current students:
| PhD: | ||
| Shefa Al Mansour | – Water Resources Sustainability | |
| Alyssa D. Dietrich | – Hydroclimatology and Extreme Weather | |
| Karenth L. Dworsky | – Forests and Snow | |
| Tyler Lampard | – Cosmic Radiation Neutron Sensing of Moisture | |
| MS: | ||
| Elayna R. Bump | – Historical Hydroclimatology in the Southwestern US | |
| Christina C. Chow | – Operational Snow Measurements with a Cosmic Radiation Neutron Rover | |
| Jocelyn M. Cramer | – Forest Management and Snowpack Patterns | |
| Alison P. Kingston | – Snow Recreation in the Present | |
| Marin S. MacDonald | – Capturing the Onset of Snowmelt in High Elevation Post-Fire Landscapes | |
| Maisy Weiss | – to be determined | |
| BS Honors Thesis: | ||
| Caty Dundas Gordon | – Snow Roughness Variability and Light Absorbing Particulates | |
| BS Research Students: | ||
| Carson Bainbridge | – Variability of Snowpack Properties | |
| Caty Dundas Gordon | – Light Absorbing Particulates and Snow Surface Roughness | |
| Ryder Hunt | – Temperature-Elevation Gradients Across Scales | |
| Casandra Lange | – Snowpack Density Modeling | |
| Samantha Naumann | – Snowpack Density Modeling | |
| Oliver Smock | – Soil Moisture Variability | |
| Yanisa Wongveerakul | – Snowbank and Snowpile Properties |
| PhD: | ||||
| Alicia F. Tyson | PhD, 2025 | – Advancing Climate-Adaptive Watershed Health by Integrating Socio-ecological Systems and Team Science | ||
| Anna K.D. Pfohl | PhD, 2023 | – Recent and Future Colorado Water: Snow Drought, Streamflow, and Winter Recreation [started with NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory] |
publication: Fassnacht et al. (2017); Fassnacht et al. (2018); Fassnacht et al. (2020); Collados Lara et al. (2021); Schrock et al. (2021); Fassnacht et al. 2022; Pfohl and Fassnacht (2023); Fassnacht et al. (2023); Flynn et al. (2024); Doskocil et al. (2025); Fassnacht and Pfohl (2025) | |
| Jessica E. Sanow | PhD, 2022 | – The Dynamic Nature of Snow Surface Roughness [started with White River National Forest, now with USGS] |
publication: Sanow et al. (2018); Fassnacht et al. (2020); Fassnacht et al. (2023); Fassnacht et al. (2024); Sanow et al. (2024); Neville et al. (2025); Sanow and Fassnacht (2025) |
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| Molly E. Tedesche | PhD, 2021 | – Brooks Range Perennial Snowfields: Mapping and Modeling Change in Alaska’s Cryosphere (with David Barnes , Civil Engineering, U. Alaska Fairbanks) [started with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] |
publications: Tedesche et al. (2019); Fassnacht et al. (2020); Fassnacht et al. (2023); Fassnacht et al. (2024) |
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| Douglas M. Hultstrand | PhD, 2021 | – Uncertainty in Hydrological Estimation {download dissertation} [started with Applied Weather Associates] |
publications: Fassnacht et al. (2012); Fassnacht et al. (2013); Hultstrand and Fassnacht (2018); Hultstrand et al. (2022); Hultstrand et al. (2024) | |
| Glenn G. Patterson | PhD, 2016 | – Trends in snow water equivalent in Rocky Mountain National Park and the northern Front Range of Colorado, USA {download dissertation} [started with University of Colorado, Denver] |
publications: Fassnacht et al. (2012); Fassnacht and Patterson (2013); Fassnacht et al. (2018); Fassnacht et al. (2020) | |
| Graham A. Sexstone | PhD, 2016 | – Snow Sublimation and Seasonal Snowpack Variability {download dissertation} [started with U.S. Geological Survey] |
publications: Fassnacht et al. (2016); Sexstone et al. (2016); Sexstone et al. (2018); Sexstone et al. (2022); Hammond et al. (2023); Fassnacht et al. (2023); Bonnell et al. (2023) | |
