My name is Ryan Spies and I am working toward a graduate degree in the Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences at Iowa State University. I also received my B.S. Degree in Meteorology in May 2011 at ISU. My graduate research is focused on improving river model forecasts through distributed models and MODIS satellite products.

I was born and raised in Audubon, IA where my parents still live, and I have one younger brother and sister who are both also attending college. I enjoy just about anything outdoors, and play just about every sport possible. If I'm not on campus on a nice day, I'm probably out fishing somewhere. I'm also a big Cyclone fan!

Over the course of my undergrad education I really became interested in the hydrology field, and I would eventually like to find a job working with watershed monitoring and hydrologic modelling tools. New technology is making substantial improvements in river forecasts which are highly valuable when predicting vital streamflow conditions, and I am excited to be apart of the future in the hyrology field.