Corina Brown

Faculty

Associate Professor

Location Ross Hall, Office 3480
Address 501 20th St., Campus Box 98, Greeley, CO 80639
headshot photo of Corina Brown

Education

PhD, University of Northern Colorado, 2013.
Area of Study: Chemistry/Chemical Education

PhD, University of Northern Colorado, 2013.
Area of Study: Statistics

MS, University of Northern Colorado, 2009.
Area of Study: Chemistry/Biochemistry

BS, Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest, 1992.
Area of Study: Chemical Engineering

Professional Experience & Affiliations

Associate Professor, University of Northern Colorado Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (2021 – 2026)

Assistant Professor, University of Northern Colorado Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (2021 – 2026)

Research Expertise & Interests

Achievement Emotions in the General Chemistry Course

Active Learning and Knowledge Transfer from Organic Chemistry to Biochemistry

Creativity in Chemical Education

Exploration of Equity in Chemistry Instruction

Impact of Prerequisites on the Students’ Performance and Achievement Gaps in an Analytical Chemistry Course

Systems Thinking in Chemistry Courses

Virtual Reality Technology Utility in Chemistry Education

Areas of Interest
  • Cognitive and affective factors that impact how students learn chemistry and biochemistry
    lecture and laboratory curriculum development for pre-health and allied-health chemistry courses
  • The design and development of assessment materials in the areas of organic chemistry and biochemistry.
  • Exploration of equity in chemistry instruction
    transfer from general and organic chemistry to biochemistry
  • The use of virtual reality technology for visualizations of biomolecules and metabolic processes

The exploration of these research topics utilizes qualitative and quantitative research methodologies as for example interviews (students, faculty) and thematic analysis, combined with general and comparative statistics and psychometric methods.

In the field of Biochemistry, research with undergraduate students explores areas of drug delivery systems, drug metabolism by using analytical instrumentation as: HPLC, FTIR spectroscopy, UV-vis, GC-MS, fluorometry.

Publications

  • Nedungadi, S., Brown, C.E., Paek, S.H. Differential Item Functioning Analysis of the Fundamental Concepts for Organic Reaction Mechanisms Inventory. Journal of Chemical Education, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00242
  • Nedungadi, S. and Brown, C.E. “Thinking like an electron: Concepts pertinent to developing proficiency in organic reaction mechanisms” Chemistry Teacher International, 2021, 3(1), 9-17. https://doi.org/10.1515/cti-2019-0020
  • Brown, C. E., Henry, M. L. M., Hyslop, R. M. (2018). Identifying relevant acid-base topics in the context of a prenursing chemistry course to better align health-related instruction and assessment. Journal of Chemical Education, 95(6), 920-927. https://doiorg.unco.idm.oclc.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00830