FEATURE: Nate Brown - Engineering Ways to Make a Difference

by: Tim Geer, Brown Athletic Communications

For Nathan Brown, helping others has always been at the forefront of his mind. As a student-athlete at Brown University, he has been able to do just that both on and off the field.

"I think in looking for a career, I wanted to problem solve and I wanted to help people," Brown said. "In biomedical engineering, I found an opportunity to do both of those."

Growing up in Fayetteville, Georgia, this desire was sewn in at a young age. In middle school, Brown's father dealt with a number of complications following knee replacement surgery, and faced three separate procedures before making a full recovery. Seeing firsthand the medical techniques that got his father back to full health, and how positive the end-result was for him and the entire family, Brown couldn't help but wonder who were the people that did those procedures and what made them possible?

While not recruited by Brown out of high school, Nate learned about the University through a couple of teammates who had been recruited by the Bears' coaching staff. Exploring what the school had to offer academically and athletically, Brown University quickly became Nate's number one choice. After getting in touch with the Bears' coaching staff, he was offered a walk-on spot.

"They gave me a real shot," Brown said. "I've been able to play since the first game up here and been able to contribute. I really appreciate the school for letting me go this route."

Brown has made an impact and contributed right from his first game in a Bears uniform, recording two tackles in his collegiate debut against Bryant in 2017. In 22 career games, the defensive end has recorded 25 total tackles, including 3.5 tackles for a loss, and one fumble recovery.

"I knew that I wanted to be an engineer coming in and that Brown's open curriculum would provide an opportunity for me to be an engineer, but not solely that," Brown said. "I would not have been able to walk on at some of the other schools I was looking at because the track there didn't seem viable for me to be able to do both, and Brown presented the best option."

Once on campus, the worlds of problem solving and helping others merged when he made connections through the career development office and met orthopedics and engineering professor Joseph Crisco. Crisco had an idea for developing a new compact wheelchair that worked just as well outdoors on rough terrain as it did inside on smooth surfaces. Nate, along with another graduate student, took Crisco's idea and turned it into reality. brown

This summer, Brown teamed up with a fellow undergraduate student and were awarded the Royce Fellowship – a research grant awarded by the Swearer Center that helps support independent summer student research and projects. The duo is now in the process of collecting feedback from wheelchair users regarding the current design of their chair and what they can improve moving forward. The group plans to present their findings to the University later this semester.

The project has served as a fantastic introduction into a career of solving problems, that will have a direct impact on the lives of others. Brown is on track to graduate with his bachelor's this December.

"I want to get out in the workforce and work within my degree field which is medical devices and implantable devices," Brown said. "From there, I'll decide if I should come back and get an MBA or a masters in a more specified field within engineering."

For Brown, making a difference has extended far beyond the classroom as well. During quarantine last summer, Brown and his roommate, fellow teammate Ryan Putman, started Lead with Love, which has become an integral community service organization for the Brown football program.

"Last summer was a time of social action and just talking with Ryan, we wanted to be a part of that movement, but we didn't want it to be just a flash in the pan. So, we got together and started Lead with Love. Our coaches have allowed us to meld it in with the team. We're in the process of expanding on campus and we're connected with Tides Family Services right here in Providence. We were able to connect with them virtually over quarantine, and did get to have an in-person event recently in which we had them on the field and did a tie-dye day, which was a lot of fun. We're looking to have them come out to a game this season as well."

"The name embodies what we're trying to go after," Brown said. "Lead with Love in the interactions that we have and be active in our community."

Brown's desire to be a leader has certainly been impacted by his journey through athletics, with many of the lessons learned from football pouring over into his endeavors off the field.

"I've been playing football since the age of five, and I feel it has definitely shaped me into who I am," Brown said. "It helped me to be confident, to be a teammate, to compete and to be a leader when called upon. Sometimes that requires stepping up, sometimes it requires listening, but I think those are the main lessons."

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FEATURE: Nate Brown - Engineering Ways to Make a Difference

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