American physicist and adovcate
Charles D. Brown II is an American physicist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley , studying many-body physics of ultracold atoms in optical lattices . Brown is also a lead organiser of #BlackInPhysics week, a campaign to recognise and amplify the scientific contributions of Black physicists.[ 1] [ 2]
Early life and education
Brown studied physics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities , receiving a Bachelor of Science in 2013.[ 3] During his undergraduate studies, he carried out a 10-week research placement at the University of Chicago supported by the National Science Foundation .[ 4]
He obtained a PhD in physics from the Yale University in 2019, focusing on quantum fluid dynamics .[ 5] [ 6] His thesis investigated the optomechanical properties of superfluid liquid helium drops.[ 7] [ 8] Specifically, he studied the interaction between optical modes and surface vibrations of magnetically levitated superfluid drops.[ 9] [ 10] Brown received the Leigh Paige Award (2013) and the D. Allan Bromley Fellowship for Graduate Research in Physics (2017) from Yale . He was also awarded a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship in 2018.[ 11] [ 12]
During his graduate studies, Brown was a student representative on the Board of the National Society of Black Physicists .[ 13] He also co-founded the Yale League of Black Scientists.[ 14]
Research career
In 2019, Brown joined the Department of Physics at University of California, Berkeley , where he studies ultracold atoms trapped in two-dimensional optical lattices .[ 15] [ 16] His research focuses on many-body physics phenomena of atoms in optical lattices with kagome geometries.[ 17] [ 18]
Brown joined the Department of Physics at Yale University as an assistant professor in January 2023.[ 19]
Advocacy
Brown was one of the organisers of the first #BlackInPhysics Week, held between 25 and 31 October 2020 alongside Jessica Esquivel and Eileen Gonzales .[ 20] [ 21] The campaign was inspired by the success of Black Birders Week ,[ 22] and set out to increase the visibility and recognition of Black physicists and their contributions to physics, as well as providing a community of collaboration and support for Black physicists worldwide.[ 23] The initiative gained widespread media coverage and support from organisations such as Nature Physics ,[ 24] Physics World ,[ 25] Physics Today ,[ 26] the American Institute of Physics .[ 27]
Brown received the 2021–2022 Chancellor's Award for Civic Engagement from the University of California, Berkeley.[ 28]
Brown is also a member of the National Society of Black Physicists .[ 29]
References
^ "WE ARE BLACK IN PHYSICS" . Black In Physics . 2020-10-07. Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ "#BlackInPhysics week set to celebrate Black physicists" . Physics World . 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ "Commentary: Disentangling anti-Blackness from physics" . Physics Today . 2020 (3): 0720a. 2020. Bibcode :2020PhT..2020c.720. . doi :10.1063/PT.6.3.20200720a . S2CID 241776229 .
^ "The physics community needs to include, listen to and hire Black scientists" . The Berkeley Blog . 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ "Charles Brown | Department of Physics" . physics.yale.edu . Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ Shkarin, A. B.; Kashkanova, A. D.; Brown, C. D.; Garcia, S.; Ott, K.; Reichel, J.; Harris, J. G. E. (2019-04-15). "Quantum Optomechanics in a Liquid" . Physical Review Letters . 122 (15): 153601. arXiv :1709.02794 . Bibcode :2019PhRvL.122o3601S . doi :10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.153601 . PMID 31050504 . S2CID 119411745 .
^ Misenti, Victoria (2019-09-19). "Charles Brown defends graduate thesis: "Optical, Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Superfluid Liquid Helium Drops Magnetically-Levitated in Vacuum" " . Wright Laboratory . Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ Childress, L.; Schmidt, M. P.; Kashkanova, A. D.; Brown, C. D.; Harris, G. I.; Aiello, A.; Marquardt, F.; Harris, J. G. E. (2017-12-29). "Cavity optomechanics in a levitated helium drop" . Physical Review A . 96 (6): 063842. arXiv :1708.01803 . Bibcode :2017PhRvA..96f3842C . doi :10.1103/PhysRevA.96.063842 . S2CID 51828135 .
