Mohamed Alassal: Great mentorship makes magic happen

This piece was written in the fall of 2024 by GRAD 5144 (Communicating Science) student Mohamed Alassal as part of an assignment to write a personal narrative about his research.

After graduating, I questioned whether academia was the right path for me. I didn’t see myself fitting into academia after getting my bachelor's degree, partly due to the negative experiences I had with a few professors at my undergraduate university who didn’t care about the impact of their words on students. However, one of my friends encouraged me to apply to graduate school at another university. He told me, “I see you as an amazing researcher.” I wasn’t sure how he reached that conclusion, but I trusted him and decided to make the transition. This was a significant change in my life.

    Starting my graduate journey at Cairo University, I was fortunate to interact with outstanding and knowledgeable professors, especially my advisor, Professor Asmaa Hassan, whose influence reshaped my academic path. Professor Hassan is so remarkable that "amazing" doesn’t even begin to describe her. She inspired me to love research. Together, we tackled a challenging topic that many in my field tended to avoid: unsaturated soil.

    After four months of work, I faced my first major setback; I felt lost and overwhelmed, unsure how to proceed. I believe many researchers encounter this feeling at least once, if not many times, throughout their academic journeys. Yet, having an exceptional advisor transformed what felt like an insurmountable obstacle into an opportunity for growth.

    Dr. Hassan was able to change my feelings from being down to feeling motivated. Once, I approached her and expressed feeling lost and said that I wanted to change topics. I envisioned a dark corridor ahead of me despite it actually being morning. I could almost taste and smell the scent of failure.

    But her response changed everything. With a smile, she said, “Mohamed, I understand this is hard, and most people try to avoid it except for special researchers — like you! Just tell me where you stopped, and we can brainstorm together.”

    I explained that I was struggling with the software required for numerical analysis because it wasn’t made for this task. She suggested we could approach it experimentally. When I raised concerns about the lack of resources for sample collection, with a reassuring smile, she replied, “We can use artificial samples!”

    I can vividly picture that moment. It was as if my soul returned to my body, and suddenly, hope replaced despair as ideas began to flow. Within two days, we developed an idea for preparing those samples, and after a few trials and modifications, it worked! This was just the beginning of our successful collaboration. Despite our limited budget, we made significant contributions to research.

    This journey taught me that the right mentorship can transform challenges into opportunities. What makes Professor Hassan truly remarkable, in my eyes, is not just her support but her respect for me as a co-worker rather than viewing me as a subordinate. Receiving respect and admiration for my work motivates me to give my best. With her encouragement, we achieved even more than we initially intended with this study!

    My journey is not over yet. I am currently pursuing my Ph.D. at Virginia Tech, focusing on sustainable soil improvement and how the rheological, or flow behavior, properties of viscous fluids affect granular soil. I am fortunate again to have an exceptional advisor, and I am confident that we will accomplish remarkable things together.