• Ph.D. in System Dynamics and Organization behavior, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
• Master of Science (MSc) in Aeronautical Engineering and a minor in Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
• Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Mechanical Engineering, KFUPM, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Before joining JMU as an assistant professor of System Dynamics, Raafat was a research scientist at the Social Science and Policy Studies department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). His published research in modeling dynamic systems spans organizational design, dissent, change, strategy, and cognitive learning. Most recently, he worked on modeling the human system. Raafat worked as a researcher at the MIT Sociotechnical Systems Research Center on university strategies and consulted for the Advance Management Group. Raafat has 25 years of work experience in the industry and held different engineering and management positions.

• Innovation sustainability
• Team Dynamics
• Organizational design, change, and communication
• Knowledge creation and management
• R&D and Higher Education Institutions Strategies
• Human body dynamics

• System Dynamics Society
• Academy of Management

• Zaini R., Cooper K. (2021), “Simulating the Immune System Response to Covid 19:
  Why cytokine storms develop, and how to prevent this fatal condition.” Poster presentation at the 39th virtual international system dynamics conference, July 2021.
• Kooken, J.W., Zaini, R. & Arroyo, I. Simulating the dynamics of self-regulation, emotion, grit, and student performance in cyber-learning environments. Metacognition Learning 16, 367–405 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-020-09252-6
• Zaini, R. M., & Langarudi, S. P. (2020). To Share or Not to Share: Effect of Peer-to-Peer Mentoring on Dynamics of Graduate Life. In T. Carmichael & Z. Yang (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2018 Conference of the Computational Social Science Society of the Americas (pp. 39–54). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35902-7_3
• Zaini, R. M., Martel, D, Allen, P, Kolluri, (2019), Connect & Create: a Model for University Libraries from Public Libraries Nurturing Entrepreneurship in Local Communities, 8^th Deshpande Symposium on Entrepreneurship, UMASS Lowell.
• Zaini, R. M., Elmes, M. B., Pavlov, O. V., & Saeed, K. (2019). Organizational Dissent Dynamics in Universities: Simulations With a System Dynamics Model: Management Communication Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318919846625
• Zaini, R. M., Elmes, M. B., Pavlov, O. V., & Saeed, K. (2016). Organizational Dissent Dynamics: A Conceptual Framework. Management Communication Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318916671216
• Zaini, R. M., Pavlov, O. V., Saeed, K., Radzicki, M. J., Hoffman, A. H., & Tichenor, K. R. (2016). Let's Talk Change in a University: A Simple Model for Addressing a Complex Agenda. Systems Research and Behavioral Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.2408
• Zaini, R., Lyan, D. E., & Rebentisch, E. (2015). Start-up Research Universities, High Aspirations in a Complex Reality: a Russian startup university case analysis using stakeholder value analysis and system dynamics modeling. Triple Helix, 2(1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40604-014-0016-8

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