About Me

My name is Ron Mahabir and I'm a term Assistant Professor at the Department of Computational and Data Science (CDS). I’m from Trinidad and Tobago, the southernmost Caribbean island, just Northeast of Venezuela.

Trinidad and Tobago (Image source: Google Maps)

I received a BSc in Computing and Information Systems from the University of London (Upper second class honors), an MSc in Geoinformatics from the University of West Indies (with distinction), and a PhD in Earth Systems and Geoinformation Science from George Mason University (GMU). There are a few honors and some other certificates in there as well, but more than just paper hanging out on my office wall, to summarize me, I’d say that I like being at the center of cutting edge research with a healthy curiosity for understanding the world around me.  I classify myself as both a Geographer and as a Data Scientist, extracting useful information and gaining insights from large geographic data collections.

Prior to starting my PhD at GMU, I worked at the University of the West Indies as both a Teaching Assistant and as a Research Assistant during my MSc. My research at that time mainly focused on land use/land cover and land degradation mapping. After my MSc, I worked as an Assistant Lecturer at the University of the West Indies at the Department of Geomatics Engineering and Land Management. There I taught several courses at both graduate and undergraduate levels, including, remote sensing, geographic information systems and spatial databases.

Following the award of a Fulbright scholarship, I moved to Virginia to start my PhD at GMU working at the  Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science. There I had the distinct honor of being mentored by academic scholar Professor Peggy Agouris.  My PhD dissertation Explored the use of Open Sources of Data for Detecting and Mapping Slums”. This part of my academic journey really jumpstarted my interest into human geography and urban science. My challenge, how do you locate and map those one billion plus people for which no global database exists and for which data is either none existent or is simply just to old? More about my research at George Mason can be found on my “Research” page. While at George Mason I also had the opportunity to work with some well know scientists, and worked as a Teaching Assistant and as an Information Technology Assistant.

Following my PhD, I stayed on at the George Mason as a Postdoctoral Researcher, working jointly with the GGS Department and the Center for Geoinformatics and Geospatial Intelligence. Here I  to continue my work on smart and sustainable cities, along with other awesome projects as my “Research” page will show. 


My CV

Academic and Professional Groups
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