Nadine Kabengi, a professor of geosciences and associate dean of The Graduate School at Georgia State University, has been tapped to serve in a new strategic role in the Office of Vice President for Research and Economic Development: associate vice president of Research Strategic Initiatives. In this role, Kabengi will expand Georgia State’s research profile with a focus on grants, proposal development, fostering discovery and innovation across all disciplines, and strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration.

“Given the fast-paced changes in the funding environment, we wanted someone focused on specific ways to expand our grants portfolio and to work hand in hand with researchers and research administrators to build success,” said Donald Hamelberg, Georgia State’s vice president for Research and Economic Development. “Dr. Kabengi’s skills and her years of service at the university as a professor, a researcher and a leader made her a strong choice for this new role. I know she will bring meaningful ideas to the table.”

In addition to setting research strategies and priorities, sponsoring high-impact initiatives and guiding investment decisions, Kabengi will help fuel more interdisciplinary connections throughout the university’s broad research community.

“I am excited to champion researchers across all disciplines and to work closely with Dr. Hamelberg to grow our research impact,” Kabengi said. “Our goal is not simply to get bigger. It is to get better at leveraging what’s unique about Georgia State.”

Kabengi holds a Ph.D. in Soil Physical Chemistry from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in soil science as well as a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. She came to Georgia State in 2012, first serving as an assistant professor then as associate and full professor of geosciences. Most recently, she supported The Graduate School as associate dean, working collaboratively across campus to foster a forward-thinking, innovative and inclusive environment for graduate education.

Her research specialties are environmental mineralogy and surface chemistry, and her ongoing research work includes an exploration of the surface chemical reactions that happen where minerals and solids meet water and fluid, and how these interfacial reactions affect environmental, geological and technological processes and applications.

For more information about Georgia State University research and its impact, visit research.gsu.edu.