| Ryan W. Webb | PhD, 2016 | – Fate of Snowmelt in Complex Subalpine Terrain {download dissertation} (with Michael Gooseff, Civil Engineering) [started with University of Colorado, Boulder then University of New Mexico, now at the University of Wyoming] |
publications: Webb et al. (2015); Webb (2017); Webb et al. (2017); Webb et al. (2018); Webb et al. (2018); Webb et al. (2021); Bonnell et al. (2021); Bonnell et al. (2023) | |
| Niah B.H. Venable | PhD, 2016 | – Trends and Tree-rings: An Investigation of the Historical and Paleo Proxy Hydroclimate Record of the Khangai Mountain Region of Mongolia {download dissertation} [started with Colorado State Forest Service, then CEMML] |
publications: Fassnacht et al. (2011); Venable et al. (2012); Fernández-Giménez et al. (2017); Venable (2017); Fassnacht et al. (2018); Fernández-Giménez et al. (2019); Tumenjargal et al. (2020); Collados Lara et al. (2021) | |
| Jeffrey S. Deems | PhD, 2007 | – Quantifying scale relationships in snow distributions {download dissertation} [started with U. Washington Civil and Environmental Engineering, then NSIDC, now Airborne Snow Observatories] |
publications: Deems et al. (2006); Fassnacht and Deems (2006); Deems et al. (2008); Fassnacht et al. (2009); Deems et al. (2013) | |
| Kevin A. Dressler | PhD, 2005 | – Snowpack Interpolation and Assimilation to Improve Hydrological Modeling (with Roger C. Bales, Hydrology and Water Resources, U. Arizona) [started with Pennsylvania State University] |
publications: Fassnacht et al. (2003); Dressler et al. (2006); Dressler et al. (2006); Bales et al. (2008); Fassnacht et al. (2012) | |
| MS: | ||||
| Jack J. Reuland | MS, 2025 | – Landscape and Climate Drivers of Burn Severity in the Southern Rockies | ||
| Darya A. Lilie | MS, 2024 | -Herder Observations of Pasture and Hydro-climatic Changes in Mongolia {download thesis} [started with the Cameo Consulting Group] |
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| Brian M. Steen | MS, 2024 | – Interdaily Temperature Variability in the Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado {download thesis} [started with the CEMML] |
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| Alex R. Olsen-Mikitowicz | MS, 2023 | – Snowfall-driven Topographic Evolution: Impacts on Snow Distribution Patterns {download thesis} [started with the Colorado State University Drone Center] |
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| Megan G. Sears | MS, 2022 | – The Effects of Temperature-elevation Gradients on Snowmelt in a High-elevation Watershed {download thesis} [started as a Ph.D. student at Colorado State University] |
publication: Kampf et al. (2022); Kampf et al. (2023) |
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| Felipe Perez Peredo | MS, 2021 | – Streamflow Forecasting in a Snow-dominated River of Chile {download thesis} [started with Dirección General de Aguas, Ministerio de Obras Públicas, Chile] |
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| Danielle C. Reimanis | MS, 2021 | – Variable Fresh Snow Albedo: How Snowpack and Sub-nivean Properties Influence Fresh Snow Reflectance {download thesis} [started with City of Fort Collins, then Larimer County] |
publication: Fassnacht et al. (2022) | |
| Isaac J.Y. Schrock | MS, 2020 | – The Spatial Distribution Patterns of Snow Water Equivalent Data for the Accumulation Phase Across the Southern Rocky Mountains (with Prof. Neil Grigg, CSU Civil Engineering) {download project} [started with HR Green, Inc.] |
publication: Schrock et al. (2021) | |
| Caroline R. Duncan | MS, 2020 | – Patterns of Dust-enhanced Absorbed Energy and Shifts in Melt Timing for Snow of Southwestern Colorado {download thesis} [started with US Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District] |
