Early-career water scientists are stepping into a field that is both complex and critical, and finding the right support can make all the difference.

Dr. Juli Scamardo, an assistant professor at Utah State University and member of CIROH's early career working group, has experienced that transition firsthand. From her start studying rivers and floodplains to her current role in academia, she has navigated the challenges of building a research program, finding mentorship and connecting with the broader water community.

In this episode, Scamardo shares her path into hydrology, the role of CIROH in supporting early-career researchers and why community, collaboration and mentorship are essential for the next generation of water scientists.

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Website: http://awi.ua.edu

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Dr. Jill Brown has built her career around a simple idea: data only matters if people can understand it, trust it and use it to make decisions.

An environmental communication researcher and data storyteller, Brown brings a background in social psychology, statistics and risk communication to her work translating complex information into something meaningful. From public health to environmental challenges, her focus is on helping organizations and communities move from data to action.

In this episode, Brown shares how she approaches data storytelling, why tailoring communication to different audiences is essential and how clearer messaging can lead to better decisions.

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About AWI:

Website: http://awi.ua.edu

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Dr. Rebecca Diehl of the University of Vermont joins the podcast to discuss how rivers and floodplains really work, and why that matters for flood risk and resilience. A CIROH collaborator, she shares how new floodplain mapping approaches, field data and geospatial tools are helping improve flood prediction and inform smarter decisions for communities facing more frequent flooding.

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About AWI:

Website: http://awi.ua.edu

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Dr. Ibrahim Demir, the Michael A. Fitts Presidential Chair in Environmental Informatics and Artificial Intelligence, and professor of river-coastal science and engineering at Tulane University, discusses how artificial intelligence is transforming the way we forecast floods, manage water resources, and communicate environmental risks.

Ibrahim's research focuses on using data-driven systems, machine learning, and digital twins to make hydrologic forecasting faster, smarter, and more accessible for communities everywhere.

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About AWI:

Website: http://awi.ua.edu

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Dr. Martyn Clark, professor of hydrology at the University of Calgary, joins the AWI Podcast to discuss hydrologic modeling and predicting where water will flow. Clark is a global leader in building advanced models that push environmental forecasting forward and help turn predictions into action.

The Alabama Water Institute and CIROH recently hosted the 20th anniversary of HEPEX — a global collaboration to improve hydrologic forecasting and its use in real-world decisions.

Visit HEPEX: https://hepex.org.au

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About AWI:

Website: http://awi.ua.edu

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The Alabama Water Institute and CIROH recently hosted the 20th anniversary of HEPEX — a global collaboration to improve hydrologic forecasting and its use in real-world decisions. Rob Hartman, a consulting hydrologist with 35 years of federal flood and water supply forecasting experience, shared insights from his time leading the National Weather Service California–Nevada River Forecast Center, his work on the Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations project, and how agencies are using forecasts to guide reservoir operations and flood management today.

Visit HEPEX: https://hepex.org.au

About AWI:

Website: http://awi.ua.edu

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HEPEX (Hydrologic Ensemble Prediction EXperiment) is a global community of researchers and practitioners in hydrological ensemble prediction. It brings together people contributing and working on specific topics related to hydrological forecasting and hydrometeorological ensemble prediction.

The group recently held its 20th anniversary workshop at The University of Alabama, hosted by the Alabama Water Institute and CIROH. Dr. Ilias Pechlivanidis, co-chair of HEPEX and associate professor and senior researcher in hydrology at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, explains what HEPEX is and why hydrological ensemble prediction is important.

Visit HEPEX: https://hepex.org.au

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Dr. Toby Ault is an assistant professor of earth and atmospheric sciences and the director of graduate studies for atmospheric sciences at Cornell University. Ault joins us for this episode to discuss various climate topics, including megadroughts.

Ault's research coalesces around three areas of inquiry related to emergent climate risks: (1) estimating the risk of prolonged drought under climate change; (2) understanding the dynamics of seasonality, particularly spring; and (3) characterizing variations in the Tropical Pacific on timescales of decades to centuries, and their influence on global climate. His methods entail data synthesis from observational sources as well as numerical and statistical modeling. The nature of his work is therefore highly interdisciplinary, affording him the opportunity to collaborate closely not only with climate scientists and modelers, but with colleagues in many other disciplines, including geography, paleoclimatology, and ecology.

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Dr. Kate Brauman is the associate director for communications and analysis for The University of Alabama's Global Water Security Center.

Brauman is a globally recognized thought leader in water resources and ecosystem services. Her research quantifies how changes in nature affect human wellbeing, with a particular focus on water resources. In addition to research, Brauman is committed to and skilled at science communication.

In this interview, we'll get to know a little bit more about Kate, her research, and why the GWSC is such an important resource in the world of water.

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Dr. Steven Burian is AWI's director of science, the executive director of NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH), and a professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering.

In this episode, he discusses the newly awarded CIROH and the impact of water research from AWI and The University of Alabama.

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Website: http://awi.ua.edu