About Dr. Nakalembe
Dr. Nakalembe is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, the Africa Program Director under NASA Harvest, and a member of the NASA SERVIR Applied Sciences Team on which she serves as the Agriculture and Food Security Thematic Lead. She has broad research interests, including satellite remote sensing and machine learning applications to agriculture, land use and land-use change mapping, humanitarian mapping, and climate change. She leads methods and systems development projects for smallholder agriculture in Africa using remote sensing and machine learning. Her work led to developing and establishing satellite data-based crop monitoring initiatives in multiple African countries.
Ph.D. Geographical Science from the University of Maryland
Master's Geography and Environmental Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore Maryland
B.Sc. Environmental Science from Makerere University Kampala, Uganda
2022
Golden Jubilee Gold Medal, Highest Civilian Award, Uganda
Project Management Institute's Future 50
Featured in Earth, Oceans and Skies: Insights from selected, outstanding African women scientists’ by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
10 Women Scientists Leading the Fight Against the Climate Crisis- Global Citizen
2021
UK Humantarian Hub Fellowship
15 Women Leading the ML4EO Community, Radiant Earth Foundation
2020
Africa Food Prize, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
ClimateChangeAI TEDx Speaker
An Innovator in International Food Security, NASA
2020 Maryland Research Excellence Honoree of University of Maryland, College Park
2020 Women and GIS, Volume 2: Stars of Spatial Science, Esri Press.
2019
Individual Excellence Award from Group on Earth Observations (GEO), Geneva, Switzerland
2012
O.E. Baker Award: Outstanding Graduate Student, Geographical Sciences Uni. of Maryland
2012 Special Excellence as a Teaching Assistant, Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland
Honors and Recognition
Her honors include a 2022 Golden Jubilee Gold Medal, the Highest Civilian Award of Uganda, awarded by President Yoweri Museveni, the 2020 Africa Food Prize from Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and the 2019 Individual Excellence Award from the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), Geneva, Switzerland.
