Rate My Professor Rob Payn

Dr. Rob Payn serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences at Montana State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Hydrology from the Colorado School of Mines (2009), an M.S. in Biology from Virginia Tech (2004), and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from The Ohio State University (1993). Payn's research examines the role of water movement in the structure and function of watershed ecosystems, including the integration of biogeochemical and hydrologic models to infer watershed behavior from hydrologic signals and synoptic surveys. His work also investigates the influence of valley floor and stream corridor hydrologic systems on whole-watershed dynamics and stream-riparian ecosystem processes. Specializing in hydrology, hydroecology, biogeochemistry, and ecosystem ecology, Payn has advanced understanding of riparian nitrogen processing, water quality in agricultural landscapes, beaver-mimicry restoration impacts on stream hydrology, and carbon cycling in rivers. He contributes to interdisciplinary efforts such as NSF-funded projects on nitrate loss in semi-arid riparian zones and Montana Water Center initiatives on beaver dam analogs for water storage in headwater streams.

In teaching, Payn delivers advanced courses in watershed hydrology and fundamentals of environmental monitoring, earning the Montana State University College of Agriculture Award of Excellence in Transformative Teaching in 2025. This recognition highlights his engaging pedagogy, meticulous attention to complex topics, insightful feedback, and commitment to undergraduate and graduate mentoring, with students praising his organized, thorough instruction. Payn's scholarly output includes key publications such as Shangguan et al., 'Freshwater carbonate buffering revisited' (Limnology and Oceanography Letters, 2025); Mayernik et al., 'Riparian Processes in Semi-Arid Landscapes: Understanding controls on Nitrate Loss and Sulfate Production in Agricultural Stream Corridors' (Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 2025); Keeshin et al., 'Factors influencing water quality in surface water and alluvial groundwaters downgradient of a reclaimed surface coal mine' (Hydrogeology Journal, 2025); Shangguan et al., 'Divergent metabolism estimates from dissolved oxygen and inorganic carbon: implications for river carbon cycling' (Limnology and Oceanography, 2024); and Bobst et al., 'Groundwater-Mediated Influences of Beaver-Mimicry Stream Restoration: A Modeling Analysis' (Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 2022). He serves on the Editorial Review Board of Freshwater Science since November 2017 and advises graduate students in the Ph.D. program in Ecology and Environmental Sciences.