publication: Fassnacht et al. (2022) | |
| Kevin S.J. Brown | MS, 2019 | – Snow Depth Measurements via Automated Image Recognition {download thesis} [started with Cherokee Metropolitan District] |
publication: Fassnacht et al. (2018) | |
| Yvonne Adam | MS, 2018 | – Spatial and Temporal GIS-analysis of Snow Cover Changes in Mongolia from 2000 to 2016 via MODIS data (at Georg-August Universität Göttingen, co-advised with Martin Kappas, Department of Cartography, GIS and Remote Sensing) |
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| Ilija Kankaras | MS, 2018 | – GIS-gestutze Raum-Zeit-Analyse der ETP auf Basis von MODIS-Daten – Fallstuide Mongolei / GIS-based Space-Time Analysis of Potential Evapotranspiration using MODIS Data – a Case Study of Mongolia (at Georg-August Universität Göttingen, co-advised with Martin Kappas, Department of Cartography, GIS and Remote Sensing) |
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| Chenchen Ma | MS, 2017 | – Evaluating and Correcting Sensor Change Artifacts in the SNOTEL Temperature Records, Southern Rocky Mountains, Colorado {download thesis} [started with Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (Group) Co., Ltd.] |
publication: Ma et al. (2019) | |
| Tyler J. Carleton | MS, 2016 | – Assessing Flow Alteration and Channel Enlargement Due to Augmentation and Dam-regulation at Hog Park Creek, Wyoming {download thesis} [started with U.S. Forest Service] |
publication: Carleton and Fassnacht (2020) | |
| Anna K.D. Pfohl | MS, 2016 | – Trends in Snowmelt Contribution to Streamflow in the Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado {download thesis} [started as a PhD student at CSU] |
publication: Pfohl and Fassnacht, 2023 | |
| Benjamin C. Von Thaden | MS, 2016 | – Spatial Accumulation Patterns of Snow Water Equivalent in the Southern Rocky Mountains {download thesis} [started at Wright Water Engineering] |
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| David J. Kamin | MS, 2015 | – Exploration of a Geometric Approach for Estimating Snow Surface Roughness {download thesis} [started with Coal Creek Canyon , then XCEL Energy] |
publication: Sanow et al. (2018) | |
| Sharla A. Stevenson | MS, 2015 | – Precipitation and Temperature Changes and Their Effect on Groundwater along the Kona Coast of Hawaii {download thesis} [started with NPS ] |
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| Alyssa D. Hendricks | MS, 2015 | – Spatial Precipitation Trends and Effects of Climate Change on the Hawai’ian Hualalai Aquifer {download thesis} [started with Metstat , now with Dewberry] |
publication: Hendricks Dietrich and Fassnacht (2023) | |
| Rosemary M. Records | MS, 2013 | – Water Quality Benefits of Wetlands under Historic and Potential Future Climate in the Sprague River Watershed, Oregon (with Mazdak Arabi CSU Civ&Env Eng) {download thesis} |
publications: Records et al. (2014); Fassnacht and Records (2015) | |
| William J. Milligan | MS, 2013 | – Social Perceptions Versus Meteorological Observations of Snow and Winter along the Front Range {download thesis} [started with U.S. Geological Survey ] |
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| David C. Deitemeyer | MS, 2013 | – Using Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) Data to Model Streamflow: A Case Study of Three Small Watersheds in Colorado and Wyoming {download thesis} [started with City of Colorado Springs ] |
publication: Fassnacht et al. (2014) | |
| Johannes C. Beeby | MS, 2012 | – Water Quality and Survivability of Didymosphenia geminata (with John Stednick CSU FRS) {download thesis} [started with Civil Engineering, Colorado State University , then Stillwater Sciences] |
