Hands-on summer research for undergraduates. The NHERI REU Summer Program provides research opportunities at the ten NHERI multi-hazard engineering and interdisciplinary research sites during a 10-week summer research program. The NHERI REU program is dedicated to helping undergraduate college students experience multi-hazard engineering as well as reconnaissance, cyberinfrastructure, data management, and simulation research. Hands-on, research-based projects introduce participants to a network of engineers, and students who work toward mitigating natural hazards and understanding the impact of natural hazards on society.

U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are enrolled undergraduate students may apply for the summer program.

REU participants receive:

• Travel funds to and from the research facility.
• Housing subsidy to help with living expenses.
• Research stipend for summer work.
• Research and career experience alongside faculty mentors.
• Travel funds to and from the NHERI REU site to present a research project and a chance to network with engineering researchers, scientists, and natural hazards experts.

The program includes ten universities with different academic schedules (see links below). For this reason, two 10-week program blocks are used. The 2023 NHERI REU Summer Program Block I is from June 5 – August 11, 2023, and includes Florida International University, Lehigh University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Florida, and the University of Texas, Austin. Block II will take place June 20 – August 24, 2023, and includes Oregon State University, the University of California, Davis, the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Washington.

The 2023 NHERI REU Summer Program is a hybrid program hosted by the NHERI site and NHERI ECO. A typical forty-hour week in the program includes, graduate school and professional development workshops, research group meetings, networking, mentor evaluations, timesheets, reflections, research, and research writing.

Each of the Experimental Facilities within NHERI plus the RAPID Reconnaissance Center, the Simulation Center, and Cyberinfrastructure teams will participate in the 2023 NHERI REU program. Click the links below to learn more about each site.

• The Wall of Wind at Florida International University
• Real-time Multi-Directional Natural Hazards Simulation Facility (RTMD) at Lehigh University
• The O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory at Oregon State University
• The NHERI SimCenter at University of California, Berkeley
• The Center for Geotechnical Modeling (CGM) at University of California, Davis
• The Large High Performance Outdoor Shake Table (LHPOST) at University of California, San Diego
• The CONVERGE Facility at University of Colorado Boulder
• The Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Experimental Facility at the University of Florida
• The Large-Scale Mobile Shakers at University of Texas at Austin
• The NHERI Cyberinfrastructure and Data Management team at University of Texas at Austin in collaboration with TACC
• The Rapid Response Research Facility (RAPID) at University of Washington

The application is open to U.S. Citizen and Permanent Resident students who are currently enrolled in an undergraduate degree program.  Because the projects vary in scope, we are looking for a variety of majors including civil engineering, computer science, and architecture to name a few.  If you are interested in solving engineering issues dealing with natural hazards, this undergraduate research program is for you!

Under-represented minority, women, and veteran undergraduate students are encouraged to apply to the NHERI REU program.

Selected REU participants will receive:

• travel funds to and from the research facility,
• a housing subsidy to help with living expenses,
• a research stipend for their summer work,
• valuable research and career experience alongside a faculty mentor and graduate student researcher,
• travel to another NHERI REU site to present research project, and
• networking opportunities with experienced engineering researchers, scientists, and experts in the NHERI community.

• freshman
• sophomore
• junior
• senior

• US Citizen
• Permanent Resident

The 2023 NHERI REU application opened October 1, 2022. Applications require the following:

• Background information including the college(s) you attended, your GPA, and credits earned.
• Two letters of recommendation, with at least one from a professor.
• Research site ranking in order of preference.
• Brief essay questions about your goals and experiences as an undergraduate student.
• Optional documents — unofficial transcripts, resume, and other scholarly undergraduate work.

The NHERI REU accepts applications from many majors — and may be of special interest to students majoring in engineering, architecture, meteorology, geoscience and computer science.

The Education and Community Outreach (ECO) and the ECO Committee develop and host the NHERI REU Program. If you have questions about the NHERI REU Summer Program or the application process, please email us at reu-request@designsafe-ci.org. We want to hear from you!