Introducing the 2019 RMWQAA Scholarship Winner

Greetings! I am thrilled to be the 2019 RMWQAA Scholarship recipient! My name is Natalie Collar and I am a PhD student in the Colorado School of Mines’ (CSM) Hydrological Science and Engineering Program under Dr. Terri Hogue. I have a bachelor’s of science in biological sciences from the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) with a dual focus in ecology, evolution, and marine biology and cellular, molecular, and developmental biology, and a master’s of science (UCSB) in water resources science. I have been a water resources scientist at Denver’s Wright Water Engineers, Inc. (WWE) for the past four years and am continuing my employment with WWE during my doctoral work. My dissertation research at CSM will focus on the ways wildfire alters terrestrial hydrology and how those flux alterations respond in different physiographic regions.  Post-fire hydrology first piqued my interest when my project work at WWE began to include post-fire debris flow assessments. Then, in November 2018, my small northern California hometown Paradise was destroyed in the state’s most deadly and destructive wildfire in recorded history - I knew I had to make my own research contributions to this relevant and pressing topic. When I am not studying or in the office, my husband Mark is teaching my dog and I about the American west’s geology from our white water raft. Thank you for this generous act of support.