My name is Huan Cui. I am an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geology, Kansas State University. I conduct multidisciplinary research that integrates sedimentology, stratigraphy, geochemistry, and paleontology to investigate global and planetary changes in deep time.

I pursued my doctorate at the University of Maryland using field and lab work to study the environmental context of early animal evolution. After obtaining my Ph.D. degree in 2015, I moved to Wisconsin (2016-2018), Brussels (2018-2020), and Paris (2020-2022) for postdoctoral research. Prior to K-State, I held an Assistant Professor position at Mississippi State University (2022-2024).

I was born and raised in a working-class household at Renqiu (Hebei Province, China) – an oil city well known for its petroliferous Mesoproterozoic carbonate reservoir. As a first-generation college student, I received my bachelor’s and master's degrees, both in Geology, from Southwest Petroleum University (Chengdu) and Peking University (Beijing), respectively. I lived in China until 2011.

Email: huancui@ksu.edu / Address: K-State Department of Geology, 108 Thompson Hall, 1428 Anderson Ave, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA

I am looking for 1-2 motivated students to join my group at K-State starting in Fall 2025!  If you are interested in the Geology Master’s Program at K-State, please do not hesitate to contact me.