Menna Hussein is a PhD student in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a Research Assistant at the Engineering Systems Laboratory with Professor Olivier de Weck. Her research focuses on space systems engineering, propulsion, and probabilistic modeling applied to launch vehicle failures and instabilities. Menna graduated with her Master of Science in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT in 2023. Her master’s thesis was on a reduced order modeling of a rocket engineer turbopump inducer for assessment of Pogo instability. Prior to moving to Massachusetts, she worked at the Egyptian Space Agency as a Space Systems Engineer.
Menna received a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering at Arizona State University. She was recognized as the Class of 2020 Outstanding Graduate in Aerospace Engineering for her academic achievements and on-campus involvement. In 2022, she worked at Benchmark Space Systems as a Propulsion Engineering intern.

Outside academics, Menna was the International Chair for MIT’s Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics (GA^3) in 2021, one of MIT’s AeroAstro diversity scholars for year 2024, and a co-founder of ASU’s chapter for Women of Aeronautics and Astronautics (WoAA), AIAA-affiliated support group for women in Aerospace. Menna is passionate about contributing to propulsion advancement research and making space accessible to everyone.