Paleoenvironment - Teaching

Teaching

Courses at Kansas State University

GEOL 540 Geologic Record of Climate Change
GEOL 630 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy
GEOL 631/731 Geoenergy Exploration

K-State Microcredential "Earth's Past and Future Climate"

I am the founder and contact person of the K-State Microcredential "Earth's Past and Future Climate" (approved by Department Head, currently in review at a higher level for final approval). This is a newly developed university microcredential after my move to K-State.
To earn this microcredential, students are required to pass at least three (9 credits) 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).

Courses Taught at Kansas State University (2024-present)

KSU GEOL 540 - Geologic Record of Climate Change (3 credits)
Taught Fall 2025. A science elective for juniors and seniors, including lectures, problem sets, student presentations, guest lectures, and two mandatory field trips in Kansas. Students are offered the opportunity to visit outstanding Kansas outcrops that record key paleoclimate variations, including a greenhouse interval (Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway), cyclic climate change (Early Permian cyclothems), and the last ice age (Pleistocene glacial erratics). The course is part of the Earth’s Past and Future Climate microcredential. Enrollment: 7 undergraduates (2025).

KSU GEOL 630 - Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (3 credits)
Scheduled for Spring 2026. Foundational course for B.S. Geology majors, including lectures, labs, problem sets, presentations, guest lectures, and two mandatory field trips in Kansas. Students are offered the opportunity to visit remarkable Kansas outcrops that demonstrate deposition, diagenesis, and weathering within Earth’s evolving paleoenvironments and paleoclimate. Part of the Earth’s Past and Future Climate microcredential. Enrollment: TBA.

KSU GEOL 631/731 - Geoenergy Exploration (formerly Petroleum Geology, 3 credits)
Taught in Fall 2024. Graduate and advanced undergraduate elective, incorporating lectures, problem sets, student presentations, guest lectures, and a field trip. Renamed from Petroleum Geology to Geoenergy Exploration to incorporate emerging geoenergy topics. Enrollment: 5 graduate students.

Courses Taught at Mississippi State University (2022-2024)

MSU GG 4443/6443 – Principles of Sedimentary Deposits II (3 credits)
Taught Spring 2023 and 2024. Core course for Professional Geology majors, including lectures, problem sets, student presentations, guest lectures, and a daylong field trip. Building on GG 4304/6304 – Principles of Sedimentary Deposits I, which emphasizes sedimentary petrology, this course focuses on stratigraphy (including litho-, bio-, seismic-, sequence-, chemo-, chrono-, magneto-, and cyclostratigraphy) and sedimentary facies in both continental and marine environments. Enrollment: 7 students (4 undergraduate + 3 graduate, 2023), 4 undergraduate (2024).

MSU GG 4883/6883 – Biogeochemical Evolution of Planet Earth (3 credits, new)
Developed and taught in Fall 2023; added to the university course catalog in 2024. Elective for senior undergraduates and graduate students. The course includes lectures, problem sets, student presentations, and guest lectures. It covers both fundamental principles and case studies of Earth’s biogeochemical cycles and their evolution, spanning from the Archean to the modern ocean. Enrollment: 4 graduate students.

MSU GG 8990 – Global and Planetary Change (3 credits, new)
Developed and taught in Spring 2024. Graduate-level elective exploring tectonic and shorter-term global changes through sedimentological, geochemical, and paleontological evidence. The course includes lectures, problem sets, student presentations, and guest lectures. It provides an integrated introduction to global and planetary changes in deep time at both tectonic and shorter scales. Complementary to GG 4883/6883, which focuses on individual biogeochemical cycles, this course synthesizes multiple lines of evidence to examine major transitions in Earth history. Enrollment: 2 graduate students.

MSU GG 1113 - Earth Science Survey (3 credits)
Taught Fall 2022, Spring 2023. Introductory elective primarily for non-geology majors. Enrollment: 76 (2022), 77 (2023).

Anonymous Student Feedback

* The original course evaluation documents are available upon request.

GEOL 731 Petroleum Geology / Geoenergy Exploration @ Kansas State University

"This course gave me a good understanding of exploration and how reservoirs work. This course helped me see the bigger picture of energy resources and their importance." Fall 2024
"Dr. Huan is an amazing Professor. I always looked forward to his classes. I'm glad I had to opportunity to be tutored by him. I learnt a whole lot. It was an amazing experience!" Fall 2024
"Dr. Cui is an amazing teacher and he was an excellent hire. I'm glad he was chosen because I couldn't imagine a better candidate. He is very understanding and always willing to help you whether it be class-related or not. He's very personable, which can be hard for other cultures outside of the US, especially those cultures of East Asia. So, I really appreciated his attempts to be personable and it made the class much more engaging. His class structure and content were perfect, I don't think I would've changed a thing." Fall 2024

GG 8990 Global and Planetary Change @ Mississippi State University

"I enjoyed the mini-term style and the tests being online. It is a great format for a graduate level class and works out very well. I find the topics appropriately difficult and engaging." Spring 2024

GG 4990/6990 Biogeochemical Evolution of Planet Earth @ Mississippi State University

"The organization was superb." Fall 2023
"In reflecting upon this class, several aspects stood out to me that contributed to a positive and enriching learning experience. Firstly, the instructor's excellence in teaching and profound knowledge in the subject matter was evident from the outset. It's not just about the depth of understanding he brought to the table, but also he knows many relevant professors all around the world and their current researches which are leading this area of research (Biogeochemistry) which is interesting for me. This global perspective not only enriched our lessons but also fostered a sense of connection and relevance to the broader academic community, making the content even more resonant. Moreover, the slides and materials he provided were consistently informative, well-organized, and thoughtfully curated. They served as a valuable resource for deepening our understanding and provided a clear roadmap for our studies." Fall 2023

GG 4443/6443 Principles of Sedimentary Deposits II (a.k.a. Sedimentology and Stratigraphy) @ Mississippi State University

"Dr. Cui is able to teach a difficult subject in a clear and concise manner. He also directs us with outside materials (textbook) to help with any confusion. He is open and eager to questions in class." Spring 2024
"I think Dr. Cui is a great teacher and provides us with enough to succeed in his class." Spring 2024
"The mini-term has been great so far. The material is being taught at an appropriate speed." Spring 2024
"Dr. Cui is very nice and willing to work with you if there are problems." Spring 2023
"Dr. Cui is THE BEST!!! Understands student learning styles and helps make life as a student easier." Spring 2023

GG 1113 Earth Science Survey @ Mississippi State University

"Everything worked well, the course was great." Fall 2022
"I really like Dr. Cui. He was super nice and you can really feel his passion about Earth Sciences." Fall 2022
"Dr. Cui had example questions at the end of the PowerPoints and certain terms highlighted in red so that we knew what to study for tests." Fall 2022

Indigenous Land Acknowledgement

We live and do research on land that was originally home to several indigenous nations, including the Kaw, Osage, and Pawnee. This land was stolen from them and we acknowledge this truth. For more details, please see the K-State Land Acknowledgement.

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