Colleen Gura

M.S. Geology, Kansas State University

Colleen Gura is a new instructor and undergraduate advisor in our department. She has been a part of Kansas State University as both a student and now a faculty member since 2014. She joined the department as a teaching assistant professor in August of 2021 while she is finishing her Ph.D. in Geography and Geospatial Science at K-State where she is researching various aspects of weathering processes across the Flinthills. She has a Master’s in Geology (2016) and a B.S. in Secondary Education, Earth Science (2004) also from K-State. Between her B.S. and Master’s, she spent 10 years teaching various science courses at Jack Britt High School in Fayetteville, NC. At K-State, she teaches the introductory courses Earth in Action and Natural Disasters, is the undergraduate advisor, and is the GTA instructional mentor. Her main research interests are centered around weathering processes and how they operate on both rock and soil. She is especially focused on the impacts of both physical and chemical weathering on hillslope evolution, weathering rates, the geochemistry of weathered minerals, nutrient cycling, and pedogenesis.