Acting Director, International Cooperation and Linkages
NASRDA
Dr. Rakiya Abdullahi Babamaaji is the Acting Director of International Cooperation and Linkages at NASRDA and a specialist in applying space technology to geosciences, water resources, environmental assessment, and natural resource management. She has led major research projects, including hydrological and land-use modelling of the Lake Chad Basin supported by NASRDA, UMKC, NSF, and NASA.
Elected to the Africa Space Council in 2024, Dr. Rakiya also serves as Vice Chair of the ITU/WMO/UNEP Focal Group on Al for disaster resilience, coordinates the Nigeria and West Africa CropWatch program, and contributes to key initiatives such as GRID3 Nigeria and the World Bank ACReSAL project. She sits on advisory and steering bodies for ESA's EO Africa R&D Facility and the ANSO Africa Hub.
She holds a PhD in Geosciences and Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, two MSc degrees (Space Management, Environmental Resources Management), and a B.Tech in Geology. She also lectures at AUST and ARCSSTEE and is a fellow or member of leading geoscience, remote sensing, and space-science professional organizations.
