BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

 Gordon Hitchings Brown was born on June 19, 1969, in Rochester, NY. He was raised

by two scientists and grew up in and around the Helmer Nature Center that his mother directed.

After moving to Northern California in 1985, he graduated from Palo Alto Senior High School,

Palo Alto, California, in 1987.

 He returned to Upstate New York to play collegiate hockey at the State University of

New York College at Cortland from 1987 to 1989. Not yet finding his scientific niche, he left

collegiate studies to pursue a career in the sailing industry. He worked as a sailmaker and

professional racing sailor from 1992-2002. He enrolled at the State University of New York

College at Brockport in 1996 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and earth

science in 2003. He graduated as a departmental scholar in earth sciences, and received both

analytical chemistry and sigma xi awards for excellence in undergraduate research at Brockport.

 He continued his education at the University of Florida in the Department of

Environmental Engineering Sciences pursuing a Master of Science degree from 2003 through

2006. Gordon was a graduate research assistant from August 2003 through August 2005. He

was a National Science Foundation Science Partners In Collaborative Inquiry-based Education

(SPICE) fellow from August 2005 through August 2006. He has served as an officer of the

University of Florida's student chapter of the American Water Resources Association (AWRA)

from 2003 to 2006, and was elected to the AWRA Florida Section Board of Directors for 2006.

 In August 2006 he intends to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental

Engineering Sciences at the University of Florida.