Newswise — 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.

Alameh is currently the CEO and president of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), a global membership collective with more than 500 private, public, academic, research and nonprofit organizations working to advance geospatial information.

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.”

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 nonprofit 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.

About Taylor Geospatial Institute

Established through a legacy investment from Andrew C. Taylor, executive chairman of Enterprise Holdings, Inc. and founding chair of Greater St. Louis, Inc., TGI 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. For more information, visit taylorgeospatial.org.

About Saint Louis University

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.