Catherine Nakalembe

Dr. Catherine Nakalembe is an Assistant Professor of Geospatial AI at the University of Maryland and founder of the Xylem Lab and Xylem Institute, translating geospatial AI into policy-ready intelligence for food security, climate adaptation, and environmental decision-making. As Africa Lead for NASA Harvest and former Agriculture and Food Security Lead on NASA’s SERVIR team, she applies remote sensing and AI to advance agricultural monitoring, land-use mapping, disaster response, and climate resilience across Africa. She holds degrees from the University of Maryland (Ph.D., Geographical Science), Johns Hopkins University (M.S., Geography & Environmental Engineering), and Makerere University, Uganda (B.Sc., Environmental Science). Her honors include the Al Sumait Prize, Uganda’s Golden Jubilee Medal, the Africa Food Prize, and a GEO Individual Excellence Award. She is a TED Fellow, a National Geographic Explorer, and a MacArthur Foundation/Op-Ed Public Voices Fellow.