A flood forecasting prototype developed as part of a collaboration between 鶹AV researchers and tech company CGI has earned a 2020 Government Innovation Award.
The awards are given by a group of media outlets affiliated with Public Sector 360, a company that provides information, analysis and news for government and IT sectors. The Government Innovation Awards recognize “transformative government projects, individual change agents and industry partners that are reimagining public-sector IT,” according to the .
鶹AV and CGI’s “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Flood Prevention and Forecasting” prototype was recognized in the Industry Innovator Category. The model uses artificial intelligence to more accurately – and quickly – forecast floods.
Dr. Emad Habib, a 鶹AV professor of civil engineering who directs the University’s , is leading the ongoing project. It implements a data mining prototype to discover and curate large amounts of data.
Rainfall records, river and surface water levels, soil moisture content and other information is culled from dozens of sources, including satellites, gauges and field sensors. The data is integrated and interpreted with machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence.
“Recent technologies in data sciences and machine learning, coupled with the unprecedented growth in environmental data from nontraditional sources, open the door for innovative approaches that can help our communities become more resilient,” Habib said.
The prototype also earned praise in September. It was a Top 8 finalist – among more than 220 nominations – in the American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council’s competition. The council recognized innovative research that benefits people and communities.
Researchers from the , , , and are contributing to the project.
It is sponsored by through the National Science Foundation at 鶹AV. CVDI is the only NSF center in the nation that focuses on data science, big data analytics and visual analytics.
Sumit Shah is chief data scientist at CGI, and a leader on CVDI’s industry advisory board. Shah said the flood forecasting research exemplifies the “great value” offered by university and industry collaboration because it utilizes “cross-disciplinary expertise to solve very complex problems."
Read more about the Government Innovation Award recognition on the University’sand at .
Photo caption: A flood forecasting prototype to help people and communities become more resilient during flooding events has earned a 2020 Government Innovation Award. 鶹AV and tech company CGI developed the prototype. It discovers and curates large amounts of data that is integrated and interpreted with artificial intelligence. Photo credit: 鶹AV