K-State Paleo-CAT Group

Upcoming 07/2026  - New School: At K-State, the Department of Geology, Department of Geography and Geospatial Sciences, and Environmental Science Program are in the process of merging to form a new interdisciplinary unit — School of Earth and Environment. Stay tuned!

05/2026 - New Students: We are excited to welcome Noah Fuller (B.S., Cornell; M.S. in Education, Franciscan), Grace Halstead (B.A. in Geologic Science, Albion College), and Amy Winstead (B.S. in Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina; M.S. in Biology, K-State, 2026), who will join our Geology program this fall as new graduate students.

05/2026 - New Buildings: The K-State Department of Geology recently relocated to two newly renovated buildings in the heart of K-State’s beautiful campus in May 2026. A new wet chemistry laboratory equipped with two fume hoods is now fully operational and ready for use by the K-State Paleo-CAT Research Group.

03/2026 - Outdoor Learning: This weekend, students from Kansas State University enrolled in GEOL 630 - Sedimentology and Stratigraphy enjoyed a visit to the Kansas Geological Survey in Lawrence, KS. Many thanks to our generous hosts — Jay Kalbas, Kate Andrzejewski, and Nikki Potter — for organizing this tour on a Saturday. Students examined outstanding Permian and Cretaceous drill cores and enjoyed an engaging and informative lecture by Jay and Kate. A tour like this provides invaluable hands-on learning experiences. We are deeply grateful for the time, expertise, and hospitality shared with our students.

02/2026 – Microcredential: My proposal for a new microcredential, “Earth’s Past and Future Climate,” was officially approved by K-State. This is a newly developed, university-endorsed microcredential created following my move to K-State. To earn the credential, students must complete at least three of the following four electives: GEOL 200 – Earth Through Time (3 credits), GEOL 540 – Geological Record of Climate Change (3 credits), GEOL 630 – Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (3 credits), GEOG 535 – Global Climatology and Climate Change (4 credits; offered by K-State Geography).

01/2026 - Grant and Program: Dr. Cui was recently awarded a $20,000 Applied Learning Experience (ALE) Incentive Grant (2026-2027) to develop ALE-designated courses. His funded program “Paleo-Climate Adventures through Time (Paleo-CAT): Tracing Kansas’ Lost Glaciers and Oceans via Integrated Field and Laboratory Learning,” will enrich hands-on learning across field, laboratory, and classroom settings in GEOL 630 – Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (3 credits), GEOL 540 – Geologic Record of Climate Change (3 credits), and GEOL 631/731 – Geoenergy Exploration (3 credits).

11/2025 - Outreach: Dr. Cui recently gave a community talk at the Manhattan Senior Center of Riley County in Manhattan, Kansas, titled “Paleoclimate Adventures Through Time: Tracing Kansas’ Lost Glaciers and Oceans.” About 30 local seniors, likely averaging over 70 years of age, attended the presentation. The audience was curious and actively engaged throughout, asking numerous questions, and the event concluded with a lively discussion on current U.S. policies related to global warming, climate change, and wind energy, which is especially common across western Kansas.

10/2025 - Field Trips: Over the past few weeks, Dr. Cui led two field trips, spanning three days in total, across Kansas with students in GEOL 540 – Geologic Record of Climate Change at Kansas State University. View trip photos HERE. Together, they traced Kansas’ ancient glaciers and oceans through deep time, exploring a diverse suite of outcrops that record key moments in Earth’s climate history, including (1) Dakota Sandstone – Cretaceous beach and delta environments; (2) Niobrara Formation – chalky seafloor of the Western Interior Seaway during major greenhouse conditions, with lots of fossils; (3) Mushroom State Park – giant concretions showing a complex story of deposition, diagenesis, and weathering; (4) Glacial erratics – evidence of the Pleistocene Ice Age; (5) Early Permian cyclothems – cyclic records of sea-level fluctuations through time; (6) Blue Hill Shale – an anoxic ocean deposit rich in organic matter and large septarian concretions; (7) Sternberg Museum – the largest natural history museum in Kansas, with fantastic exhibits on geology, paleontology, and Earth history. It was wonderful to see students connect classroom concepts to the rocks, landscapes, and museum collections that tell the story of Earth’s dynamic climate past. 

08/2025 - New Student: We are excited to welcome Brayden Rowley (B.A. in Geologic Science, 2025, Albion College, Michigan), who will be joining our group this fall as a new graduate student. Brayden will be conducting sedimentological and geochemical analyses on authigenic carbonates from Cretaceous strata in Kansas.