Samiah Moustafa
Program Manager
NASA Ames Research Center
samiah.moustafa@nasa.gov
Dr. Samiah Moustafa is a dedicated researcher, educator, and mentor with over a decade of rich experience in scientific research, specializing in Geographic Information Science, Climate, and Arctic Sciences, to understand the changing dynamics in the Cryosphere. Beyond research, Samiah is deeply passionate about fostering the next generation of scholars and environmental leaders. Samiah has expertise in curriculum development, inclusive teaching pedagogy, and project-based learning to empower numerous undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral scholars. In addition to teaching and conducting research, Samiah has spent 7+ years leading impactful summer research programs, particularly for underrepresented and underserved students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), at academic, non-profit and government institutions.
Samiah earned her PhD in Physical Geography from Rutgers University in 2017. After graduate school, Samiah was a Visiting Professor in Environment and Society within the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society at Brown University as a researcher studying Greenland Ice Sheet hydroclimatology using a blend of remote sensing and geospatial technologies to quantify freshwater runoff from river systems and its coupling to surface darkening from debris-rich surfaces in melt-prone areas atop Arctic glaciers, a lecturer in Environmental Studies and Sciences teaching GISience and Glaciers and Climate Change courses to undergraduates, and Program Coordinator for the Leadership Alliance Research Early Identification Program in Earth, Environmental, and Social Sciences at Brown. Samiah was also a Program Advisor to NASA’s highly successful Student Airborne Research Program (SARP) of NASA’s Earth Science Division’s Airborne Science Program and Program Manager of NASA’s Student Airborne Science Activation (SaSa) program for Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). Samiah is currently Associate Director for Research and Educational Development, Senior Grants and Contracts Administrator, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Officer at NASA Ames Research Center and Bay Area Environmental Research Institute. She plays a pivotal role in identifying and proposing emerging Earth and Space Science programs, including STEM education opportunities, through the development and submission of small- to large-scale research, infrastructure, and educational grants and cooperative agreements. She is thrilled to engage in the Geography External Advisory Board (EAB) and share her deep passion for supporting STEM research and education programs at NASA, DEIA, mentoring, and educating early careers in Geography.