Tarek Rashed, PhD, Director of Geoinformatics at the Polis Center at IUPUI, has been appointed to a three-year term on the advisory board of the Centre for Sustainability and Future Studies at the British University in El Sherouk, Egypt. The Centre’s research goals for sustainable communities apply to world-wide issues, which is why it seeks international contributions. The advisory board includes distinguished professors, deans, or directors of geospatial, urban planning, and architecture centers from Great Britain, the US, and Australia.
Rashed, who brings a wealth of experience within the geospatial information technology and spatial decision-making industries, noted, “The Polis Center has been involved in several international efforts through the years including projects in Canada, Singapore, Austria , Ireland, and England. This connection with the Centre for Sustainability and Future Studies provides an opportunity for some interesting future collaborations. Polis excels in using geospatial technologies to strengthen community resilience and civic capabilities. Our ability to develop creative responses to various challenges positions us (and IU) to serve communities outside of Indiana and the US. Becoming familiar with the work of the Centre for Sustainability and Future Studies will help us better understand the Middle East, as it figures out how to best use its many resources for sustainability.”
Rashed recently joined the Polis Center after leading and consulting for a substantial number of professional and technical projects in the US and overseas, spanning the academic, nonprofit, and private business sectors. In his current role, he directs and further develops the Geinformatics project portfolio of partners in the fields of emergency management, hazard risk analysis, disaster mitigation, land-use planning, and economic development. Rashed is co-founder of the Urban Remote Sensing specialty group of the European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories (EARSeL). With Carsten Jürgen’s of the Ruhr University in Germany, he co-edited the book Remote Sensing of Urban and Suburban Areas in 2010, which bridges the work of remote sensing and urban studies.