Widad Ibrahim Elmahboub

Last updated
Widad Ibrahim Elmahboub
وداد المحبوب
Born
CitizenshipUnited States of America
Alma mater University of Wisconsin–Madison
Scientific career
Institutions Hampton University
Langley Research Center, NASA
Thesis An integrated atmospheric correction and classification system for remote sensing data to improve correction and classification accuracy  (2000)

Widad Ibrahim Elmahboub is a Sudanese applied mathematician, astrophysicist and aerospace engineer. She has worked at Hampton University and NASA in the United States.[ when? ]

Biography

Elmahboub's hometown is Omdurman, Khartoum State, Sudan. [1] She was educated to college level in Sudan and Egypt. [2] [3] As a schoolgirl, she would read scientific books and journals at the American Cultural Center in Khartoum. [4]

In 1988, Elmahboub was granted an academic scholarship by the Sudanese National Council for Research for further study in the Netherlands for a year. [1] [4] She then studied a master's degree in Engineering Physics and a PhD in Space Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States. [4] Her thesis was titled "An integrated atmospheric correction and classification system for remote sensing data to improve correction and classification accuracy." [5] [6]

After graduating, Elmahboub was an Assistant Professor of Astrophysics and Remote Sensing Systems in the Department of Mathematics at Hampton University (HU), Virginia, United States. [3] [7] [8] Whilst at this institution, she was Chair of the HU Research Center of Earth, Space and GIS Analysis (RCESG) Mathematics, [8] [9] analyzing hyper-spectral data on super-computers. She co-authored research on "Modeling and Simulation on Signatures of Mars Minerals." [10]

Elmahboub was then employed as the first Sudanese woman to work as an aerospace scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center for Atmospheric Science. [3] [4] [11] At NASA, has worked on the research and analysis of planetary components. [2] She has also introduced a computer-simulated mathematical model and algorithm and atmospheric correction method which has enabled scientists to obtain more accurate and refined satellite images of the surface of the planet Mars. [2]

Elmahboub is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society [4] [ dubious discuss ] and holds American citizenship. [12]

References

  1. 1 2 al-Shafee, Rogia (January 27, 2019). "Widad Almahboub: One Of Most Notable World Scientists And Astrophysicists". Sudanow Magazine. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "11 Sudanese Scientists You Should Know About". 500 Words Magazine. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "SUDAN: 11 Inspiring Sudanese Scientists". Arabian Records. September 8, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "السودانية وداد المحبوب تحلّل باطن المريخ والأرض تعمل في وكالة ناسا". Sudaress (in Arabic). June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  5. el Mahboub, Widad Ibrahim Mohamed. (2000) An integrated atmospheric correction and classification system for remote sensing data to improve correction and classification accuracy. PhD Thesis, The University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  6. American Doctoral Dissertations. University Microfilms. 1999. p. 332.
  7. Ndungidi, Patrick (January 16, 2021). "80 Africaines qui font avancer l'Intelligence Artificielle en Afrique et dans le reste du monde". African Shapers (in French). Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  8. 1 2 "HU Mathematician Honored in Who's Who". Hampton University News. September 1, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  9. Who's Who in America. Marquis Who's Who, LLC. 2002. p. 1497. ISBN   978-0-8379-6966-4.
  10. Elmahboub, Widad; Yankey, Edward; Kerwin, Olivia (October 1, 2010). "Modeling and Simulation on Signatures of Mars Minerals". Virginia Journal of Science. 61 (3). doi:10.25778/afr9-8x35. ISSN   3064-7576.
  11. "تعرف على عالمة الفيزياء والفلكية وداد المحبوب أول سودانية تعمل في ناسا". إم آي تي تكنولوجي ريفيو (in Arabic). February 21, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  12. "بعد توليها أخطر مهمة بناسا.. 7 معلومات عن عالمة الفضاء وداد المحبوب - اليوم السابع". اليوم السابع (in Arabic). October 3, 2016. Archived from the original on July 19, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2025.