He received his A.B. in Chemistry from Princeton University in 1985 and his Ph.D. in Oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography in 1990. In 1995, Professor Brown joined the UMD faculty in the Department of Geological Sciences and the Large Lakes Observatory. During 2001-2002 he was a Fulbright Scholar in France. Professor Brown has undertaken fieldwork in over a dozen countries including Mongolia, Zaire, China, Australia, and the United States. After receiving his award on April 30, Professor Brown presented his lecture: "How Fast do Mountains Move? Views of Himalayan Tectonics and Links to Past Climate."