December Faculty Spotlight
Before enrolling at the University of Mississippi in 2017, Shailee Yagnik, Ph.D., competed in high-level table tennis in her native India. At Ole Miss, she earned a master’s degree in telecommunications engineering and completed her Ph.D. in 2024. From Mississippi, she moved to Indiana, where she taught at Valparaiso University before coming south to join The Citadel’s electrical engineering faculty.
Yagnik specializes in convex optimization and wireless sensor networks, with an emphasis on energy-efficient distributed detection. She enjoys guiding students through problem-solving and helping them build a strong understanding of electrical engineering fundamentals.
“The most rewarding part for me is seeing their confidence grow as they master these concepts,” she said. “I was drawn to The Citadel’s unique emphasis on leadership and hands-on learning. My goal is to encourage cadets to think critically and creatively while developing skills that prepare them for real-world engineering challenges.”
Outside the classroom, Yagnik has two black cats and is an avid college football fan.
Mitchell Farrell recently joined The Citadel from Indiana University–Bloomington, where he completed his doctoral work in criminology and criminal justice.
Farrell credits the educators who supported him along his academic journey with inspiring his own commitment to teaching. “I feel somewhat of an enjoyable ethical obligation to pay it forward,” he said, “when it comes to sparking that scholarly interest in others, as mentors have so kindly done for me.”
A back injury during his undergraduate ROTC program ended his dream of serving in the military, but The Citadel offered a roundabout way to fulfill that calling. Small class sizes and an emphasis on both teaching and research made the college a natural fit.
His areas of specialty include criminological theory, adolescent delinquency, policing vulnerable populations, and quantitative research methodology.
Farrell and his wife live in Goose Creek with their two dogs. They are thrilled to have escaped the cold, gray Midwestern winters and to be closer to family.
