Summer Institute

About the Summer Institute

The Summer Institute is a partnership between CUAHSI, NOAA, and the University of Alabama that aims to engage the academic community in research to advance the mission of the National Water Center. Summer Institute participants work on projects related to water prediction and flood forecasting. Students work in small teams and are mentored by university faculty and other professionals. Student applications are accepted in the fall of each year.

Although there may be some overlap between a Summer Institute project and an individual student's academic research, Summer Institute projects generally are self-contained. The Summer Institute culminates in a capstone presentation and a final project report. Most project teams have published their work in a scientific journal after the completion of the program.

The 2025 Summer Institute will be held from June 9 - July 25, 2025.

Possible research themes for the 2025 Summer Institute:

• Approaches to snow forecasting to estimate the current spatial distribution and volume of snow water equivalent
• Surface Water Analyses to estimate the volume of water in natural and man-made water bodies
  
• Data approaches to identify high flow thresholds
  
• Use of advanced techniques for pluvial flooding prediction
  
• Use of data analysis techniques to generate low-flow estimates
  
• Development of machine learning techniques to improve deterministic or ensemble model performance
  
• Development of enhanced visualizations approaches to understand past, current, and future inundation conditions
  
• Use of historical time series to assess the universality of unit flow thresholds as currently used by the National Weather Service. Extend this analysis to NWM stream reaches using NWM retrospective scenario output.

2025 will mark the 10-year anniversary of the The National Water Center Innovators Program Summer Institute. We’ll be planning special programming to celebrate this exciting milestone.

For more information contact Julia Masterman at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Learn More

• Watch the Next-Gen Framework and Summer Institute Program Overview with the National Water Center.
• Watch the 2021 NWC Innovators Program Summer Institute Informational Webinar.
• Learn more about the National Water model from Trey Flowers, Director of the Analysis and Prediction Division, NOAA/NWC/OWP.
• View the Technical Reports highlighting student projects from the previous Summer Institutes:
  • 2017 Report
  • 2018 Report
  • 2019 Report
  • 2022 Report
  • 2023 Report
  • 2024 Report
    

Program Timeline

• Application period: November-January; 
• Fellows notified of acceptance: March; 
• Informational webinars: April-May;
• Program dates: June to July.

Eligibility

• M.S. and Ph.D. students enrolled in U.S. universities are eligible to apply to the Summer Institute.
• Students selected to participate are expected to stay onsite in Tuscaloosa Alabama for the program. All students will be provided dorm-style lodging at the University of Alabama with individual bedrooms and a shared living suite. ​​We may be able to accommodate special housing requests as appropriate. Reach out to email hidden; JavaScript is required.
• Students should also expect to provide their own laptop computer, or work with organizers to accept a loaner if necessary. 

How to Apply

The student application period for the 2025 Summer Institute will open in November.

Application Requirements:

• Application Form
• Transcript
• Letter of Endorsement from the applicant's academic Advisor
• CV

Student applications will be evaluated based on student background, knowledge, training, and experience, including work in a collaborative environment. The ideal participant will be committed to advancing water prediction in the U.S., collaborative, curious, and a rapid learner.