NHERI Summer Institute
NHERI Summer Institute for Early-Career Faculty
2025 NHERI Summer Institute Cohort at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Updates
The 2026 application for the NHERI Summer Institute NSF travel award will open December 1, 2025, and close on February 13, 2026. Participants may register to attend until February 27, 2026. 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 and researchers to learn more about the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) community. This year, the Institute will include Professional Learning Communities before and after the day-and-a-half in-person Institute. During the Institute, participants will have opportunities to meet natural hazards researchers, NHERI PIs and representatives, Summer Institute alumni, NSF CAREER Awardees, and an NSF program director. This unique learning experience offers a platform to discuss research grant proposal ideas and potential partnerships.
This year's NHERI Summer Institute will include Professional Learning Communities to extend the opportunity to connect and grow professionally. The Pre-Institute PLC online sessions will be held in March, April, and May to offer participants a chance to learn about NHERI sites and resources from NHERI PIs and personnel. The in-person Institute will be held at the University of Texas at San Antonio's (UTSA) Downtown Campus June 1-3, 2026. Finally, several Post-Institute PLC online sessions will be offered between July-January. 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
- 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 sessions and guide your proposal development.
Eligibility
Attendees must be early-career faculty or industry researchers that are interested in natural hazards, the NHERI network and its resources, as well as proposal planning.
Those 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 NHERI experimental sites to apply.
Application & Registration
There are two 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).
Apply — This year NHERI Education & Community Outreach Committee will select 20 early-career faculty to receive an NSF Travel Award to attend the 2026 NSF NHERI Summer Institute.
Early Career Faculty and Industry Professionals
We encourage early-career professionals (pre-tenured track faculty, postdoctoral researchers, or senior graduate students), to apply for travel funds. Selected in-person attendees will receive an NSF travel award to cover up to $1,200 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 grow professionally and begin proposal planning.
Register — You may also register to attend the NHERI Summer Institute in person. Those who register to attend in person but do not receive an NSF travel award will receive free registration. The Institute will provide some meals and snacks during the day-and-a-half workshop.
Accommodations
NHERI has reserved a block of rooms for $137.00 a night at the DoubleTree by Hilton San Antonio Downtown Hotel. Please book your rooms for the NHERI Summer Institute before May 1, 2026, to receive the special rate (link 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!