Nicholas (Nick) Brown is Assistant Professor of Egyptology in the Classics and Religious Studies Department at the University of Iowa. An archaeologist and Egyptologist, he has conducted fieldwork in Egypt and Sudan since 2011. He earned his MA in Egyptology from the American University in Cairo in 2016 and his PhD in Egyptology from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2024.

Nick's research explores the archaeology and religion of ancient Egypt, with particular emphasis on royal funerary rituals, burial practices, and kingship during the New Kingdom (ca. 1550–1070 BCE). His work integrates archaeological, textual, and art historical evidence to investigate how royal tombs functioned within broader ritual landscapes, especially in the Valley of the Kings. His additional research interests include settlement archaeology and urbanism, as well as the reception and use of ancient Egypt in the modern world.

His field experience spans archaeological sites throughout Egypt and Sudan, including Elephantine Island, Wadi el-Hudi, Luxor, Amarna, Deir el-Ballas, and sites in northern Sudan. Since 2024, Nick has served as Director of the Deir el-Ballas Expedition, overseeing archaeological investigations of the ancient royal palace and military settlement. Building on the work initiated with former co-director Peter Lacovara, the project investigates urbanism, administration, and daily life during the transitional period of the Second Intermediate Period into the New Kingdom. He also directs an ongoing research project in the Valley of the Kings to reexamine and republish the tomb of Thutmose IV (KV43).

Nick's current book project, based on his doctoral research, examines the development of royal funerary ritual in the Valley of the Kings. He is also co-editing a volume on the archaeology of Deir el-Ballas that combines the unpublished records of the site's original 1900 excavations with the findings of the modern expedition. At the University of Iowa, he teaches courses on ancient Egyptian history, archaeology, and religion while continuing active fieldwork and collaborative research in Egypt. He welcomes graduate students interested in Egyptian archaeology, ancient religion, funerary archaeology, settlement archaeology, archaeological field methods, and the history of archaeological exploration