Water Prediction Innovators Summer Institute
The Water Prediction Innovators Summer Institute is a seven-week training program that brings graduate students together with academic researchers and other professionals. Since the first Summer Institute in 2015, more than 250 students have participated in the program, which continues to play an important role in advancing water prediction in the United States.
Call for Research Theme Leaders
CUAHSI is seeking Research Project Theme Leaders to join
the 2027 Water Prediction Innovators Summer Institute. Theme Leaders play a crucial
role in guiding student research projects and research teams and
ensuring a successful project-based learning experience. If you are
eager to support the next generation of water researchers, we encourage
you to apply. Application review will begin on a rolling basis on Dec. 1, 2026
Call for Graduate Student Fellows
Graduate Student Fellows work in teams with peers from across the country on water prediction research, building professional skills and a national network along the way. Eligibility: Current and incoming M.S. and Ph.D. students enrolled in U.S. universities.
Application Deadline: January 12, 2027.
About the Summer Institute
The Water Prediction Innovators Summer Institute (WPI-SI) is a partnership between CUAHSI and the University of Alabama that engages the academic community in research to advance water prediction and flood forecasting. This program supports workforce development in water prediction. Graduate student Fellows work in teams with peers from across the country on research projects that advance the field, and build skills and professional networks along the way.
Projects are generally self-contained, though they may overlap with a student’s own research. Each team completes a final report and capstone presentation, and most teams have published their work in a scientific journal.
2027 Program Dates: June 7 - July 21, 2027
What Fellows Gain
- Professional connections: relationships with peers, Theme Leaders, and experts from universities, federal agencies, and industry, including NOAA National Weather Service Office of Water Prediction staff, plus a lasting alumni network.
- Broader research perspective: a team-based project outside your usual research area, and new ideas and approaches to carry into your own research.
- Technical skills: hands-on training in areas such as the NextGen modeling framework, flood inundation mapping, hydroinformatics, Python and cloud-based data workflows, machine learning, and reproducible research practices (Git/GitHub, FAIR data principles).
- Professional skills: planning and managing projects, working in collaborative teams, using AI tools responsibly, and presenting results.
- Career exposure: insight into operational and federal water careers.
- Research outcomes: a completed project documented in a published final report, with the opportunity to develop it into a peer-reviewed manuscript or conference presentation.
Proposed Themes for the 2027 Summer Institute:
Research projects completed by Fellows over the course of the program will relate to the following Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH) Research Themes:
- Advancing the Next Generation National Hydrologic Modeling
- Advancing Risk Communication and Public Engagement in Hydrologic Hazards
- Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Applications in Hydrological Predictions
- Developing Novel Hydroinformatics Tools, Services, and Datasets to Support Operational Frameworks
- Innovations in Flood Inundation Mapping for Operational Forecasting
Graduate Student Fellows Applications
Visit the WPI-SI Graduate Student Fellows page for additional program information, expectations, and application instructions.
Authorship and Acknowledgement
The Water Prediction Innovators Summer Institute Authorship Agreement describes expectations for authorship order and acknowledgement for scientific products or ideas that emerge from collaborative team projects during the Water Prediction Innovators Summer Institute.
Approximate Program Timeline
- Application period: November-January;
- Fellows notified of acceptance: March;
- Informational webinars: April-May;
- Program dates: June to July.
Questions
For questions about the program or application process, contact Julia Masterman at email hidden; JavaScript is required.
Summer Institute 10th Anniversary
In 2025, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Summer Institute. As part of the 10th anniversary celebration, The University of Alabama and Alabama Water Institute released a retrospective video highlighting the Summer Institute’s decade of impact: 10 Years, 1 Mission: How Elite Water Scientists Built the National Water Model.
Video created by: Kim Byers, Riley Baird, Ryan Ruiz, and Brock Parker from the Alabama Water Institute Communications Team.
Technical Reports
View the Technical Reports highlighting student projects from the previous Water Prediction Innovators Summer Institutes:
The Water Prediction Innovators Summer Institute is supported by the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH) with funding under award NA22NWS4320003 from the NOAA Cooperative Institute Program. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of NOAA.
