have grading responsibilities so that students are more likely to come to them about course questions. Dr. Stuopis, along with her doctoral advisor Dr. Kristen Wendell, facilitated weekly pedagogy seminars for the learning assistants. During her time at Tufts, Dr. Stuopis was actively involved in the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach and the Department of STEM Education.

Mobina Beheshti

Mobina Beheshti

Post-Doctoral Scholar



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Mobina Beheshti

Mobina Beheshti

Post-Doctoral Scholar

PhD, Computer Education and Instructional Technology, Near East University听听

MS, ICT in Education, Eastern Mediterranean University

MS, Information Systems, Eastern Mediterranean University

BA, Information Technology, Eastern MediterraneanUniversity

Mobina Beheshti鈥檚 research areas intersect engineering education, flipped classrooms, and mobile learning. Passionate about enhancing educational experiences, she investigates how technology can be leveraged to support and enrich the learning journey, particularly in the field of engineering. Her research projects at 涩里番下载 focus on humanizing engineering and design practices, utilizing technology for learning support, and exploring engineering in informal, often low-resource, settings. Mobina collaborates with a diverse range of educators, from middle school to undergraduate levels. Before joining 涩里番下载, she served as an assistant professor in the Department of Software Engineering at Final International University.

Peyton Carter

Peyton Carter

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2025)



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Peyton Carter

Peyton Carter

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2025)

Alice Huang

Alice Huang

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2025)



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Alice Huang

Alice Huang

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2025)

Claire Mikulski

Claire Mikulski

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2026)



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Claire Mikulski

Claire Mikulski

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2026)

Harry Zhang

Harry Zhang

BA, Computer Science & Economics (2026)



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Harry Zhang

Harry Zhang

BA, Computer Science & Economics (2026)

Sofia Migon

Sofia Migon

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2027)



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Sofia Migon

Sofia Migon

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2027)

Julia Wilder

Julia Wilder

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2027)



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Julia Wilder

Julia Wilder

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2027)

Amelia Dole

Amelia Dole

BA, Mathematics (2027)



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Amelia Dole

Amelia Dole

BA, Mathematics (2027)

Asad Faqirzada

Asad Faqirzada

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2027)



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Asad Faqirzada

Asad Faqirzada

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2027)

Annick Manseau

Annick Manseau

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2027)



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Annick Manseau

Annick Manseau

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2027)

Tad Clifton

Tad Clifton

BS, Computer Science (2027)



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Tad Clifton

Tad Clifton

BS, Computer Science (2027)

Elif Yigit

Elif Yigit

BS, Neuroscience (2027)



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Elif Yigit

Elif Yigit

BS, Neuroscience (2027)


Past Members

Shulong Yan

Shulong Yan

Postdoctoral Scholar



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Shulong Yan

Shulong Yan

Postdoctoral Scholar

PhD, Learning, Design, and Technology, Pennsylvania State University听

MS, Childhood Education and TESOL, St John鈥檚 University听

BA, Law, Jimei University (China)

Shulong Yan鈥檚 research focuses on creating and helping to create communities to support learners鈥 agency to make meanings and pursue their narrative of success through learning. Using a design approach, she is interested in engaging learners in design activities to develop a critical lens to examine how their narratives of success and failure and learning processes are influenced by the ecosystem, including human and non-human objects. More importantly, she is interested in empowering learners to recognize and exert their power with the support of their communities for societal change. Her work is built upon the intersection between collaborative learning, human-centered design, and equity.

Sophia Brady

Sophia Brady

BA, Computer Science, Political Science (2024)



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Sophia Brady

Sophia Brady

BA, Computer Science, Political Science (2024)

Caitlyn Hancock

Caitlyn Hancock

BA, Computer Science, Political Science (2024)



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Caitlyn Hancock

Caitlyn Hancock

BA, Computer Science, Political Science (2024)

Eunice Kang

Eunice Kang

BA, Computer Science, Political Science (2024)



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Eunice Kang

Eunice Kang

BA, Computer Science, Political Science (2024)

Manny Louime

Manny Louime

BS, BA, Finance, Computer Science (2024)



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Manny Louime

Manny Louime

BS, BA, Finance, Computer Science (2024)

Kiana Ramos

Kiana Ramos

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2025), Minor: Global Public Health



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Kiana Ramos

Kiana Ramos

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2025), Minor: Global Public Health

Malik Robinson

Malik Robinson

BS, Environmental Studies (2025)



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Malik Robinson

Malik Robinson

BS, Environmental Studies (2025)

Julia Gardow

Julia Gardow

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2025)



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Julia Gardow

Julia Gardow

BS, Human-Centered Engineering (2025)

Cianee Sumowalt

Cianee Sumowalt

BS, Computer Science (2026)



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Cianee Sumowalt

Cianee Sumowalt

BS, Computer Science (2026)