This project aims to break barriers of limited professional interaction among sediment researchers from different science and engineering disciplines and the lack of diversity in both geoscience and engineering disciplines. Given that climate change will produce more severe natural disasters that will disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including groups typically underrepresented in geoscience and engineering fields, it is critical to bring together a diverse group of researchers capable of tackling this growing set of environmental challenges. This travel award develops a Mentoring Institute for Sediment Transport researchers (MIST) to connect science and engineering leaders (mentors) with early career professionals (mentees). Travel funding will support 25 early-career mentees to attend the 2023 ASCE EWRI World Environmental and Water Resources Congress or the 2023 AGU Fall Meeting. This support will enable mentees to attend an annual mentoring meeting during one of these conferences, and it will kick off future MIST activities. MIST aims to be an inclusive institute consisting of racial, gender, and ethnic diversity among mentors and mentees. MIST is a virtual network that connects mentors ? accomplished professionals in academia, governmental agencies, and industries ? with mentees in early career stages, including tenure or non-tenure track faculty, researchers in non-profit institutions or federal laboratories, postdoctoral scholars, and students, with a focus on individuals from underrepresented groups. MIST will collaborate with other mentoring networks including the Student Mentoring Program in the AGU Earth and Planetary Surface Processes section and Mentoring365 (chronus.com). Mentees will be recruited prior to the proposed conferences, targeting underrepresented professionals and students from Minority Serving Institutions, and advertising via mechanisms such as the Women Advancing River Research Seminar Series. MIST will also create a list of qualified mentors who have technical knowledge and enthusiasm to guide mentees. Prior to the conference, MIST will match mentees with mentors. At the EWRI and AGU Fall meetings, mentees will participate in technical sessions highlighting state-of-the-art research in sediment transport and will also participate in an in-person annual mentoring meeting. MIST aims to help the mentees to become future leaders in science and engineering. Through these activities, the project expects to 1) publish a special issue in a reputable journal of selected mentee and mentor papers from the conferences, 2) foster collaborations across two professional societies, and 3) create an inclusive, diverse mentoring network for early career professionals. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.