NASA engineer, former Miss Mississippi USA Mitra headlines 2025 MSU Convocation
Contact: Carl Smith
STARKVILLE, Miss.—A two-time Mississippi State graduate helping send mankind to the moon and beyond is the featured speaker at MSU’s Fall Convocation ceremony.
Paromita Mitra, the data systems lead for NASA’s Lunar Architecture Team, will greet new freshman students and transfers, and share stories from her time as a Bulldog in the annual tradition kicking off the new academic year. The event, scheduled for Tuesday [Aug. 26] at 6 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum, will feature additional remarks from MSU President Mark E. Keenum and other senior university administrators, and incoming students will receive the Fall Convocation coin as a memento marking the start of their journeys in higher education.
In her role at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, Mitra addresses how computers communicate across NASA’s Artemis programs for the moon and Mars. Previously, she served as principal investigator for a team of engineers building a heads-up display system for spacesuit helmets and has held positions working as an engineer on F-35 Lightning II engines, designing satellites and analyzing human physiology for software development.
In 2022, Mitra received the NASA Early Career Achievement Medal for extraordinary and significant performance in the space program. That same year, she received the Space Technology Mission Directorate Early Career Award for her combined work since joining NASA.
Mitra holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees she received in aerospace engineering from MSU in 2014 and 2018, respectively. Her university research touched many areas the field, including graphical displays, wearable technology, augmented reality and human performance metrics. As a Bulldog, she was a member of the Space Cowboys Rocket Design Team and Fashion Board, and crowned Miss Maroon and White 2012.
Mitra, a native of Dhaka, Bangladesh, who grew up in Hattiesburg, represented the Magnolia State at the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants after winning the Miss Mississippi USA 2013 and Miss Mississippi Teen USA 2009 titles. Through these roles, she traveled globally to spread awareness on science, technology, engineering, arts and math, or STEAM, literacy topics.
Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.