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| Tumenjargal Sukh | MS, 2012 | – Local understanding of hydro-climatic changes in Mongolia {download thesis} [started with Ministry of Environment and Green Development , Mongolia] |
publications: Fassnacht et al. (2011); Fassnacht et al. (2018); Tumenjargal et al. (2020) | |
| Graham A. Sexstone | MS, 2012 | – Evaluating the Spatial Variability of Snowpack Properties Across a Northern Colorado Basin {download thesis} [started as a PhD student at CSU, now a Research Hydrology with the U.S. Geological Survey] |
publication: Sexstone and Fassnacht (2014) | |
| Evan J. Blumberg | MS, 2012 | – Spatial variability of snow depth measurements at two mountain pass Snow Telemetry stations {download thesis} |
publication: Fassnacht et al. (2018) | |
| Jigjsuren Odgarav | MS, 2012 | – Changes in Mongolian Snowpack Properties {download introduction of thesis} (with Gelegpil Adyabadam Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology, and the Environment) [started with Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology, and the Environment , Mongolia] |
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| Amir H. Kashipazha | MS, 2012 | – Practical snow depth sampling around six snow telemetry (SNOTEL) stations in Colorado and Wyoming, United States {download thesis} [started with Schlumberger ] |
publications: Fassnacht et al. (2016); Fassnacht et al. (2017) | |
| Jared T. Heath | MS, 2011 | – Motorized Vehicle Impacts on Snowpack Properties {download thesis} [started with Loch Vale Watershed Long-Term Research and Monitoring Program , then City of Fort Collins] |
publication: Fassnacht et al. (2018) | |
| Molly E. Tedesche | MS, 2010 | – Snow Depth Variability in Sagebrush Drifts in High Altitude Rangelands, North Park, Colorado {download thesis} [started with Three Parameters Plus , then PhD student at UAF] |
publication: Tedesche et al. (2017) | |
| Harold Moore | MS, 2010 | – Bio-fouling and Well-head Protection | ||
| Jeffrey E. Derry | MS, 2008 | – Regional Patterns of Snow Water Equivalent in the Colorado River Basin Using Snowpack Telemetry (SNOTEL) Data {download thesis} [started with GW Scientific , then Center for Snow & Avalanche Studies] |
publication: Fassnacht and Derry (2010); Fassnacht et al. (2022); Doskocil et al. (2025) |
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| Patrick J. Ewing | MS, 2007 | – From the Tree to the Forest: the Influence of a Sparse Canopy on Stand Scale Snow Water Equivalent {download thesis} |
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| Anne E. Sawyer | MS, 2007 | – Snowpack Depletion Modeling Using Fast All-season Soil Strength (FASST) and SNOWMODEL in a High-elevation, High Relief Catchment in the Central Rocky Mountains {download thesis} (with Kelly Elder US Forest Service) [started with NOHRSC , now with the University of Minnesota] |
publication: Frankenstein et al. (2008) | |
| Mark V. Corrao | MS, 2007 | – Spatial, Temporal and Directional Changes in Snow Surface Roughness [started with Hydro Construction Co. Inc. ] |
publications: Fassnacht et al. (2009); Fassnacht et al. (2009) | |
| Douglas M. Hultstrand | MS, 2006 | – Geostatistical Methods for Estimating Snowmelt Contribution to the Annual Water Balance in an Alpine Watershed {download thesis} (with John Stednick CSU FRS) [started with Metstat ] |
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| Jennifer L. Mann | MS, 2006 | – Instream Flow Methodologies: A Validation of the Tennant Method for Higher Gradient Streams in the National Forest System Lands in the Western U.S. {download thesis} [started with In-situ] |
