Narcisa Pricope

Dr. Narcisa Pricope is Professor of Geography and Geospatial Science in the Department of Geosciences at Mississippi State University (MSU) and concurrently serves as Associate Vice President for Research in MSU’s Office of Research and Economic Development. Previously, she spent a decade at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) where she founded and directed multiple high-profile programs, including the NSF-funded Coastal UAS Observatory and the USGIF-accredited Geospatial Intelligence certificate.

Education

• PhD in Geography (minor Environmental Engineering), University of Florida, 2011
• MSc in Geosciences, Western Kentucky University, 2006
• BA in Geography and English, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2004

Research Interests

Dr. Pricope is a land-systems scientist who integrates geospatial modelling, remote sensing, and unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) to investigate complex socio-ecological interactions at the food-water-energy nexus. Her work emphasizes understanding environmental variability and human vulnerability to land degradation, drought, and climate change, with a strong commitment to community-engaged research across dryland regions in eastern and southern Africa, Peru, Nepal, and coastal/inland North America.

Key methodological thrusts include:

• Advanced machine-learning and geostatistical analytics
• Multi-scale remote sensing (satellite, airborne, UAS)
• Topobathymetric LiDAR for coastal and inland water management
• GeoAI and geospatial intelligence capacity building

Research Trends from Recent Publications

Across more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, Dr. Pricope’s recent work demonstrates a pronounced focus on global drying trends, precision mapping of coastal and inland ecosystems, and the deployment of machine-learning techniques to tackle environmental challenges such as salinity intrusion, vegetation classification, and heavy-metal contamination. A strong policy-oriented thread is evident, with several 2024–2025 publications calling for urgent adaptive solutions to aridification and integrating climate policy with disaster planning.

Scientific Awards

• 2022 UNCW Graduate Faculty Mentor Award
• 2022 Discere Aude Mentorship Award
• 2021 UNCW College of Arts and Sciences Research Award

Grants & Strategic Initiatives

Dr. Pricope has secured funding from NSF, NASA, NOAA Sea Grant, USAID, World Bank, Global Environment Facility, NCDOT and NGA, among others. At MSU she leads strategic initiatives in climate resilience, GeoAI programming, and university-wide research support.

Laboratories & Teams

She previously directed the NSF-funded UNCW Coastal UAS Observatory and oversaw the FAA Collegiate Training Initiative in UAS, positioning UNCW as a national hub for geospatial intelligence education and research. At MSU, she continues to foster interdisciplinary collaboration across geosciences, engineering, and social sciences.