Narcisa Pricope named director of research and development for the Center for Geospatial Information Technology
Pricope will help expand CGIT’s research portfolio, cultivate partnerships with federal agencies, industry, and academic collaborators, and support the development of innovative geospatial technologies and decision-support tools.
Narcisa Pricope has joined the College of Natural Resources and Environment as director of research and development in the Center for Geospatial Information Technology (CGIT) and as a professor in the Department of Geography, bringing nationally recognized expertise in geospatial intelligence, environmental resilience, and research leadership. The position is a partnership between CGIT and the Virginia Tech National Security Institute (VTNSI).
Pricope joins Virginia Tech from Mississippi State University, where she served as associate vice president for research and professor of geosciences. In that role, she provided executive oversight for a research portfolio exceeding $100 million and helped lead interdisciplinary initiatives spanning geospatial intelligence, environmental resilience, artificial intelligence, infrastructure security, and research security.
“Dr. Pricope is an internationally recognized scholar and research leader whose expertise will significantly strengthen CGIT’s capacity in geospatial science and innovation,” said Dean Saskia van de Gevel. “Her ability to build interdisciplinary collaborations, secure major research investments, and translate scientific discoveries into real-world solutions will help position the college and Virginia Tech to advance critical work in environmental security, resilience, and geospatial and AI analyses.”
As director of research and development, Pricope will help expand CGIT’s research portfolio, cultivate partnerships with federal agencies, industry, and academic collaborators, and support the development of innovative geospatial technologies and decision-support tools.
“Virginia Tech offers an extraordinary environment for interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation,” Pricope said. “I'm excited to work alongside faculty, students, industry partners, and federal agencies to advance geospatial research that helps communities, strengthens infrastructure resilience, and addresses some of society's most pressing environmental challenges.”
Throughout her career, Pricope has focused on applying geospatial technologies, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and environmental modeling to better understand how natural and human systems interact. Her work has informed decision-making related to flooding, drought, land degradation, infrastructure resilience, and natural resource management in the United States and internationally.
Her recent leadership includes a national leadership role in the NSF SECURE Center and serving as principal investigator and team lead for a DARPA-funded agricultural security research initiative and a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine environmental intelligence consortium addressing PFAS exposure in the Gulf region.
“Geospatial intelligence gives us the ability to transform complex environmental data into actionable information,” Pricope said. “My goal is to develop research partnerships and technologies that not only advance science but also improve decision-making for communities, governments, and industries.”
Her leadership also extends to international science and workforce development. Pricope serves on the Science-Policy Interface of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and previously directed an NSF-funded Coastal UAS Observatory and geospatial intelligence and UAS academic programs at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she expanded partnerships among students, universities, government, and industry.
Pricope’s research has combined satellite imagery, uncrewed aircraft systems, remote sensing, hydrologic modeling, and machine learning to develop new approaches for environmental monitoring, infrastructure resilience, and hazard preparedness. She has authored or co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications and built research collaborations spanning universities, government agencies, industry, and international organizations.
Pricope will be based out of VTNSI's Arlington office.
“Narcisa brings an exceptional combination of technical expertise, research leadership, and experience building large interdisciplinary programs,” said Eric Paterson, executive director of the Virginia Tech National Security Institute. “Her leadership will strengthen CGIT’s ability to translate advances in geospatial intelligence, remote sensing, and artificial intelligence into decision-support capabilities for national security and other critical missions. She is an outstanding addition to both VTNSI and Virginia Tech.”
Before joining Mississippi State University, Pricope held faculty and research appointments at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and Southern Oregon University and was a visiting scholar and postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She began her research career as a research associate in environmental engineering at the University of Florida.
Pricope earned a doctorate in geography with a concentration in environmental engineering and adaptive watershed management from the University of Florida, a master’s degree in geoscience from Western Kentucky University, and bachelor’s degrees in geography and English from Babeș-Bolyai University in Romania.
