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Interested in joining?
Graduate Students → We are currently seeking graduate students to start in January 2027 and / or August 2027. Please send your CV and a cover letter describing your past experience and research interests to rkeen@ksu.edu.
Undergraduate Students → We are currently seeking undergraduate researchers at KSU to assist with fieldwork, lab work, and data management. Much of our work during the field season (~May through August) takes place outside in the field digging soil pits, collecting soil / water / plant samples, and monitoring sensor arrays. Year round, indoor tasks include lab work, sample processing, and data management. Undergraduates will be paid an hourly rate and have the option to pursue an independent project if interested. Please email rkeen@ksu.edu with your resume and description of your interests.
Rachel Keen
Assistant Professor, Kansas State University
I am an ecohydrologist that focuses on plant-soil-water interactions in grasslands, savannas, and shrublands. I recently joined K-State as an assistant professor in June, 2026. My work primarily takes place in the Great Plains ecoregion of the central United States and savanna / grassland ecosystems in northeastern South Africa. I enjoy doing interdisciplinary science that incorporates ideas, methods, and experimental approaches from soil hydrology, plant ecophysiology, and soil science to explore how vegetation influences critical zone function, particularly in the context of changing climate, land-use, and land-cover. I'm interested in questions that link plant form and function, ecosystem water pools and fluxes, and vital biogeochemical cycles (C and nutrients) that rely on water availability.
Download my CV here.
A full list of publications can be found on my Google Scholar page.