Brown’s work in plasma physics has focused on fundamental astrophysical processes accessible in laboratory experiments (such as magnetic reconnection, plasma turbulence, and ion energization). Beginning the design stage in 1994, he established the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment (SSX) with the assistance of 16 honors students and $2.5 million in grants from the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and other government organizations.
Brown is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Plasma Sciences Committee, a past member of the executive committee of the APS’s Division of Plasma Physics, and a winner of the Department of Energy Junior Investigator Award.