As one of the world’s premier geoscientists, Philip E. Brown ’74 has traveled the world researching geologic processes and resources and has impacted scores of budding geologists.
He is celebrated for his more than 37-year tenure at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he received the 2018 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award. Brown continues to be involved with the department as emeritus faculty, mentoring undergraduate students in field settings from Nevada to Ontario, Canada. For 15 years, he also taught and co-directed the Wasatch-Uinta Summer Field Camp, an intensive six-week course in Utah that serves as a capstone course for many students from multiple universities. His effectiveness as a challenging yet supportive educator is reflected in student evaluations.
Several of Brown’s research projects have been funded by the National Science Foundation and have resulted in a long list of publications in peer-reviewed journals. His studies focus on the origins and distribution of economic metallic ore deposits in the Earth’s crust, including some critical elements for a transition away from fossil fuels. Another aspect of his research has been understanding fluid inclusions trapped in imperfections in minerals, which led to his writing a computer program used by scientists worldwide to analyze laboratory data.
For years, Brown has given back to the academic community, serving on multiple committees including the Society of Economic Geologists and the U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship Panel for Geosciences. He has served on the editorial boards for five professional journals and has hosted or organized six international conferences.
Brown majored in geology at Carleton and holds a PhD in geology from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor. Brown lives in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife, Kristine Larson Brown ’74. They are the parents of Jason ’03, Peter, and Karin ’08.