Mohamed F. Mokbel is the Chief Scientist of Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI). He has been a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota since 2005. His research interests include the interaction of GIS and location-based services with database systems and cloud computing. His research work has been recognized by the VLDB 10-Year Best Paper Award, five Best Paper Awards, and by the NSF CAREER award.