Robert A. Brown

Dr. Robert A. Brown is president emeritus of Boston University, a professor of engineering, and a professor in the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences. Professor Brown is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, and served as executive editor of Chemical Engineering Science from 1991 to 2004. He also chairs the National Research Foundation’s Fellowship Evaluation Panel for the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Singapore, after serving as the Founding Chairman of Singapore’s Academic Research Council from 2002-2024.

As a researcher, his main interests are in mathematical modeling of transport phenomena, and he has published more than 250 papers on various topics. In 2008, Professor Brown was honored as one of the top 100 Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. In 2014, the National Academy of Engineering awarded him the Simon Ramo Founders Award for his contributions to engineering and his leadership in transforming disciplines in institutions. That same year, he was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Prior to his appointment as president of Boston University, Professor Brown was provost and Warren K. Lewis Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

As president of Boston University from 2005 until 2023, Professor Brown elevated the institution’s position as a leading private research university. He implemented its first strategic plan, which focused on strengthening the quality of undergraduate and graduate programs, attracting world-class faculty members, and facilitating their research and scholarship, culminating in an invitation to join the Association of American Universities in 2012. His other significant academic initiatives include the Kilachand Honors College, the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, the Rajen Kilachand Fund for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering, and the creation of the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, housed in the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences.

Professor Brown has also written extensively on the challenges facing research universities and on effective strategies to lead them. His forthcoming book Fighting Fires and Building Flywheels: How We Sustain America's Research Universities will be published by The MIT Press in September.

Professor Brown earned his BS and MS in chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and his PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Minnesota.

Writings

Brown, R.A. (2026). Fighting Fires and Building Flywheels: How We Sustain America's Research Universities. MIT Press, September 2026. mitpress.mit.edu/9780262054812/fighting-fires-and-building-flywheels

Brown, R.A. (2026). The Potential for an Innovation Winter: Estimating Impact of Federal Research Reductions on Faculty Activity. arXiv:2603.06629

Bruce Guile, Marjory Blumenthal, Robert Brown, Peter Hoffman, Eion Lys, Mark Pierpoint, Albert Pisano, Thomas Schuelke, David Teece (2026). “A Survival Guide For the STEM Research and Education Enterprise at US Universities.” Berkeley Policy Institute.

Brown, R.A. (2025). “Will the American research university make it to its 100th birthday?" elsevier.com/connect/will-the-american-research-university-make-it-to-its-100th-birthday

Brown, R.A. (2025). “Don't Rank Research Universities--Compare Them.” Issues in Science and Technology, 41 (2) Winter 2025, 31-34. Brown-Dont-Rank-Research-Universities—Compare-Them-Winter-2025

Brown, R.A. (2024). “The Case for a More Strategic Financial Management System.” Inside Higher Education, January 11, 2024. insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2024/01/11/financial-management-system-guided-strategy-opinion

Brown, R.A. (2023). “My Reflections after 18 Years as BU President.” Letter to the Boston University community. bu.edu/articles/2023/pov-my-reflections-after-18-years-as-bu-president/

Brown, R.A. (2021). “A Simple Model for Control of COVID-19 Infections on an Urban Campus.” Proc. National Academy of Sciences, 118, No. 36.