Nahid Khazenie

GRSS President 1998-1999

Dr. Nahid Khazenie is recognized for building on a successful technical career in remote sensing and applications to collaborate systemically with government, academia and industry and promote ground breaking research and systemic reform within education systems throughout the world. After completing her undergraduate work at Michigan Technological University, she received several graduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, including a Ph.D. in 1987 for Mechanical Engineering and Operations Research. She remained at the university as a professor and research scientist, devoted to the advancement of remote sensing applications in agriculture and ocean studies. This experience led to a Senior Scientist appointment to the Naval Research Laboratory and eventually to NASA where Dr. Khazenie capitalized on the combination of her technical expertise and education experience as Earth Science Enterprise Education Programs Manager. She currently oversees a suite of programs within the Office of Naval Research’s Space and Remote Sensing Division, which investigates the physical and chemical processes that govern active and passive electromagnetic spectrum scattering from the Earth’s surface, and propagation through the upper atmosphere and the near space environment.

Dr. Khazenie has received numerous awards for both her technical achievements and innovative management strategies that encourage the advancement of women and minorities in science and technology fields. Before receiving the distinguished honor of IEEE Fellow and the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Education Award in 2002, she earned the IEEE Third Millennium Medal in 2000. While at NASA, Dr. Khazenie was rewarded with several honors, including the NASA Triana Group Achievement Award and an ESE Performance Award in 1999. She actively participates in professional activities to encourage partnerships between remote sensing professionals around the world. She has served on the IEEE Board of Directors for Division IX 2000-2003, has been President of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society 1998-1999 , and presently serves on the IEEE Education Board as well as the IEEE Women in Engineering Committee. Dr. Khazenie resides in Vienna, Virginia with her husband and daughter. (Date: Feb. 2011)

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