NHERI Summer Institute
NHERI Summer Institute for Early-Career Faculty
2025 NHERI Summer Institute Cohort at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Updates
If you missed the second NHERI Professional Learning Community (PLC) session with CONVERGE, O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, NHERI SimCenter, or the Center for Geotechnical Modeling, we encourage you to watch it on the NHERI ECO YouTube Channel. We also invite you to register for the final NHERI PLC session on May 18 (RAPID, Wall of Wind, Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel, and Large Mobile Shakers).
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 should be early-career faculty who 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
Application and registration for the NHERI Summer Institute are now closed. However, you can still engage with our community through the NHERI Professional Learning Community (PLC) series. Join us on March 30, April 20, and/or May 18 at 12:00 pm CT to meet with NHERI facility PIs and Directors. These sessions explore available research resources and provide guidance on requesting proposal assistance for their use. Register for one or more sessions in the series using the link below:
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 (https://group.doubletree.com/fda99z). 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!