NHERI Graduate Student Council
2026 Mini-Conference
The U.S. National Science Foundation Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure Graduate Student Council (NSF NHERI GSC) is excited to announce the fourth annual NSF NHERI GSC Mini-Conference: Innovations in Natural Hazards Research. The virtual event brings together graduate students and professionals working in natural hazards research. The conference features engaging member poster presentations, discussions, and networking opportunities to foster collaboration and innovation in the field.
2026 NHERI GSC Mini-Conference Keynote speaker, Dr. David Roueche from Auburn University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Updates
Thank you to the almost 80 participants who attended the 2026 NSF NHERI GSC Mini-Conference on Friday, May 15, 2026. It was exciting to hear the innovative approaches to natural hazards engineering, community resilience, infrastructure risk, machine learning, evacuation planning, insurance and recovery economics, and disaster resilience of the presenters.
We wish to thank Dr. David Roueche from Auburn University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for delivering an engaging keynote presentation, “Perspectives on the Past, Present, and Future Value of Post-Disaster Reconnaissance.”
We also want to thank all presenters and participants of the Data & Research Challenge. Thank you for your commitment to mitigating natural hazards and sharing your research with the GSC community.
Finally, we want to recognize the NHERI GSC Mini-Conference Organizing Committee, judges, and peer reviewers who made the event possible. Thank you to everyone you made this a wonderful experience, and we look forward to hosting the event in 2027.
Program Information
The NSF NHERI Graduate Student Council hosted the fourth annual NSF NHERI GSC Mini-Conference: Innovations in Natural Hazards Research on Friday, May 15, 2026. The virtual conference included GSC members in the field of natural hazards who presented original, multidisciplinary research. This year’s poster presentations included novel approaches to natural hazards engineering, community resilience, infrastructure risk, machine learning, evacuation planning, insurance and recovery economics, and disaster resilience of the presenters. These selected posters will also be included in the 2026 NSF NHERI GSC Mini-Conference Book of Proceedings published to DataDepot in Fall 2026.
You may review all presenters’ names and titles from this year’s conference in the schedule link below:
Awards
We are happy to announce the poster presentation winners of the 2026 NSF Mini-Conference as well as Data & Research Challenge Awards:
Data Challenge Awards |
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| First place |
Samjhana Sharma, Clemson University Sujal Sapkota, Clemson University Surabhi Acharya, Tribhuvan University, IOE, Thapathali Campus |
Machine Learning Surrogate Model for Seismic Performance Prediction of Steel and Concrete Moment Resisting Frames Utilizing Large-Scale Reduced-Order Nonlinear Simulations |
| Second place |
Jaril Deschamps, University of Hawaii at Manoa Ravindu Jayesekara, Louisiana State University |
Diagnosing Nonlinear Interaction Effects in Compound Tropical Cyclone Flood Hazard Using Machine-Learning Surrogates |
Research Challenge Awards |
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| First place |
Ahmed Hassanien, Florida State University Alireza Eskandarinejad, University of Memphis Emmanuel Randle, Oregon State University Mujungu Museru, University of Memphis Shakirat Bukola Aliyu, Morgan State University |
Dynamic Decision Support for Assisted Flood Evacuation with Assisted Evacuation Support Stations under Network Degradation and Uncertainty |
| Second place |
Miki Mori University of California Los Angeles |
Earthquakes, Embers, and Empty Wallets: The Economics of Staying Insured in Los Angeles |
Individual Poster Presentation Awards |
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| First place |
Qianyi Liu, Stony Brook University |
Uncovering Spatial Heterogeneity in Landslide Controls through a Causality-Aware and Explainable Machine Learning Framework |
| Second place |
Diako Abbasi, University of Maryland, College Park |
Climate-Informed Projections of Hurricane-Driven Prolonged School Closures across the U.S. Coastal Districts |
| Third place |
Ajibola Mofikoya, University of Alabama |
Shelter-Seeking Behavior During Tornado Events Using Connected-Vehicle Data |
Contact Us
For questions, please contact the NHERI GSC Organizing Committee:
- Pooria Mazaheri, Chair of Research (mazaheri@iastate.edu)
- Zul Kazeem, Co-Chair of Research (azk15@case.edu
- Parisa Toofani Movaghar, President (ptoofani@nd.edu)
- Rajee Tamrakar, Chair of Community Engagement (rajee.tamrakar@stonybrook.edu)
- Narayan Kumar, Vice President (narayank@udel.edu)
- SeyedAlireza Mirghafouri, Chair of Workshops and Mentoring (seyedalireza.mirghafouri@stonybrook.edu)
Download the 2026 NSF NHERI GSC Mini-Conference flyer to share:
