CV

Education

• Doctoral student in Oceanography, est. 2027
  Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), Germany
  Alfred-Wegener-Institut (AWI), Germany
  • Thesis: Towards Realistically Modelling Southern Ocean Convection
  • Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Alexander Haumann
• Master of Science in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, 2024
  University of Alberta, Canada
  • Thesis: The Effects of Tides and Submesoscale Mixed Layer Eddies on Deep Convection in the Labrador Sea: Simulations at Resolutions Consistent with Coupled Climate Models
  • Supervisor: Dr. Paul Myers
• Bachelor of Engineering in Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering, 2020
  Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada
  • Equivalent requirements for a Minor in Mathematics completed in 2021

Awards and honours

• $1,500 Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies Travel Award, 2024
• $500 Graduate Students’ Association Academic Travel Grant, 2024
• $1,500 Roy Dean Hibbs Memorial Travel Award, 2023
• $17,500 Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master’s (CGS M), 2023
• $7,100 Walter H Johns Graduate Fellowship, 2023
• $6,000 Mitacs Globalink Research Award, 2019
• $2,800 Professor Bill Milne Memorial Scholarship, 2017

Significant works

• Brown, R. (2024). The Effects of Tides and Submesoscale Mixed Layer Eddies on Deep Convection in the Labrador Sea: Simulations at Resolutions Consistent with Coupled Climate Models [Master’s thesis]. University of Alberta Education and Research Archive, 1–88.
• Brown, R., & Myers, P. G. (2024, February 18–23). Mixing Processes in the Labrador Sea: Simulations at Resolutions Consistent with Coupled Climate Models [Conference presentation]. The Ocean Sciences Meeting 2024, New Orleans, LA, USA.
• Manzur Tirado, A. M., Brown, R., & Valdez Banda, O. A. (2019). Risk and safety management of autonomous systems: a literature review and initial proposals for the maritime industry. Aalto University publication series SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY 1/2019, 1-66.

Relevant experience

• Sep 2024–: Researcher
  Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), Germany
  Alfred-Wegener-Institut (AWI), Germany
  • Conducting research on shallow open-ocean convection in the Southern Ocean
  • Performing high-resolution, non-hydrostatic simulations using the MITgcm model
  • Executing computations on high-performance computing systems at LMU and AWI
• Jul 2022–Jun 2024: Graduate research assistant fellowship
  University of Alberta, Canada
  • Identified improvements to ocean model biases by using tides and mixed layer eddies to reduce mixed layer depths during deep convection in the Labrador Sea
  • Conducted tidal analyses of a high-resolution NEMO model for Fisheries and Oceans Canada
  • Ran computations on Compute Canada supercomputers
  • Analysed data with Python and MATLAB
• Oct 2021–Feb 2022: Ocean engineer
  Oceans Limited, Canada
  • Programmed vessel motions analysis software using MATLAB and C++
  • Researched new methods of wave spectra prediction using machine learning (Python and Keras)
  • Performed outfitting and CAD modelling of weather buoys
• Jan 2019–Apr 2019: Research assistant in maritime safety engineering
  Aalto University, Finland
  • Supported by Mitacs Globalink Research Award
  • Co-authored report on safety management of autonomous maritime systems
  • Performed extensive literature review and analyses
• May 2018–Aug 2018: Research assistant in human factors engineering
  Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada
  • Researched methods for managing sea ice in the offshore industry
  • Analysed experimental human-factors data using MATLAB
  • Designed scenarios for a maritime simulator
  • Contributed to experimental design and an ethics application

Additional experiences and competencies

• Cruises: Trainer aboard the RV Heincke guiding undergraduate and master’s students on CTD operations (Mar 28–-Apr 2, 2025)
• Volunteering: Social convener and oceanography representative for the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences graduate students’ society (2022-2023)
• Languages: English (native), French (intermediate), German (can order a coffee)
• Memberships: The Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS); The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME); The European Geosciences Union (EGU)

Tech skills

I always feel awkward writing what I think I’m good at. I do however have demonstrable experience with the following:

• Python and MATLAB, including small to large datasets from model, climatological (e.g., WOA), and observational (e.g., Argo) sources
• Modelling skills, i.e.,
  • Setting up and running models on HPCs and supercomputers
  • Numerical methods (relevant coursework at UAlberta: Advanced Atmosphere-Ocean-Climate Modelling)
  • Low-abstraction languages (Fortran and a bit of C) and parallelization (MPI) (relevant one-week workshop: Parallel programming with MPI and OpenMP)
• Git! e.g., my GitHub