Description

AI for Global Flood Forecasting: From Research to Operations and the Future of Early Warnings for All

Speaker: Grey Nearing, PhD, Google Research
Dr. Nearing leads several of Google Research’s efforts to engage with global governance organizations in building public-private partnerships to support initiatives such as the UN’s Early Warnings for All (EW4A).

The 2026 John R. Freeman Lecture will examine open questions about the future role of artificial Intelligence (AI), hydrological sciences, civil engineering, and global governance communities in building a more resilient and prepared world. The global deployment of forecast systems developed by private entities presents both opportunities and challenges, creating an imperative to design technologies that support and augment—rather than supplant—the essential functions of national authoritative agencies. The central challenge of applying AI/ML forecast systems is to leverage new technology not only for its predictive capability but also as a tool for lowering barriers to access and empowering local agencies. 

Dr. Nearing will trace the journey of Google’s FloodHub platform from a fundamental research project to a core public service that now delivers flood forecasting and warning information warnings to a significant fraction of the global population. AI/ML for hydrologic modeling will be contrasted with traditional physics-based models, highlighting the unique advantages an AI/ML approach offers, such as lower computational costs and the ability to learn from vast, heterogeneous datasets. 

Advance Registration Requested by Tuesday, March 31, 2026
FREE to BSCES Members, Non-Members, and Students, walk-ins welcome

Getting there: Take the MBTA Orange Line to the Ruggles stop or the Green Line E Branch to the Northeastern University stop.

Information/Registration: Register to attend this lecture by clicking Register, entering your email, and register to attend either in person or virtually. A confirmation email will be sent that includes the Zoom webinar information. For registration assistance email bsces@engineers.org or call 617/227-5551.