Introduction
CIROH is proud to host the 4th annual Developers Conference at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The conference will be held from May 27 to May 29, 2026. The training tracks for this year’s conference are Flood Inundation Mapping, Hydro Modeling, Machine Learning, HydroInformatics, and Social Science & Communication. Conference details will be updated when event registration opens in February 2026.
Who should attend?
The conference will focus on a wide range of topics relating to hydrological forecasting, particularly of extreme events – in line with CIROH’s current research and development emphasis. These include hydrological modeling (NextGen), flood inundation mapping, hydroinformatics, social science, and community engagement. The conference will offer participants an opportunity to engage with the CIROH community and its federal partners, learn about recent research and development activities, and get hands-on training on emerging models, tools, and services.
Registration opens February 9, 2026.
Agenda
Field Trip Details
Silver Lake Nature Trail — Brighton, Utah – Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Join us for a field trip to Silver Lake, an alpine lake in the Wasatch Mountains near Brighton. Shuttle service will be provided for registered participants. This family-friendly interpretive loop trail features a mix of natural surfaces and boardwalks and is suitable for a wide range of participants. The walk will be led by Ryan Johnson (University of Utah) with assistance from a graduate student. Space is limited. Signing up for the activity will be included in conference registration.
- Meet-Up Location: Little America Hotel, 500 Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
- Travel Time: Approximately 40 minutes each way from downtown SLC
- Schedule:
- Meet at Little American Hotel at 3:45 PM
- Arrive at Silver Lake Nature Trail by 5:00 PM
- Explore for 1.5–2 hours
- Depart Silver Lake Nature Trail by 7:00 PM
- Return to Little American Hotel by 8:00 PM
- Trail Duration: Less than one hour
- Cost: No cost for participants
The Research Exchange:
The Research Exchange will be held on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, More details coming soon.
Training Tracks
The Community NextGen track focuses on the Next Generation Water Resources Modeling framework (NextGen) and provides hands-on experience with NextGen In A Box (NGIAB), a streamlined deployment solution, along with emerging tools in the NextGen ecosystem. Workshops will cover tools for preparing NextGen simulations, the TEEHR Evaluation Tool, AI-enabled large-domain parameter estimation tools (including differentiable modeling and large-sample emulators), and alternative multi-model hydrologic approaches.The track will also highlight opportunities to contribute to the CIROH NextGen Research Datastream (NRDS), a baseline simulation of CONUS hydrology, and emphasize best practices for community collaboration. Sessions will conclude with updates on CIROH’s unsolved problems in large-domain hydrologic modeling and prediction.
Leads: Arpita Patel (University of Alabama), Shaun Carney (RTI International), Martyn Clark (University of Calgary)
Flood Inundation Mapping:
The Flood Inundation Mapping (FIM) track offers comprehensive training on the operational OWP HAND-FIM framework as well as other flood inundation mapping models and supporting tools.The workshop structure follows the FIM application and development lifecycle, including FIM compilation, model and database development, evaluation, and real-world application.
Lead: Sagy Cohen, University of Alabama
Hydroinformatics and Data Science:
The Hydroinformatics and Data Science track includes workshops focused on data science tools, computing technologies, and community datasets that support CIROH research-to-operations initiatives. Topics may include hydrologic data science, model and data fusion, collaboration via HydroShare, CIROH cloud and high-performance computing resources, GIS and remote sensing, National Water Model visualization tools such as the Tethys Platform, APIs and data access tools, real-time data collection, camera-based monitoring, computer vision applications, and related advancements.
Lead: Patrick Clemins (University of Vermont), Jeffery Horsburgh (Utah State University)
Social Science & Communication:
This track focuses on social science approaches for maximizing research impact. Participants will explore research strategies that advance research-to-operations (R2O) and research-to-applications (R2X) and enhance social impact through stakeholder engagement and decision-support development. Workshops will address key skills such as engaging forecast generators and users, assessing social impacts, building community trust, and improving operational outcomes. Attendees will gain practical skills and cross-disciplinary connections to strengthen their research teams.
Lead: George Van Houtven (RTI International), Corinne Schuster-Wallace (University of Saskatchewan)
Machine Learning, AI and Remote Sensing in Hydrology:
The AI/ML/RS track will provide hands-on workshop sessions demonstrating machine learning methods using current CIROH modeling projects aimed at advancing AI/ML applications in operational hydrology. This track will include workshops on advanced ML methodologies such as hyperparameter and architecture selection, custom architecture development, training strategies, loss functions, end-to-end development, and AI/ML methods for remote sensing in hydrological modeling. Participants will leave with an improved understanding of data processing, machine learning models and applications, training and evaluation procedures, result visualization, and practical workflows they can apply to their own hydrological modeling objectives.
