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Dr. Nakalembe's Problem: Using Satellites to Prevent Famines
On Pushkin Industries' What's Your Problem?, Dr. Catherine Nakalembe joined host Jacob Goldstein to unpack a very important question in her research: how do you predict a famine months before it arrives and convince leaders to act in time?
Member Spotlight: Twelve Weeks in Cleburne
Research Assistant, Pradeep Yellapu, joins Jeevy Fabrication as Lead Product Designer & Systems Architect, building Jeevy OS — an integrated operating system connecting shop-floor execution, procurement, and scheduling for commercial launch infrastructure.
Turning Research into Real-World Impact: Translational GeoAI
In the IEEE GRSS Women in Africa webinar, Dr. Catherine Nakalembe reflects on Translational GeoAI, and why the hard part of Earth observation isn't imaging a cyclone from space, but bridging the gap between scientific discovery and real world applications.
The coming storm: How AI can help us forecast and harness the weather
On the MaRS Solve for X podcast, Dr. Catherine Nakalembe explains why a better forecast isn't enough on its own. She calls for pairing AI with real investment in the people and systems that must act on it.
'Act of God' an Excuse for Government's Poor Flood Preparation
In a Chicago Sun-Times op-ed, Dr. Catherine Nakalembe argues that Chicago's basement flooding is not an act of God but a failure of aging infrastructure and policy to keep pace with a changing climate.
Xylem Lab Takes Smallholder Crop Mapping to the World Stage at ISPRS 2026
At the XXV ISPRS Congress in Toronto, Valinho António presented GLSTM-MLP, a deep learning framework co-authored with Dr. Nakalembe, that maps crops in smallholder farms from PlanetScope imagery.
AI Can Predict Disaster, But it Can’t Save You
In a new Yale Climate Connections Op-Ed, Dr. Catherine Nakalembe argues that AI-driven early warnings are only half the equation. Without funding, local leadership, and systems to act on them, accurate forecasts still can't move people out of harm's way.
AIM Seed Grants Support 11 AI Research Projects
Dr. Catherine Nakalembe's team was selected for an AIM seed grant to use geospatial AI to map animal feeding operations and optimize nutrient management across Maryland.
Two Doctoral Candidates Awarded MPower Grants
Xylem Lab's Adebowale Daniel Adebayo was awarded $38,332 from the MPower Early Scholars Investment Fund to support his Geo-AI framework for agricultural drought monitoring in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda through Spring 2027.
As Climate Shocks Accelerate, Can AI Help Solve the Missing Infrastructure of Climate Finance?
Dr. Nakalembe argues that climate finance must invest in tools that generate evidence of impact, and that trusted AI infrastructure, built with communities, is key to scaling real solutions.
Numerous BSOS Instructors Earn Meta-Credentials from UMD Teaching, Learning and Transformation Center
Dr. Catherine Nakalembe earned the Course Design Practitioner meta-credential through UMD's TLTC Teaching Academy, recognizing her commitment to student-centered teaching alongside her research and field leadership.
Doctoral candidate Awarded Inaugural Fellowship for Soil and Climate Research in Africa
Adebowale Adebayo has been awarded the inaugural Dr. Jingli Yang and Dr. Peter Li Endowed Distinguished Fellowship in recognition his work using satellite data to detect crop failure before it happens.
UMD Researchers Join National Effort to Use GeoAI to Predict Food System Instability
NASA Harvest joined a national GeoAI effort backed by up to $550K to build open-source tools that detect early signals of food-system instability by pairing satellite data with natural-language queries. This will help analysts anticipate crises in conflict-affected regions like Sudan, Ukraine, Syria, and Haiti.
Multi-Agent AI in Soil Science: Cutting Through the Hype Toward Actionable Policy
Despite being the foundation of food systems, climate stability, and water security, soil remains one of the most overlooked resources in global policy. Dr. Nakalembe argues that multi-agent AI can change that.
Why We Can’t Cut Earth Science to Fund the Next Earthrise Shot
Dr. Nakalembe pushes back on proposed NASA cuts that would trade Earth-observing programs like SERVIR for lunar exploration. She warns that the data communities rely on to anticipate drought, floods, and food crises is not the place to cut.
Xylem Lab Graduate Students Showcase AI-Driven Food Security Research at Inaugural AIM Symposium
Pradeep Yellapu, Umesh Adari, and Abena Asare-Ansah presented two competitively selected posters at UMD's AIM Research & Learning Symposium.
BSOS Receives Over $1M in UMD Research Resilience Funding
Dr. Catherine Nakalembe received a $50,000 MPower Early Scholars Investment Fund award to use satellite technology and AI to develop climate adaptation solutions with cacao farmers in Madagascar, as part of over $1M in UMD Research Resilience funding awarded across BSOS.
AI for Food Security Forum
Dr. Catherine Nakalembe joined leaders at the CSIS AI for Food Security Forum to discuss how artificial intelligence can strengthen global food systems, from early warning to resilient, data-driven agriculture.
Regional Workshop Empowers Nine African Nations With AI-Driven Crop Yield Forecasting
Xylem Lab/NASA Harvest Africa, AGRA, and COMESA brought together technical leads from nine African countries to operationalize automated crop yield forecasting pipelines.
GEOG Experts Join Maryland Leaders at Scientists Serving Communities Climate Workshop
Xylem Lab and GEOG faculty joined Maryland leaders to explore how earth observation science can directly serve local and global communities facing climate challenges.
Dr. Nakalembe Explores Gap Between Climate Data and Small Farmers in New TED Talk
Asst. Professor and Xylem Lab Director's latest TED Talk addresses how satellite data can be made more accessible and actionable for smallholder farmers across Africa.
Catherine Nakalembe's Article Selected as AGU Editor's Highlight
Dr. Nakalembe's research was selected as an Editor's Highlight by the American Geophysical Union, recognizing its outstanding contribution to the field.
Bridging the Gap Between Satellites and Farms: UMD MS Student Reports from AFS 2025
Xylem Lab's MS student reports from the 2025 Africa Food Systems Forum on bridging satellite data and on-the-ground farm realities.
Assistant Professor Catherine Nakalembe Named Public Voices Fellow
Assistant Professor Catherine Nakalembe Featured in TED Fellows Film Series
Helmets Labeling Crops: A New Frontier in Agricultural Monitoring
Recognition
