Meet The Team

Dr. Amal Iaaly GIS Center Director / Assistant Professor
Dr. Iaaly is an assistant professor and the GIS Center Director at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Balamand. She has been working in the field of GIS since 2001. She is an expert in GIS, especially in fields related to E-government. She is a renowned expert/consultant for many NGOs on both the national and international levels. Additionally, she has extensive experience in GIS projects for local development. Dr. Iaaly started her career as the head of the GIS department at the Chamber of Commerce in Tripoli and North Lebanon (CCIAT) where she developed the first GIS system for Tripoli. During her work at the CCIAT, she carried out a socio-economic census data collection covering the area of Tripoli, Mina, Rasmaska, and Beddawi. The objective was to develop socio-economic indicators to be used by CCIAT to assess the situation of enterprises and plan the proper interventions to promote local economic development. Afterward, Dr. Iaaly moved to the University of Balamand and became the director of the GIS Center. She also pursued a doctoral degree related to the sustainability and extended usage of GIS in E-government. Dr. Iaaly teaches a variety of GIS courses in many universities and training centers. She designed many GIS courses from beginner to advanced. Dr. Iaaly also teaches variety of GIS courses. Dr. Iaaly believes in applied research and that education must not be separated from work requirements; thus, she took a proactive approach in bringing real-life projects to the Center in order to build students’ capacities through working on real projects. By adopting this approach, various GIS projects were executed within municipalities to name a few: Amioun socio-economic GIS, Btouratij socioeconomic GIS, Mazraat Yachouh home and street addressing system. She also works closely with NGO’s on subjects related to sustainability and good governance through the use of GIS. Currently, she is the National GIS and Data Governance Expert for MASAR Consortium in Lebanon and the GIS International Consultant for MASAR Consortium in Iraq. Dr. Iaaly has won many national and international awards of recognition in the field of GIS and has succeeded to carry out many GIS research projects in various fields related to water, energy, hazard mapping, pollution, and 3D mapping among others.

Nicolas Murr GIS Lab Technician
Mr. Murr is an active member of the GIS Center at the Faculty of Engineering. He performs a variety of technical duties including data analysis, database management, and data output tasks. He is responsible for gathering, producing, maintaining, analyzing, and reporting GIS data. He also plays a crucial role in the liaison between the GIS Center and the community partners (NGOs, municipalities, Directorate of Geographic Affairs (DGA), etc.).

Patrick Daou GIS Center Administrator
Eng. Daou is the GIS Administrator at the GIS Center at the Faculty of Engineering. He works directly under the supervision of Dr. Iaaly in all GIS projects. As a GIS Administrator, he is responsible for supporting data management efforts on both Cloud (ESRI ArcGIS Online platform) and GISC Server. Working at various scales, he supports local to enterprise-level data management efforts, designing and deploying guidelines and best practices, and ensuring data can be compiled in support of GISC’s organizational priorities. Eng. Daou is an expert in geodatabase design, data collection apps development using XLSForms (ArcGIS Survey123, ODK, KoBoToolbox), and GNSS field mapping, among others. Eng. Daou also has extensive experience in infrastructure mapping using GIS. He is responsible for managing many data collection projects in various regions in Lebanon. Eng. Daou won the prestigious ESRI Young Scholars Award in 2020.