TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — When severe flooding threatens communities across the Southeast, a complex network of scientists, forecasters and emergency managers springs into action behind the scenes. University of Alabama graduate students recently gained unprecedented access to this critical infrastructure during an intensive three-day journey that revealed how water science saves lives.
Dr. Lisa Davis has pioneered an innovative approach to graduate training through the Water Research to Operations National Science Foundation Research Traineeship, Water-R2O NRT, program’s Operational Hydrology Study Tour, held Aug. 11-13 this year. Her carefully designed field experience takes students from Alabama classrooms to the front lines of water forecasting and management across three states and four stops.
The three-day immersion reveals the interconnected web of institutions that transform atmospheric data into life-saving decisions — a process most people never see until disaster strikes.
A Career-Defining Journey
Abby Davies, the Water-R2O NRT graduate teaching assistant who accompanied this year’s students, experienced the tour’s transformative impact firsthand as a participant last year. Now serving as both guide and mentor, Davies has witnessed how the experience shapes student career paths.
“I developed a huge career identity out of the program,” Davies said. “I didn’t necessarily know what I wanted to do. I had a vague idea, but going through the program and meeting all these people, I really was able to figure out where to go with my career.”
The tour’s carefully orchestrated progression takes students through four distinct but interconnected components of the water forecasting enterprise, creating what Davies describes as a comprehensive view of how research translates into community protection.
From Global Technology to Local Response
The journey begins at Baron Weather in Huntsville, Alabama, where students discover the sophisticated radar technology that forms the foundation of water forecasting. The private weather company demonstrates how advanced meteorological systems create the data that drives water management decisions across the Southeast.
Students then explore Baron’s partnership with the U.S. Space and Rocket Center through the “How We Know the Weather” exhibit, connecting cutting-edge meteorology with broader technological innovation.
Day two brings students to Tennessee Valley Authority facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee, followed by an inside tour of Nickajack Dam. These stops reveal how meteorological science drives massive infrastructure decisions affecting water levels, flood control and energy generation for millions of people.
At the Southeast River Forecast Center, SERFC, in Peachtree City, Georgia, students enter the nerve center of regional flood forecasting. As one of only 13 National Weather Service River Forecast Centers nationwide, this facility generates the authoritative flood warnings and river forecasts that protect communities from the Atlantic Coast to the Mississippi River.
The tour concludes at Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency in Birmingham, where students witness how scientific forecasts transform into public safety action. Students observe how emergency managers synthesize multiple data streams to make split-second decisions about public warnings and resource deployment.
Building Tomorrow’s Water Scientists
Davis designed this intensive field experience to transform how graduate students understand water science careers. Rather than viewing research as an abstract pursuit, students witness the direct pipeline from laboratory discoveries to community protection.
“It’s just a good way to start,” Davies explained. “You just have to start somewhere, and we take them around to see the different applications of what we’re about to learn for the whole semester.”
Dr. Hannah Holcomb, Alabama Water Institute research education program manager, emphasizes the tour’s dual purpose in launching each year’s cohort. “The Water-R2O NRT Operational Hydrology Study Tour is our annual kickoff event that allows NSF NRT fellows to visit Southeast forecast facilities, engaging with both government and industry professionals,” Holcomb said.
“Concurrently, this tour provides a wonderful opportunity for the cohorts to engage each other, building relationships that will continue throughout the program and beyond.”
This year’s cohort of 11 students represents various academic backgrounds, including five geography students, five civil/environmental engineering students and one electrical engineering student.
Grace Peart, a first-year master of science in geography student studying dendrochronology and climate change effects on regional flora, found the tour opened new perspectives on her field. “The Operational Hydrology Study Tour opened my eyes to the expanding applications of water resources studies,” Peart said. “Professional perspectives from TVA and SERFC experts emphasized the role of tools such as GIS modeling and dam operations in water resource management.”
“The structure of the study tour highlighted the professional workflow necessary to manage both environmental and human aspects of water resources,” Peart added. “From the operation and consideration of energy outputs at the Nickajack Dam to the response to hydrologic hazards at the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency, real-life examples were illustrated for our cohort.”
The Learning Progression
Davies emphasizes that the tour’s educational impact often emerges gradually as students progress through their coursework. Students who might feel overwhelmed during dam operations explanations later understand how that knowledge applies to their research.
“You might not, in the moment, understand what you’re learning about with the dam,” Davies said. “Geography students probably have no idea what is happening when we’re in the dam and they’re explaining all the engineering behind how these lifts work, but later they will when doing research, they will understand how it could be applied.”
The experience exemplifies the program’s “Research to Operations” focus, demonstrating how academic training connects directly to real-world water management challenges.
Civil engineering student Julianne Webb experienced this connection firsthand during the tour. “The Water-R2O NRT experience has done a fantastic job at emphasizing the impact hydrologic and environmental studies have on all levels of our governing bodies,” Webb said.
“Seeing the impact this data and their actions have on our community was incredibly impactful and really pushed me to a new understanding of the importance of water resources and water allocation, as well as flood mapping and emergency response systems.”
Preparing for Complex Challenges
The tour reveals how modern flood protection depends on seamless collaboration between private meteorological companies, federal agencies, local emergency managers and university researchers. Students experience this interconnected system firsthand, understanding how their future careers could contribute to operational water management.
As severe weather events become more frequent and intense, scientists trained through programs like UA’s Water-R2O NRT initiative will play increasingly vital roles in water forecasting and flood protection. Their laboratory research and computational models may someday determine whether families evacuate before floods arrive.
The Water-R2O NRT program specifically supports innovative approaches to graduate education that prepare students for complex technical challenges. UA’s program focuses on water resource management, combining traditional disciplinary training with hands-on operational experience that bridges the gap between research and real-world application.
For communities across the Southeast, these future scientists represent trained professionals equipped with both theoretical knowledge and practical understanding of how water science protects lives.
The Water Research-to-Operations National Science Foundation Research Traineeship program is implemented by the Alabama Water Institute and the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology, CIROH. Students interested in the program can learn more by visiting waternrt.ua.edu.