Missouri Data Science & Informatics Symposium 2024

Title: The next frontiers of geospatial

Abstract: It’s been a year since I accepted the challenge of becoming the inaugural Executive Director of the Taylor Geospatial Institute – a new institute, funded via a philanthropic gift in St. Louis, to fuel geospatial research and innovation with a consortium of universities and research centers, and an eye on commercialization and impact at scale. As expected, the experience has been both exciting and challenging. In this keynote, I share my observations on the evolution of our geospatial ecosystem and the changing roles of organizations (national mapping agencies, academia & research, non-profits, and more) and how these observations are shaping our priorities at the Taylor Geospatial Institute.
In particular, I note (1) how today’s problems (climate, food security, health, disasters, sustainability, etc) require a more deliberate collaborative approach for research & innovation that transcends disciplinary and organization boundaries; (2) the mismatch between the investment in research & innovation and solutions to “real-world” problems; (3) the gap between research and commercialization and how it can be bridged; and (4) my most sincere appreciation to all the non-profits in the geospatial sector working on increasing collaboration, problem solving, and interoperability. Although geospatial has come a long way, we still have a lot of work to do to achieve our full potential, but one thing is for sure, our time is NOW!

Bio:
Executive Director, Taylor Geospatial Institute
Dr. Nadine Alameh is the inaugural Executive Director of the Taylor Geospatial Institute –founded to fuel collaborative geospatial science & technology to solve global problems. Dr. Alameh is a recognized leader (and cheerleader) in the geospatial field with experience in Aviation, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Earth Observations, Public Safety, and Defense.

Prior to joining the Taylor Geospatial Institute, she was CEO & President of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) where she led the global consortium in making geospatial information Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). During her career, Nadine held various roles in industry from the Chief Architect for Innovation at Northrop; to CEO of an Aviation startup; to senior technical advisor to NASA’s Applied Science Program.

Dr. Alameh is an appointed member of the U.S. National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) and sits on the board of the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) Private Sector Network. She has received multiple awards – the 2024 St. Louis Business Journal Most Influential Businesswoman award, the 2023 Annual Women in Technology Leadership award, the 2022 Geospatial World Diversity Champion award, and the 2019 Geomatics Canada Diversity Leadership Award.
Nadine holds a Ph.D. and 2 M.S. degrees from MIT.