Bio

Steve Brown is currently Senior Vice Provost and Interim Dean of the College of Engineering, Physics, and Computing. He received his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1987 and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from M.I.T. in 1991. He joined the University in 1998 and is now Ordinary (full) Professor of Mechanical Engineering. During his tenure at the University, he has served as Chairperson of the Mechanical Engineering Department, as Associate Dean of Engineering, and from 2016 through 2025 served the University as its Senior Vice Provost for Academic Administration and Dean of Graduate Studies.

He is the recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Teaching Achievement Award from the School of Engineering in 1999, the Ralph Teetor Educational Award from the Society of Automotive Engineers in 2001, the DuPont Young Professor Award in 2001, the Kaman Excellence in Teaching Award from the School of Engineering in 2004, the Best Paper Award for 2009 from ASHRAE Journal, the Provost's Overall Teaching Award in 2011, the Best Paper Award for 2013/2014 from the International Journal of Refrigeration, and the ASHRAE Distinguished Service Award in 2015. He served as an Associate Editor of Science and Technology for the Built Environment from 2010-2018 and as an ABET Program Evaluator 2006-2018. He is a Fellow of ASHRAE, and a member of ASME, IIR (International Institute of Refrigeration), and is a registered professional engineer in the State of Maryland, though his license is not being maintained since January 2020.

In addition to 25+ years of teaching, research, and administrative experience at The Catholic University of America, Steve has nearly six years of experience working in the automotive industry, nearly two years of experience working in a high-volume consumer products manufacturing facility, and has engaged in research and consulting work for NIST, NASA, ASHRAE, Ford Motor Company, DuPont, Dakota Consulting, KTC Consulting, Energetics Technologies Center, Chaberton Consulting, and Thar Technologies.

He has also provided expert testimony in four IPR proceedings, two PGR proceedings, one inter partes re-examination proceeding, and two District Court actions. In addition to these matters, he also has provided consulting services to law firms related to issues surrounding several patents.

Representative Publications

Longo, G., Mancin, S., Righetti, G., Zilio, C., Brown, S., 2020. Assessment and optimisation of low-GWP refrigerants during two-phase heat transfer inside small- diameter smooth tubes. International Journal of Refrigeration, 117: 61-70.

Brown, J.S., Coccia, G. Tomassetti, S., Pierantozzi, M., Di Nicola, G., 2018. Vapor phase PvTx measurements of binary blends of trans-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-ene + isobutane and cis-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene + isobutane. Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, 63: 169–177.

McLinden, M.O., Brown, J.S., Brignoli, R., Kazakov, A.F., Domanski, P.A., 2017. Limited options for low-global-warming-potential refrigerants. Nature Communications, 8: 14476.

Brown, J.S., Domanski, P.A., 2014. Review of alternative technologies. Applied Thermal Engineering, 64(1-2): 252-262.

Brown, J.S., Nicola, G.D., Zilio, C., Fedele, L., Bobbo, S., Polonara, F. 2012. Subcooled liquid density measurements and PvT measurements in the vapor phase for trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene (R1234ze (E)). Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, 57(12): 3710-3720.

Brown, J.S., Zilio, C., Cavallini, A. 2010. Thermodynamic properties of eight fluorinated olefins. International Journal of Refrigeration, 33(2): 235-241.

Curriculum Vitae