NHERI Summer Institute
NHERI Summer Institute for Early-Career Faculty
2024 NHERI Summer Institute Cohort at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Updates
The 2025 application for the NHERI Summer Institute NSF travel award and K-12 education consultant stipend opened on October 15, 2024, and will close on February 23, 2025. Registration for presenters, self-funded and online participants also opened on October 15, 2024, and will close on May 1, 2025. Both applicants and registrants should use the link in the Application & Registration section below.
Program Information
Hands-on natural hazards proposal writing experience. The NHERI Summer Institute is a free event for early-career faculty, NHERI Graduate Student Council, K-12 educators from the San Antonio area, engineers, social scientists, and researchers to learn more about the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) community. During the three-day Institute — click here for the 2025 NHERI Summer Institute example Itinerary — participants will have opportunities to meet with NHERI site representatives, K-12 education consultants, NSF CAREER Awardees, and a program director from the National Science Foundation (NSF). This creates a platform to discuss research grant proposal ideas and potential partnerships.
The NHERI Summer Institute will be held in person at the University of Texas at San Antonio's (UTSA) Downtown Campus June 11-13, 2025. Participants will learn about:
- NHERI program mission
- NHERI network site capabilities
- NHERI network resource requests
- NHERI Science Plan
- NSF Grant proposal writing
- Broader educational impacts of research
- Outreach focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Community networking and mentoring
- Technology Transfer
- K-12 Educator Training (for K-12 education consultants)
The Summer Institute will host representatives from the 11 universities and 12 NHERI sites. Selected in-person attendees will meet with representatives and learn about:
- The Wall of Wind at Florida International University (opens a new window)
- Real-time Multi-Directional Natural Hazards Simulation Facility (RTMD) at Lehigh University (opens a new window)
- The O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory at Oregon State University (opens a new window)
- The NHERI SimCenter at University of California, Berkeley (opens a new window)
- The Center for Geotechnical Modeling (CGM) at University of California, Davis (opens a new window)
- The Large High Performance Outdoor Shake Table (LHPOST) at University of California, San Diego (opens a new window)
- The CONVERGE Facility at University of Colorado Boulder (opens a new window)
- The Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Experimental Facility at the University of Florida (opens a new window)
- The Large-Scale Mobile Shakers at University of Texas at Austin (opens a new window)
- The NHERI Cyberinfrastructure and Data Management team at University of Texas at Austin in collaboration with TACC (opens a new window)
- The Rapid Response Research Facility (RAPID) at University of Washington (opens a new window)
Representatives from the NHERI Network Communication Office, NHERI Science Plan, NHERI Technology Transfer Committee, User Forum, and an NHERI NSF Program Director will also be on hand to host workshops and guide your group's mock proposal development.
Eligibility
Both virtual and in-person attendees must be early-career faculty, NHERI Graduate Student Council members, K-12 teachers in the San Antonio area, or industry researchers that are interested in natural hazards, the NHERI network and its resources, as well as proposal planning.
Applicants applying for the NSF travel award must be citizens, permanent residents, or visa holders who attend or work at institutions in the continental U.S.
We encourage participants interested in multi-disciplinary research and collaboration between experimental sites to apply as well as under-represented minorities, women, and veterans.
Application & Registration
There are three ways to attend the NHERI Summer Institute:
- Apply to participate in person and receive NSF funding.
- Register to participate in person without funding (the Institute is free).
- Register to watch online.
Apply — The application for the NSF Travel Award opened on October 15, 2024, and will close on Sunday, February 23, 2025. This year NHERI will accept 20 early-career faculty or natural hazard researchers and 5 graduate students selected from the NHERI Graduate Student Council to receive the NSF Travel Award from those who applied.
Early Career Faculty, Industry Professionals, and NHERI GSC Members
We encourage early-career professionals and faculty, industry professionals, and NHERI GSC members to apply to attend the event in person. Selected in-person attendees will receive an NSF travel award to cover travel, accommodations, food, parking, etc. More importantly, in-person attendees will work with other like-minded individuals, an NSF Program Director, a variety of NHERI representatives, and K-12 education consultants to develop a mock proposal.
K-12 Education Consultants
Unlike other in-person attendees, ten K-12 education consultants will be selected from the surrounding San Antonio area. Educators should apply to attend in person but will receive a stipend and not a travel award due to their proximity. Educators will attend the second day of the Institute, receive training, and mentor early-career faculty, graduate students, and researchers in developing age-appropriate science and engineering lesson plans. Additional funding may be available for educators who implement a natural hazards lesson plan in their classrooms during Fall 2025 and provide data lesson implementation. More information about this opportunity is provided during the Summer Institute.
Register — You may also register for free to attend the NHERI Summer Institute in person as an invited presenter or participant until May 1, 2025. Those who register to attend in person but do not receive an NSF travel award or stipend will be responsible for travel and accommodations. The Institute will provide breakfast, lunch, and snacks during the three-day workshop.
Watch — You may also register to watch select NHERI Summer Institute sessions online by completing the registration process by May 1, 2025. The free event will only be streamed online for registered participants.
Accommodations
NHERI has reserved a block of rooms for $129.00 a night at the DoubleTree by Hilton San Antonio Downtown Hotel. Please book your rooms for the NHERI Summer Institute before May 11, 2025, to receive the special rate (link to special rate coming soon). If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Robin Nelson (robin.nelson@utsa.edu).
Explore
Click the boxes below to check out presentations from previous NHERI Summer Institutes.
Contact Us
The Education and Community Outreach (ECO) and the ECO Committee develop and host the NHERI Summer Institute. If you have questions about the NHERI Summer Institute or the application/registration process, please email us at reu-request@designsafe-ci.org. We will be happy to help!