Robert J. (Bob) Samors was appointed Coordination Officer for the Belmont Forum e-Infrastructures and Data Management Project in September 2016, building on a 30 year career in Washington, DC and internationally. He most recently served as Senior External Relations Manager at the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), and previously as Associate Vice President for Innovation and Technology Policy at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) with a specialty in university economic engagement, intellectual property and information technology (IT) policy.

Prior to joining APLU, Samors served for seven years as the Associate Vice President for Federal Relations for the University of North Carolina system and as Assistant Vice President for Research in the University of Michigan Washington office. He holds a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. in Economics from Brown University.