Lori Brown

Professor

Area of Instruction: Flight Science, Management and Operations and Technical Operations

Bio:

Lori Brown is a Professor and Researcher who joined the College of Aviation, in 2001. She is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and earned her Master of Aviation Human Factors from Swinburne University of Technology’s International Scholars Program in Australia.

Her aviation career began in 1988 with Continental Airlines, and she holds an Airline Transport Pilot certificate, JAA MCC, multiple instructor certifications, and type ratings. She has trained pilots internationally as a Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) Instructor for the International Pilot Training Program (IPTC), working with British Airways, UAE, Delta, and KLM cadets in both the classroom and the 737-400 simulator. Additionally, she has instructed pilots from U.S. government agencies and major corporations through FlightSafety International.

Professor Brown is the former Chair of the ICAO Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP) outreach group and currently serves as a council member for the International Pilot Training Association (IPTA). She also contributes as an aviation curriculum evaluator for the American Council on Education (ACE), reviewing training for the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard to bridge military education with higher education pathways.

Her dedication to teaching has earned her the WMU EUP Innovative Teaching Award, recognition as WMU’s nominee for Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year, and multiple research grants. She is currently a researcher with the FAA PEGASAS Center of Excellence, supporting the FAA’s efforts to modernize technical training. Her work has been featured internationally at ICAO, the Royal Aeronautical Society, and numerous academic conferences, as well as published in books and journals worldwide.

Through her pioneering work with Microsoft HoloLens, mixed reality, and now artificial Intelligence for aviation education, Western Michigan University became the first aviation program in the nation to integrate augmented reality into the classroom. Her teaching and research focus on Advanced Aircraft Systems, Airline Flight Operations, Airframe Systems, Aircraft Powerplants, Commercial Pilot training, and Aviation Meteorology.