Lead: Jonathan M. Frame, University of Alabama
Poster and Lightning Talk Presentations
Important Dates
February 9: Registration, abstract submission and workshop sign-up opens
February 20: Nomination deadline for the Student Developer Award and Early Career Paper Award
March 13: Award Notifications
May 26: Pre-conference networking activities
May 27 – 29: CIROH Developers Conference April 30: Registration is Closed
Registration
A link to the Registration Form will be available on February 9.
Conference Registration:
- CIROH Students: $100
- CIROH Non-students: $200
- Non-CIROH: $300
Early Career Awards
Student Developer Award
Applications close February 20, 2026
The CIROH Annual Student Developer Award will honor a student who has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to CIROH’s research endeavors. The top submission will be invited to provide a keynote presentation at the conference and will receive travel support. Submission is restricted to students from the CIROH Consortium Member and Partner institutions.
To apply, submit your application through this link by February 20, 2026.
- A short description of your contribution to CIROH research [1 page];
- [Optional] A digital copy of one of your relevant thesis/dissertation chapter, research paper, or supporting documents [please do not submit your entire thesis!];
- [If relevant] A link to a public repository of your code or dataset with an open-source license, and technical documentation (optional);
- A letter of endorsement from the advisor
Early Career Paper Award
Applications close February 20, 2026
The CIROH inaugural Early Career Paper Award will honor a student or postdoc who has published a seminal paper associated with a CIROH research project. The top submission will be invited to provide a keynote presentation at the conference and will receive travel support. Submission is restricted to students and postdocs from the CIROH Consortium Member and Partner institutions. The paper must be published (i.e. not under review) in a peer-reviewed journal and include an acknowledgment of the CIROH project.
To apply, submit your application through this link by February 20, 2026.
- A short description of your paper and its contribution to CIROH research [1 page];
- A digital copy (PDF) of the research paper.
- [If relevant] A link to a public repository of your code or dataset with an open-source license, and technical documentation (optional).
Venue
The CIROH Training and Developer’s Conference will be held at the S.J. Quinney College of Law Conference Center at the University of Utah.
Driving Directions and Address
Address
S.J. Quinney College of Law – Level 6
383 South University Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
The College of Law is located on the northeast corner of 400 South and University Street (1400 East).
From the Airport
As you leave the airport, keep to the left and take the I-80 E ramp to City Center/Ogden/Provo. Keep left at the fork, follow signs for I-80 E and merge onto I-80 E. Continue on I-80 for 5.5 miles to E 600 S/Martin Luther King Jr Blvd exit. Continue straight onto E 600 S/Martin Luther King Jr Blvd for .8 mile. Turn left onto S 1100 E. Continue for .3 mile, then turn right onto 400 S. Continue for .4 mile, turn left into the College of Law Parking Lot.
Free parking is available in the College of Law parking lot, in any “A” or “U” parking stall (no permit is needed). Then enter the east entrance of the College of Law building and continue to the elevators to level 6.
From Downtown
Drive east on South Temple Street to 1300 East Street. Turn right (south) and continue on 1300 East to 400 South. Turn left (east) on 400 South and then go through the traffic light and take the first left after the light into the College of Law Parking Lot.
Free parking is available in the College of Law Parking lot, in any “A” or “U” parking stall (no permit is needed). Then enter the east entrance of the College of Law building and continue to the elevators to level 6.
Parking
Available for free just outside (east) of the building. If the lot is full, paid parking is available across the street at the stadium parking lot.
Public Transportation
- TRAX (commuter train) “University” red line to the Stadium stop and walk a half block north. http://www.rideuta.com/
- For other public transit options use UTA’s Trip Planner.
- The law school is on the Red Route for the University’s free campus shuttles
- (College of Law stop). Live Tracker information is availableat http://www.uofubus.com/
Campus Map
For more detailed information about the University of Utah Campus Map.
Lodging
There are many lodging options in Salt Lake City. If you plan to use public transportation you may want to consider booking a hotel in proximity to the TRAX (commuter train) “University” red line.
Organizing Committee
Sagy Cohen – University of Alabama
Brock Parker – University of Alabama, Communications
Lanna Nations – University of Alabama, AWI Education
Sarah Sherrill – University of Alabama, Event Coordination
Ryan Johnson – University of Utah, Host
Arpita Patel – University of Alabama, Hydro Modeling Track, computation
Martyn Clark – University of Calgary, Hydro Modeling Track
Shaun Carney – RTI International, Hydro Modeling Track
Jonathan Frame – University of Alabama, ML track
Juli Scamardo - Utah State University, Early Career. Jeff Horsburgh – Utah State University, HydroInformatics Track
Patrick Clemins – University of Vermont, HydroInformatics Track
Corinne Schuster-Wallace – University of Saskatchewan, Social Science and Communication Track
George Van Houtven – RTI International, Social Science and Communication Track
Ed Clark – Director, NOAA National Water Center