De Floriani Named as Distinguished University Professor
Professor of Geographical Sciences Leila De Floriani, who has appointments in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) and in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), has been named a University of Maryland Distinguished University Professor in recognition of her internationally acclaimed research career, leadership in her field and commitment to teaching.
This is the highest appointment bestowed on a tenured faculty member at UMD, and is accompanied by an annual honorarium of $5,000 to support the awardee’s professional activities. The designation recognizes faculty members whose scholarly accomplishments and service have had exceptional national and international impact.
De Floriani was recognized for her groundbreaking research, which bridges computer science and geospatial sciences, making significant theoretical and practical impacts on fields such as Geographic Information Systems, environmental modeling, and engineering.
De Floriani is widely known for her contributions to spatial data analysis, topology-based machine learning and scientific visualization. Her research has advanced methods for analyzing and interpreting large-scale geographic and scientific datasets, helping shape the growing intersection of artificial intelligence, data science and geospatial computing.
During the course of her career, she has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and secured support for her research from organizations including the National Science Foundation, NASA and the European Commission.
“I am deeply honored to receive this recognition from the University of Maryland,” De Floriani said. “This award reflects the support and collaboration of outstanding students, colleagues and research partners throughout my career, and I am grateful to be part of a university community that values innovation, interdisciplinary research and academic excellence.”
Before joining UMD, De Floriani held senior academic and research appointments across the United States and Europe, including serving as a professor at the University of Genova in Italy.
Most recently, De Floriani began a two-year term as Division V Director on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Board of Directors, after serving for a year as director-elect. In that role, she helps oversee senior leadership, finances and technical activities for the organization’s more than 500,000 members worldwide.
Her longstanding service to IEEE includes serving as Division VIII Director in 2023–24 and as president of the IEEE Computer Society during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she helped guide one of the world’s leading computing organizations through a period of significant global disruption and technological change. She has also served as editor-in-chief of a major IEEE journal and as a member of the organization’s Audit and Product and Services committees.
At UMD, De Floriani has played a key role in strengthening interdisciplinary research collaborations spanning computer science, data science and geographic information science, while mentoring graduate students and early-career researchers.
“The BSOS community joins with our peers across UMD in celebrating Leila’s work, and this extraordinary recognition of her numerous contributions to the university and to various academic fields,” BSOS Dean Susan Rivera said. “We are so proud that Leila has joined the ranks of Distinguished University Professors. This honor is highly deserved.”
Story adapted from an article by Melissa Brachfeld that was originally published by UMIACS.
Published on Wed, Jun 10, 2026 - 12:23PM