BURLINGTON, Vt. – At the 2025 CIROH Developers Conference (DevCon), held at the University of Vermont, CIROH introduced two new awards designed to celebrate rising talent and practical innovation in water research: the CIROH Student Developer Award and the CIROH Early Career Paper Award.
These awards reflect CIROH’s commitment to developing the next generation of operational hydrologists and spotlighting the people advancing research-to-operations (R2O) through technical skill, creativity and a passion for impact.
Q&A with Student Developer Award Winner Savalan Naser Neisary
The inaugural CIROH Student Developer Award went to Savalan Naser Neisary, a Ph.D. student at The University of Alabama, whose open-source tools and machine learning innovations are pushing the boundaries of operational hydrology.
We caught up with Neisary to learn more about his work, what motivates him and how DevCon supports early career researchers.
Q: Tell us a bit about your academic journey, primary research interests or areas of expertise.
A: I am a final-year Ph.D. student, and my research has been focused on the application of cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and satellite imagery in solving real-world hydrological problems across the United States, particularly issues related to water supply in the drought-prone western regions of the U.S.
Q: What are you excited about professionally?
A: What excites me is my goal to translate research into operation by developing AI-based solutions with a tangible impact on human life. It also excites me to know that R2O is the goal of CIROH (the entity I work for), unlike other research entities. The last thing that I want to mention is that although I am a part of academia today, my goal has always been to move to industry and one day start my own company in the tech-earth sciences area.
Q: What does receiving this award mean to you personally and professionally?
A: Personally, knowing that I got a reward for doing what I am passionate about encourages and motivates me to continue what I am doing with more energy, passion and relentless determination. Professionally, it shows that the community recognizes what I did was useful and impactful, which motivates me to continue raising the bar. It also helps the community to recognize me, which enables me to establish an even wider network and start collaborations with more well-known people. From my perspective, having a bigger network and collaborating with the elite part of the community means success in whatever my goal may be in the future.
Q: What was your favorite part of DevCon 2025?
A: It might sound odd, but my favorite parts were the breaks, lunch and definitely the cruise. Beyond the beautiful rainbows we saw, those moments gave me a chance to network, learn from others and start new collaborations.
I also really enjoyed the “Creating a Business Case for Applied Research” workshop led by Joel Lisonbee and Elliot Wickham. It didn’t focus on technical skills, but on how to think—how to conceptualize, develop ideas and communicate them as a scientific or business proposal. Workshops like that are rare and hard to teach but incredibly valuable—especially for students learning how to identify real-world problems and design solutions.
Q: How did DevCon support your development as a student or early career researcher?
A: DevCon gives me the chance to build a network. You can build your skills using online resources, and you can read or watch others’ research or presentations online, but it is very difficult to build a network in any other way, especially with experienced members of the community who can mentor you. In other words, as Ed Clark, former director of the NOAA National Water Center, always says, “DevCon helped me to stand on the shoulders of giants.” At DevCon, I was very lucky to have the chance to establish valuable connections with very important people who have already provided and will continue to offer valuable mentorship and guidance.
Q: Any advice for students or early career scientists?
A: My advice would be first to try to do research that has a real-life impact. In other words, try to connect research to operations. Second, apply for awards and competitions, even if you think you are not ready. Win or lose, the process is valuable experience. Third, focus on networking, especially using opportunities that CIROH creates, like DevCon or the Science Meeting. Finally, find a research area that you are passionate about doing and trying to be the best in it. As Steve Jobs said, “You cannot go forward and be successful in what you are doing unless you love it.”
Q: What’s next for you?
A: What I am excited about is the opportunity to have an internship with Jupiter Intelligence, one of the leading Silicon Valley companies in the climate risk assessment field. I am sure that this opportunity will help me to learn about what I do from an industrial perspective and lay the path for me to move toward my career in industry. I want to thank Josh Hacker and Justin Rogers for giving me this rare opportunity to learn and grow. Another next step for me is to get ready to graduate by the end of this year.
Also Honored: Reihaneh Zarrabi Receives Early Career Paper Award
The CIROH Early Career Paper Award went to Reihaneh Zarrabi for her publication in Water Resources Research: “Bankfull and mean-flow channel geometry estimation through machine learning algorithms across the contiguous United States.”
Her work shows how machine learning can fill data gaps in hydrologic modeling, advancing both science and its real-world application.
CIROH’s Continued Commitment
These awards are just one way CIROH is cultivating the next generation of researchers. By recognizing both technical ingenuity and academic excellence, CIROH fosters a community grounded in impact and ready for operational challenges.
As DevCon and CIROH’s programs continue to grow, so will the support for emerging talent—connecting researchers, mentors and decision-makers to shape a more resilient water future.