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]
Charles D. Brown II | |
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| Alma mater | University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Yale University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Theoretical physics, many body physics, ultracold atoms, optical lattices, quantum fluid dynamics |
| Institutions | University of California, Berkeley |
| Thesis | Optical, Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Superfluid Liquid Helium Drops Magnetically-Levitated in Vacuum (2019) |
| Doctoral advisor | Jack Harris |
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]