^ Brown II, Charles Darly (2019). Optical, Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Superfluid Liquid Helium Drops Magnetically-Levitated in Vacuum (PDF) . Yale University.
^ Kashkanova, A. D.; Shkarin, A. B.; Brown, C. D.; Flowers-Jacobs, N. E.; Childress, L.; Hoch, S. W.; Hohmann, L.; Ott, K.; Reichel, J.; Harris, J. G. E. (January 2017). "Superfluid Brillouin optomechanics" . Nature Physics . 13 (1): 74–79. arXiv :1602.05640 . Bibcode :2017NatPh..13...74K . doi :10.1038/nphys3900 . ISSN 1745-2481 . S2CID 10880961 .
^ "Press Release Roster: Ford Foundation Fellowships Scholar Award List 2018" . nrc58.nas.edu . Archived from the original on 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ Misenti, Victoria (2019-05-28). "Graduate Student Charles Brown has won a 2018 Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship" . Wright Laboratory . Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ "Charles Brown (Graduate Student) is Student Representative for the National Society of Black Physicists | Department of Physics" . physics.yale.edu . Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ "Tonima Ananna (Graduate Student) and Charles Brown (Graduate Student) have been named co-recipients of the 2017 D. Allan Bromley Graduate Fellowship in Physics | Department of Physics" . physics.yale.edu . Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ "Part of the revolution: Black representation in AI and quantum information" . Physics World . 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ "Charles Brown" . UC Berkeley Ultracold Atomic Physics . Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ Stevens, Chester (2020-10-26). "Charles D. Brown II '19 Ph.D. on research and outreach" . University News HQ . Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ Leung, Tsz-Him; Schwarz, Malte N.; Chang, Shao-Wen; Brown, Charles D.; Unnikrishnan, Govind; Stamper-Kurn, Dan (2020-09-21). "Interaction-Enhanced Group Velocity of Bosons in the Flat Band of an Optical Kagome Lattice" . Physical Review Letters . 125 (13): 133001. arXiv :2007.05928 . Bibcode :2020PhRvL.125m3001L . doi :10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.133001 . PMID 33034463 . S2CID 220496237 .
^ "Charles D. Brown II" . Yale University . Retrieved 2022-03-05 .
^ Hershberger, Scott. "#BlackInPhysics week to build community, increase visibility" . Symmetry Magazine . Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ "Meet the organizers of #BlackInPhysics Week" . Physics Today . 2020 (4): 1026b. 2020-10-26. Bibcode :2020PhT..2020R1026. . doi :10.1063/pt.6.4.20201026b . ISSN 1945-0699 . S2CID 243455670 .
^ Lang, Katie (2020-12-21). " 'A time of reckoning.' How scientists confronted anti-Black racism and built community in 2020" . Science | AAAS . Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ "Celebrating Black physicists" . Physics World . 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ Brown, Charles D.; Gonzales, Eileen (January 2021). "Excellence and power in the Black physics community" . Nature Physics . 17 (1): 3–4. Bibcode :2021NatPh..17....3B . doi :10.1038/s41567-020-01140-9 . ISSN 1745-2481 . S2CID 230508779 .
^ "#BlackInPhysics" . Physics World . Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ "Part of the revolution: Black representation in AI and quantum information" . Physics Today . 2020 (4): 1030b. 2020. Bibcode :2020PhT..2020R1030. . doi :10.1063/PT.6.4.20201030b . S2CID 243026490 .
^ "AIP Showcases #BlackinPhysics Week with Essays, Oral Histories, Social Media Outreach" . www.newswise.com . Retrieved 2021-02-26 .
^ "Charles Brown II Receives Chancellor's Award for Civic Engagement" . May 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-03 .
^ "Innovate Seminar Series: Charles Brown" . National Society of Black Physicists . Retrieved 2021-02-26 .