• Social capital and engineering education
• The value of social networks and pro-social norms in retention and academic success of students
• Recruitment and retention of underrepresented students
  

Education

• Ph.D., Civil Engineering, 2005, Oregon State University.
• M.S., Environmental Engineering, 1998, University of California, Davis.
• B.S., Civil Engineering, 1995, Oregon State University.

Professional Experience

• 2005 - Present, Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering.
• 2002 - 2004, Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant, Civil Engineering Department, Oregon State University.
• 2001 - 2002, 2003 - 2004, Instructor, Central Oregon Community College.
• 1998 - 2001, Project Manager, Eco:Logic Engineering, Rocklin, California.
• 1997 - 1998, Staff Engineer, Dames & Moore, Sacramento, California.

Awards

• 2007: SEE Pacific Northwest Section Outstanding Teacher.
• 2007: Outstanding Faculty Advisor – WSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
• 2007: ASEE Educational Research and Methods Apprentice Faculty Grant.
• 2006: Outstanding Teaching Award - WSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
• Herbert F. Frolander Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, Oregon State University, 2004. Awarded for excellence in teaching statics, work with faculty to implement active learning in large lectures, training of teaching assistants, and efforts to understand retention in the College of Engineering and retain a more diverse population of engineering students.
• Best Paper Award, American Society of Engineering Education, Pacific Northwest Conference, April 2004.
• Outstanding Service Award, California Water Environment Association, Sacramento Area Section, 2001.

Teaching

• Water Resources Engineering
• Water Quality
• Surveying
• Statics
• Strength of Materials

Selected Publications and Book Sections

• Brown, S., D. Montfort, K. Findley. (2007). “Student Understanding of States of Stress in Mechanics of Materials,” Proceedings of 2007 Annual Conference of the American Society of Engineering Education, Honolulu, HI.
• Brown, S., D. Montfort, K. Findley. (2007). “Using Interviews to Identify Student Misconceptions in Dynamics,” Proceedings of 2007 Frontiers in Education Conference, Milwaukee, WI.
• Brown, S., D. Montfort. (2007). “Development, Implementation, and Assessment of a Bending Stress Tutorial,” Proceedings of 2007 Frontiers in Education Conference, Milwaukee, WI.
• Brown, S., L. Flick, and T. Johnson (2007). “Building Social Capital for Academic Achievement in the Engineering Laboratory,” Journal of Engineering Education, In Preparation.
• Brown, S., L. Flick, T. Fiez, and T. Johnson. (2006). “The Role and Development of Social Capital in an Electrical Engineering Lab,” Journal of Engineering Education, In Revision.
• Brown, S., L. Flick, and T. Fiez. 2005. An Investigation of the Role and Development of Social Capital in an Electrical Engineering Lab. Accepted Pending Revisions. Journal of Engineering Education.
• Brown, S., L. Flick, and K. Williamson. Social Capital in Engineering Education. Proceedings of 2005 Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Brown, S., and K. Williamson. Student Social Capital and Retention in the College of Engineering. Proceedings of 2005 Annual Conference of the American Society of Engineering Education. Portland, Oregon.
• Thompson, T., D. Heer, S. Brown, R. Traylor, and T. Fiez. Educational Design, Evaluation, & Development of Platforms for Learning. Proceedings of 2004 Frontiers in Education Conference. Nashville, Tennessee.
• Brown, S., and K. Williamson. The Role of Social Capital in the Retention of Engineering Students. 2004 Annual Meeting of the Pacific Northwest Section of the American Society for Engineering Education. Seattle, Washington.