CESSRST Graduate Scholar to Participate in the National Water Center Innovators Program Summer Institute of 2021

Posted on March 12, 2021

NOAA EPP/MSI CESSRST Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing graduate scholar, Engela Sthapit clears the selection process to participate in the National Water Center Innovators Program Summer Institute of 2021. This opportunity aligns with her interests and ongoing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) mission-driven doctoral research. Her research is titled, ‘Understanding Snow Representation in the Noah-MP and WRF-Hydro model with Assimilation of Snow.’ She is conducting the research under NOAA CESSRST advisors, Dr. Reza Khanbilvardi, Director and Dr. Tarendra Lakhankar, Research Scientist and NOAA mentors, Dr. Robert Cifelli, Research Scientist, and Lead Hydrometeorologist, Modelling and Applications Team, in the Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL) at NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratories (ESRL), Dr. Mimi Hughes, Research Scientist, PSL, and Dr. Kelly Mahoney, Research Scientist, PSL.

During the Summer Institute (SI), Engela will be working on the ‘Model and process module development and testing for the Next Generation National Water Model’ theme. She will get the chance to indulge in activities like making weekly presentations, working on a paper for publication, and attending a series of interactive virtual meetings. Further, she will collaborate with national leaders in hydrology, modeling, and informatics, and learn in-depth about the National Water Model (NWM). Expressing her enthusiasm, Engela said, “This training will advance my technical knowledge and skills, which will prove helpful for my ongoing Ph.D. research. Additionally, it excites me that my work could have a direct impact on the future NWM model development.”

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