David Brown

David Brown is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Washington State University (WSU), affiliated with the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS). He holds a PhD in Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (2002), an MS in Biometry from the same university, an MS in Geography from Penn State, and a BS/BA in Electrical Engineering and Rhetoric from the University of Illinois.

His research focuses on spatial variability of soil properties, precision agriculture, and proximal soil sensing technologies such as VisNIR spectroscopy and LIBS. Current projects include Site-Specific Climate-Friendly Farming (a USDA-NIFA-funded project) and precision orchard management. He teaches undergraduate courses on global agricultural systems and a graduate-level Environmental Spatial Statistics course.

Recent research highlights include geospatial analysis of apple orchard microclimates, machine learning for climate data imputation, and soil moisture sensor network development. His work emphasizes integrating remote sensing, spatial statistics, and field instrumentation to improve agricultural sustainability and resource management.

Dr. Brown collaborates with industry partners like Meter Group, Inc., and leads interdisciplinary teams addressing climate adaptation in agroecosystems. His contributions span soil-landscape modeling, crop residue estimation, and soil carbon dynamics analysis across diverse climatic regions.