Name: Molly E. Brown

Year of Ph.D. Graduation: 2002

Area of Dissertation Specialization: Africa and food security

Ph.D. Advisor Name: S. D. Prince

Current Employment Status: University of Maryland Associate Research Professor, and Chief Science Officer, 6th Grain Corporation

What do you do in your current job? Conduct research on nutrition and food security issues and implement digital agriculture-oriented farmer software for commercial and smallholder farmers.

How have the skills you learned in the Ph.D. program helped you in your career? I learned how to work with scientific teams, manage projects, and do my own data analysis to answer interesting questions.

What drew you to the GEOG Ph.D. program at UMD? I have a biology background, but was interested in people and Geography brought together environmental observations with human activities at a scale that interested me. I was very interested in technological advancements that would increase my ability to have an impact on the scholarly discourse and general knowledge of the impact of environmental variability on society.

What recommendations would you make to current GEOG Ph.D. students for career and academic success while they are still grad students? Do research and don't be afraid to collaborate with those who have expertise that you don't have. You may need to do all the work in your thesis, but after you graduate your best work may be collaborative, so reach out to colleagues, friends and others who do work that interests you.

What recommendations would you make to current GEOG Ph.D. students for career success after graduation? Publish! It is your best way to demonstrate who you are.

What are some of your hobbies and interests? My family, cooking, gardening and fitness.

Anything else you'd like to add? Have fun!