Mishaal is a Saudi-American aeronautical engineer, aerospace entrepreneur, commercial pilot, speaker, and influencer. Born and raised in the United States of America, Mishaal developed a passion for science and engineering at a young age. Mishaal received two Bachelor of Science degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mathematics from the Florida Institute of Technology in 2006 and a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering in 2007 for her work.
After achieving success in the classroom at Miami University, Mishaal went on to work as a graduate research assistant on a NASA Marshall Space Flight Center project, where she constructed and evaluated a novel thermal nuclear rocket engine for NASA's Mars missions. She quickly established herself as a rising star in the field, earning a reputation for her expertise in rocket propulsion systems. Her professional experience and areas of expertise include aerodynamics, wind tunnel testing, vehicle design, predictive simulation and analysis, and rocket stage separation analysis, with a strong focus on computational tool development. To reach the youth, she used social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube.
Currently, she is a consultant in her field and a professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Miami. She has formed her own company, and her objective is to design and build her own rockets to launch small satellites into low-Earth orbit. Despite facing numerous challenges as a woman in a male-dominated industry, she persevered, building a team of talented engineers and scientists and securing funding from a variety of sources.