Nicole Pangborn grew up in Providence and Johnston, Rhode Island, and is glad to be back after many years away. She earned a B.A. in Mathematics from Johns Hopkins, an M.Phil. in Applied Biological Anthropology from the University of Cambridge, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Princeton. Throughout her career, she has moved between academic and applied work, taking on research and analyst roles after each degree. Before joining Brown, she spent four years as a UX Researcher --- first at Yahoo, then at The MathWorks, where she focused on understanding how scientists and researchers use MATLAB, the language of scientific computing. Nicole brings her interdisciplinary and applied background to her current teaching and is proud to help students conduct rigorous research under practical, real-world constraints.
Nicole's academic research explores how urban development shapes ethnic identity. Her ethnographic dissertation focuses on Providence, where decentralized manufacturing, distinctive suburbanization patterns, and compact geography have supported the persistence of Italian-American identity across generations. She examines how this legacy impacts daily life, shapes social networks, and informs responses to contemporary political events. More broadly, her work engages with questions of spatial and demographic shifts, racial and ethnic classification, and the cultural consequences of population movement.
Nicole's applied research uses qualitative and quantitative methods to uncover discrepancies between how software is designed and how it is actually used. As a Senior UX Researcher on the MATLAB graphics team, she observed scientists and engineers visualizing data to identify usability issues and help developers improve charting tools. Her goals in this space are to (1) provide actionable insights to decision makers and (2) better understand how people interact with, shape, and are shaped by technology.
Pangborn, Nicole. "The whole of the bond: the case for ethnographic social network analysis." Etnografia e Ricerca Qualitativa 14, no. 2 (2021):201-210; Available at https://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.3240/101568.
IAPA 1816A: Senior Honors Seminar
URBN 1100: Investigating the City: Hands-On Research Methods for Urban Analysis
URBN 0230: Urban Life in Providence
MPA 2800: Policy in Action