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| Scott D. McKim | MS, 2006 | – The Effects Of Input Data Degradation On Hydrological Model Performance For A Snowmelt Dominated Watershed {download thesis} [started with NWS-AKRFC – Alaska] |
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| Wendy A. (nee Brazenec) Ryan | MS, 2005 | – Evaluation of Two Ultrasonic Snow Depth Sensors To Predict Six Hour Snowfall at National Weather Service Automated Surface Observing Sites {download thesis} (with Nolan Doesken CSU Atmospheric Sciences) [started with CSU Atmospheric Sciences,then Wilson Water Group, Colorado River Engineering, now BBA Water Consultants Inc. ] |
publications: Ryan et al. (2008); Ryan et al. (2008) | |
| Julie M. Repass | MS, 2005 | – Assessment of Digital Land Cover Maps for Hydrological Modeling of the Yampa River Basin, Colorado, USA {download thesis} [started with Red Hen Systems, Fort Collins, then ESRI] |
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| Bruce J. Davison | MASc, 2004 | – Snow Accumulation in a distributed Hydrological Model {download thesis} (with Ric Soulis U. Waterloo Civ Eng) [started with Environment Canada – NHRI Saskatoon] |
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| Julie D. (nee Holcombe) Koeberle | MS, 2004 | – Modeling Snowcover Depletion and Soil Moisture Recharge at Two Different NASA Cold Land Processes Experiment Sites {download thesis} (with Kelly Elder USFS) [started with NWS – Seattle, then NRCS – Boise] |
publication: Frankenstein et al. (2008) | |
| BS Honors Thesis: | ||||
| Cameron McLaughlin | BS, 2025 | – Colorado’s Abandoned Ski Resorts and Climate Change | ||
| Marin MacDonald | BS, 2023 | – Snowmelt Timing Due to Fire | publication: Flynn et al. (2024) | |
| Julia Ledford | BS, 2021 | – Spatial Analysis of Forest Cover Following the Spring 2019 Historic Avalanche Cycle in Colorado | ||
| Lenka G. Doskocil | BS, 2021 | – Estimating Double Peak Streamflow Timing in the Uncompahgre River Using Snowpack Metrics | publication: Doskocil and Fassnacht (2021); Fassnacht et al. (2022); Doskocil et al. (2025) | |
| Kan Xu | BS, 2020 | – Optimizing the Computational Approaches for Determining Appropriate Snowmelt Rates | publication: Fassnacht et al. (2022) | |
| Arvid Rinke | BSc, 2017 | – Schneekartierung über Nordmongolei | ||
| Amanda N. Weber | BS, 2016 | – Spatio-temporal Patterns of Snowmelt Across the Southern Rocky Mountains | publication: Fassnacht et al. (2017) | |
| Mikaela L. Cherry | BS, 2013 | – Climate Change across the Northern Great Plains | publication: Fassnacht et al. (2016) | |
| Zachary Whitt | BS, 2010 | – Estimating Snow Particle Fall Velocity from Digital Imagery | ||
| John Piersol | BSc, 2000 | – Modelling the Snow Accumulation Process | ||
| Faizal Yusuf | BASc, 1999 | – Statistical Analysis and Hydrologic Modelling of the 1999 Snowmelt in the Grand River Basin | publication: Fassnacht et al. (2004) | |
| BS Research Students: | ||||
| Ben Thompson | BS, 2025 | – Temperature-Elevation Gradients Across Scales | ||
| Alex Hahnenberg | BS, 2025 | – Snowpack Change in the Chilean Andes | ||
| Evan Gouldey | BS | – Snowbank Properties | ||
| Ella Wehrlen | BS, 2025 | – The Formation of Frost | ||
| Helen Flynn | BS, 2023 | – The Correlation Between Snow Accumulation and Baseflow | publication: Flynn et al. (2024) | |
| Marin MacDonald | BS, 2023 | – The Correlation Between Snow Accumulation and Baseflow | publication: Flynn et al. (2024) | |
| Christina Lilligren | BS, 2022 | – Using Weather Forecasts to Optimize Lawn Watering | ||
| Preston Benko | BS, 2021 | – The Importance of Frost | ||
| Ryan Bridges | BS, 2021 | – Using Weather Forecasts to Optimize Lawn Watering | ||
| Sonali Chokshi | BS, 2021 | – Using Weather Forecasts to Optimize Lawn Watering | ||
