Karen Engates, Ph.D.
Professor of Instruction, Academic Introduction & Strategies
Contact
- GSR 2.104T
- karen.engates@utsa.edu
Bio
I moved often growing up in a military family, so home is wherever I help create community. My parents taught me to use the outdoors to explore, be curious, and protect it for the future.
I earned a BS and MS in Environmental Science with GIS specialization and forestry applications in Bastrop State Park, TX, and research in post-fire vegetation studies in Big Bend National Park. A post-undergraduate internship with NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center researching phytoplankton blooms using satellite imagery confirmed my interest in studying our environment near and far. These experiences prompted me to earn my composite science teaching certificate at UTSA. Several teaching positions later, I returned to earn a Ph.D. in Environmental Science & Engineering researching metal oxide nanoparticles for drinking water treatment related to e-waste. I taught environmental courses for 8 years, then took a 3-yr hiatus as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Incarnate Word while also being a UTSA Honors College Senior Lecturer in tutorials (Sustainability, Environment), study abroad (Costa Rica), created a study away Trailblazing the National Parks course and an Outdoor Experiences and Well-being experiential learning course.
I again returned in 2021 to teach Academic Inquiry & Scholarship (AIS) specializing in the Engineering/Math/Science pathway. I hold several professional memberships, represent on UTSA committees and in the community, have received an FYE mini-grant for student programming, and most recently helped pilot the Strategies for Inclusive Teaching Institute national survey. Getting outdoors is the answer, regardless of the question.
Degrees
- Ph.D. Environmental Science & Engineering, University of Texas San Antonio
- M.S. Environmental Science, Texas Christian University
- B.S. Environmental Science, Texas Christian University
