LOUIS – Nadine Alameh, Ph.D., has been selected as the inaugural executive director of the Taylor Geospatial Institute (TGI), a consortium of eight research institutions led by Saint Louis University. Her appointment is effective Sept. 1.
“Dr. Alameh is a champion of collaboration, innovation, diversity, and knowledge sharing in the expanding geospatial ecosystem and considers herself a passionate advocate for the potential of geospatial science and technology to improve the world,” said Saint Louis University President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D. “She brings a wealth of success and leadership in geospatial science to the Taylor Geospatial Institute, and I am very excited to have her join the TGI team.”
A world-renowned geospatial expert, Alameh is currently the CEO and president of the Open Geospatial Consortium. She is also an appointed member of the U.S. Department of Interior’s National Geospatial Advisory Committee and a board member of the United Nations Geospatial Global Information Management Private Sector Network.
“I am honored to be selected as the inaugural executive director of the Taylor Geospatial Institute,” Alameh said. “I see TGI as a transformational actor in the geospatial ecosystem, accelerating our collective research, applications, and impact — on climate, disasters, health, food security, defense and beyond.”
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) that Alameh leads is a global membership collective with more than 500 private, public, academic, research and nonprofit organizations working to advance geospatial information. She has served as the organization’s CEO and president since 2019.
“Nadine has been instrumental in modernizing the OGC and in getting us ready to meet the rapidly changing geospatial data and technology market,” said Prashant Shukle, chair of the Open Geospatial Consortium Board of Directors. “We are keen to work with TGI to deliver geospatial solutions that meet the world’s most pressing challenges.”
Before taking the helm at OGC, Alameh held various roles in industry, from the chief architect for innovation in Northrop Grumman’s Civil Solutions Unit, to CEO of an aviation data exchange startup, to senior technical advisor to NASA’s Applied Science Program. In the early 2000s, she launched and led several successful startups.
Alameh has received numerous honors during her career, including the 2019 Geomatics Canada Leadership in Diversity Award, the 2022 Geospatial World Diversity Champion of the Year Award, and the 2023 Women in Technology Leadership Award in the non-profit and academia category.
Alameh earned a doctorate in computer and information systems engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she also earned master’s degrees in civil and environmental engineering and city planning. She earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the American University of Beirut.
Alameh will succeed Vasit Sagan, Ph.D., who has served as acting director of the Taylor Geospatial Institute since its launch in April 2022.
“Dr. Sagan has been instrumental in laying the foundation for the Taylor Geospatial Institute,” Pestello said. “Along with the TGI team, I want to express my sincere gratitude for his outstanding service as acting director. He led TGI in its pivotal first year, shaping its formation as a world-class geospatial research consortium.”
Alameh’s appointment follows a national search led by a committee of representatives from each TGI partner institution. Michael Lewis, Ph.D., provost of Saint Louis University, and Aaron Bobick, Ph.D., dean of the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, chaired the search committee.
TGI was established through a legacy investment from Andrew C. Taylor, executive chairman of Enterprise Holdings, Inc. and founding chair of Greater St. Louis, Inc., with supporting investments from each of the eight member institutions.
“I wish to convey my gratitude to Andy Taylor, whose vision and generosity have established TGI as the nation’s leading academic geospatial research center and St. Louis as a global geospatial center of excellence,” Pestello said.
The TGI consortium includes Saint Louis University, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Harris-Stowe State University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Missouri University of Science & Technology, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Washington University in St. Louis. Collectively, these institutions encompass more than 5,000 faculty and 100,000 students.
TGI aims to advance geospatial science through multi-institutional, interdisciplinary collaborations to create innovative, real-world solutions to grand societal challenges. It supports a collaborative research and training environment and while shaping the future of geospatial science in the U.S. For more information, visit taylorgeospatial.org.
Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 13,500 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University’s diverse community of scholars is SLU’s service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place. For more information, visit slu.edu.
