Souad Benromdhane, Ph.D.

Senior Environmental Engineer/Physical Scientist, Environmental Protection Agency
Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering ‘98, College of Engineering

Souad Benromdhane knew what she wanted early in life. And she achieved it working as a public servant in her home country Tunisia as Deputy Director at the Ministry of Environment.

She had earned a principal engineering degree locally at Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Tunis (ENIT) and an M.S. from the Ecole Polytechnique de Paris, but the desire to learn and grow her expertise never waned.

With her sister and brother-in-law already pursuing doctoral degrees in electrical engineering at Michigan State, Benromdhane says they were instrumental in her choice and ability to get to MSU.

“I always wanted to go for higher education; my mom did not have the opportunity because of war, and she wanted me to go as far as I can,” Benromdhane recalls. 

“My desire to learn was the driving force, but also, I knew I had limited resources where I was, and most research is done elsewhere. To better serve and impact policy, leaving my position as deputy director to become a student again, was a necessary sacrifice.”

She quickly realized MSU gave her access to resources beyond her own college and department.

“I was fortunate to foster research opportunities for myself through the MSU Manufacturing Research Consortium and, while doing so, I discovered the wealth of resources MSU had in different fields. I recall asking about the possibility to give a presentation from MSU for a conference in Tunisia to demonstrate teaching remotely using different tools, and this was in 1994,” Benromdhane says. “It was a success story of video conferencing that really cemented my opinion about the capabilities we had at MSU.”

Benromdhane traveled to Seoul for the Global Spartan Reunion from North Carolina where she is a senior environmental engineer and physical scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency. She brought her niece along with the intention of inspiring her to become a Spartan.

“MSU is rooted in an openness to international programs. It is a welcoming place for students from all over the world.”

Banner image: MSU College of Engineering Alumni with Interim Dean John Papapolymerou of the College of Engineering pose for a photo during the Global Spartan Reunion in Seoul, South Korea.