2026 Earth System Observations & Modeling Graduate Symposium 

Meet Our Keynote Speakers

Dr. Milton Halem: Dr. Milton Halem is a Research Professor in the UMBC Computer Science and Electrical Engineering department. His main areas of research are computational science, high performance computing, simulation studies and data assimilation with application to space observations of weather and climate, More recently, his research focus has embraced AI, machine learning, quantum annealing, and service oriented computing. where he has taught courses in Service Oriented Computing and mentored more than 15 PhDs for over 20 years. He has over 250 publications and has been the PI on over a dozen grants from Industry and Govt agencies supporting more than 50 graduate assistantships and totaling  ~$15M. Dr. Halem served as the founding Director of UMBC’s NSF funded Center for Hybrid Multicore Productivity Research (CHMPR) and today continues to serve as the UMBC Site Associate Director for the ongoing NSF-supported CARTA multi-institutional center that works closely with government and private sector sponsors in the areas of big-data computation, next generation computing and AI software tool development. He was awarded the first Research Faculty Award initiated in 2018.  Prior to retiring in 2001, Dr. Halem served in the joint capacity as Assistant Director for Information Sciences and Chief Information Officer for the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Halem provided the strategic information science and computational technology focus and oversight across the entire mission critical programs and projects at the Center. He is most noted for his ground-breaking research in simulation studies of space observing systems and for development of four dimensional data assimilation for weather and climate prediction. Over the years, his achievements have earned him numerous awards including the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement, the NASA Medal for Outstanding Leadership, and NASA’s highest award; the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1996. Dr. Halem is also a noted screen printmaker of Art from Space.

Dr. Chaowei (Phil) Yang: Chaowei Phil Yang is Professor of GIScience at George Mason University and Founding Director of the NSF Spatiotemporal Innovation Center, the first geospatial center funded under the National Science Foundation IUCRC program. His research advances spatiotemporal computing, geospatial cyberinfrastructure, and AI-enabled digital twin systems for understanding complex Earth and societal processes. Over a two-decade career, Dr. Yang has led more than $40 million in research projects supported by NSF, NASA, NOAA, and industry partners, producing over 200 publications and several books. His work integrates spatial thinking, temporal dynamics, and high-performance computing to enable large-scale analysis of environmental systems, including conflict, disasters, and public health. Dr. Yang’s contributions have been recognized by federal agencies and international scientific communities. Through leadership in interdisciplinary research and collaboration, he continues to shape the emerging field of spatiotemporal data science and its applications in geosciences.