2016
Outstanding Service Award
In recognition of outstanding service to physics, and thereby exemplifying the mission statement of Sigma Pi Sigma, Robert G. W. Brown is hereby awarded the Sigma Pi Sigma Outstanding Service Award.
Dr. Robert G. W. Brown is chief executive officer of the American Institute of Physics, a federation of 10 Member Societies in the physical sciences, which in total serve 120,000 members in the United States and around the world. As a trained physicist and engineer, Brown has made substantial contributions in research, product and business development, teaching, publishing, editorial direction, and administration. He has held various leadership positons in the corporate, non-profit, academic, and government sectors, principally in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Northern Ireland, with additional ventures throughout Europe and Asia. His research interests extend from nanotechnology to photonics, optics, medical physics, fluid dynamics, and beyond. Brown has authored more than 120 articles in peer-reviewed journals and holds 34 patents, several of which have been successfully commercialized. As CEO, he serves as an ex-officio member on the boards of AIP and AIP Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of the institute.
Brown is an elected member of the European Academy of the Sciences and Arts (Academia Europaea) and a special professor at the University of Nottingham in the UK. He also retains an adjunct full professorship at The University of California, Irvine in the Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic and is visiting professor in the Department of Computer Science, also at UC Irvine. Brown was recently elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society, AIP’s largest Member Society.