Rory Cowie is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Geography at the University of Colorado, and a graduate research assistant at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. He received an M.A. in Geography from the University of Colorado in 2010 and a B.A. in Biology from The Colorado College in 2004. His research interest is the hydrology of mountain regions, looking at surface water and groundwater interactions using environmental isotopes and biogeochemistry. The focus of Cowie's Ph.D. research is on controlling acid mine drainage by understanding the hydrogeology of abandoned hard rock mines in Colorado.