| Victoria Gurevich | BS, 2021 | – The Eco-sustainability of Clothes Washing and Drying | ||
| Lauryn Howlett | BS, 2021 | – The Eco-sustainability of Clothes Washing and Drying | ||
| Julia Ledford | BS, 2021 | – The Eco-sustainability of Clothes Washing and Drying | ||
| Sam Myer | BS, 2021 | – Using Weather Forecasts to Optimize Lawn Watering | ||
| Davis Rice | BS, 2021 | – Temperature Gradients Across a Hillslope | publication: Rice and Fassnacht (2021) | |
| Maryam Sahaar | BS, 2021 | – Relating Snow-all-Gone with Peak Streamflow | publication: Sahaar and Fassnacht (2021) | |
| Mackenzie C. Warden | BS, 2021 | – Interpreting the Water Metaphors for the Rio Ebro with the Medieval Spanish Poetry Compendium Romancero | publication: Warden et al. (2020) | |
| Mason Cessna | BA, 2020 | – Artistic Prevalence of the San Luis Valley (Early 16th Century – present) | ||
| R. Brendan Kelley | BFA, 2020 | – A Virtual Reality Simulation of a Medieval Poem | ||
| Marcee Meinhardt | BS, 2020 | – The Density of Fresh Snow | publication: Meinhardt and Fassnacht (2020) | |
| Yuri Wang | BS, 2019 | – Would Wayne Gretzky have been as Great if he was born today? | ||
| Brian Cobb | BS, 2019 | – Hydrologic Assessment of Nested Scales | ||
| Lily M.-L. Conrad | BS, 2019 | – Modeling the Hydrology of an Agricultural Watershed | publication: Conrad and Fassnacht (2019) | |
| Julie A. Dauer | BS, 2019 | – A Shower Water Reclamation System to Address Colorado House Bill 18-1069 | publication: Dauer (2019) | |
| Jessica Jackman | BS, 2019 | – The Importance of Frost | ||
| Bradley M. Simms | BS, 2019 | – Snow Surface Roughness Across Scales at CLPX Sites – Snow Board to Airborne Lidar | publication: Simms et al. (2019); Fassnacht et al., 2023 |
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| Jianyi Tang | BS, 2019 | – Hydrologic Assessment of Nested Scales | ||
| Lindsay Wienkers | BS, 2019 | – The Importance of Frost | ||
| Rachel Baiyor | BS, 2018 | – Fine-resolution Precipitation Distribution | ||
| Connor Kounnas | BS, 2018 | – How do students studying water think about water? | ||
| Alex R. Olsen-Mikitowicz | BS, 2018 | – The Importance of Frost | ||
| Kelsey Thomas | BS, 2018 | – The Importance of Frost | ||
| Yidi Wang | BS, 2018 | – Small Scale Soil Moisture Variability and Sampling Strategies | ||
| Jaron Beerline | BS, 2017 | – The Probability of Precipitation as Snow in Alaska | ||
| Rachel Habermehl | BS, 2017 | – Small Scale Soil Moisture Variability and Sampling Strategies | ||
| Jacob Olson | BS, 2017 | – The Importance of Frost | ||
| Eric S. Thomas | BS, 2017 | – Snow Surface Roughness Across Scales at CLPX Sites – Snow Board to Airborne Lidar | publication: Simms et al. (2019); Fassnacht et al., 2023 |
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| Robby L. Davis | BS, 2016 | – Integrating the Spatial Variability of Snowpack Properties | ||
| Joseph Fattor | BS, 2016 | – Integrating the Spatial Variability of Snowpack Properties | ||
| Kristian Gandrud | BS, 2016 | – Snowpack Trends at Winter Olympic Venues | ||
| Connor Mitts | BS, 2016 | – The Importance of Frost | ||
| Zachary Novack | BS, 2016 | – Snowpack Trends at Winter Olympic Venues | ||
| Cassidi L. Rosenkrance | BS, 2016 | – Integrating the Spatial Variability of Snowpack Properties | ||
| Stephen Small | BS, 2016 | – Snowpack Trends at Winter Olympic Venues | ||
| Keller Smith | BS, 2016 | – Snowpack Trends at Winter Olympic Venues | ||
| Michael Schmidt | BS, 2015 | – The Probability of Sufficient Snow at the PyeongChang South Korea Winter Olympics | ||
| Betsy Meredith | BA, 2007 | – The Geography of International Orphans | ||
| Melat Menwyelet | BA, 2005 | – The Geography of International Orphans |