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Rocky Mountain National Park

Assistant Professor
Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences
Northern Illinois University
mbrown18@niu.edu

(uses she/her/hers)

Ph.D., Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, 2019
M.S., Department of Geological Sciences, University of Missouri, 2015
B.S. with Honors, Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, 2007

About:

Megan in a fashionable safety yellow shirt and purple hardhat driving a skid-steer loader full of concrete and soil.
Megan in a fashionable safety yellow shirt and purple hardhat driving a skid-steer loader at a remediation system install.

I am a hydrogeologist interested in how fluids interact with and can induce earthquakes and how groundwater factors into water resources.  After my undergraduate degree, I worked as a geologist in an environmental consulting firm on the East Coast.  The majority of our work focused on remediation of groundwater and soil.  This work gave me a strong hydrogeology background that I now use in my research and teaching.  It also taught me how to drive a skid-steer.

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Sometimes modeling can get you down, but you can solve some really cool problems with it too, if you stick with it.

My current research focuses on the physical processes controlling injection induced seismicity.  I use numerical models to study the interaction between fluids and seismicity. I am also interested in teaching, pedagogy, and discipline based education research.  I am particularly enthusiastic about increasing accessibility and inclusion in the geosciences.

**** I am looking for MS and PhD students for Fall 2021 ****
Contact me if you are interested in studying at NIU!

Some successful modeling (based on results from Brown et al., 2017):

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Helping a former lab mate on Niwot Ridge with field work.
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Installing a seismometer at Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge.
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Megan on the GSA 2019 Accessible Field Trip to Petrified Forest National Park.

For Students:

If you are a student interested in hydrology, you should check out the AGU Hydrology Section’s Student Subcommittee (H3S).  The goal of H3S is to be a voice for student and early career members of the community.  They work to increase diversity and science communication. They also organize numerous activities at the AGU Fall Meeting often focused on these goals and on broader topics in hydrology.  If you are interested in learning more about H3S, please visit the website and Twitter account @AGU_H3S.