Dr. Mark Williams, Fellow at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and Professor of Geography at the University of Colorado, received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences with an emphasis in ecology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1991. He is also on the core faculty of the Department of Environmental Studies. His research interest is the ecology of mountain areas, looking at the interaction of organisms with their environment, focusing on classical environmental variables such as soil, rocks, and minerals, as well as surrounding water sources and the local atmosphere. The majority of his research has been conducted in the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada of California, and the Tien Shan, China. Dr. Williams is on the faculty of the Hydrology Program in Geography and his classes can be used to satisfy the Hydrology Certification Program in Geography. He is the PI of the Niwot Ridge LTER program.