Rowan R. Terra

I am a Ph.D. candidate conducting research on biogeochemical processes in abandoned mine drainage (AMD) at Duquesne University and NETL-DOE under an ORISE research fellowship. My current projects (1) characterize AMD feedstocks using field and computational methods while also (2) exploring microbiological mining for critical mineral (CMM) extraction and recovery. Several manuscripts are currently under review or in preparation spanning these directives.

I have a decade of research experience spanning biological, chemical, ecological, and computational sciences. These opportunities have helped me flesh out my preference for multi-disciplinary approaches to scientific questions. More information can be found in my CV.

I anticipate searching for post-doctoral or industry positions with late 2026 or early 2027 start dates. I am open to work in academic, government, or industry settings, with a preference for multi-disciplinary laboratories that mesh bench and computational work. Ultimately, I would like to work towards becoming a principal investigator in any of these environments.

news

Jun 10, 2026	Presenting Computational approaches assist in critical mineral recovery and remediation effort prioritization within miningaffected systems at the the American Society of Reclamation Sciences 2026 conference in Laramie, WY.
May 10, 2026	Received the American Society of Reclamation Sciences Ph.D. Level Memorial Scholarship Award.
Dec 05, 2025	Presenting A Microbiological Basis for Critical Mineral Aquisiton from Abandoned Coal Mines in PA at the Duquesne Biology Fall 2025 Seminar Series.
Sep 24, 2025	Invited to present Computational Biogeochemistry Assists in Critical Mineral Recovery from Abandoned Coal Mine Drainage and Associated Precipitants at the WILDs Community Partnership Symposium.
Jul 31, 2025	In this interview, I discuss my Ph.D. projects and my experience as an ORISE fellow.