Remembering ANS member Gil Brown

July 15, 2025, 3:00PMNuclear News

Brown

The nuclear community is mourning the loss of Gilbert Brown, who passed away on July 11 at the age of 77 following a battle with cancer.

Brown, an American Nuclear Society Fellow and an ANS member for nearly 50 years, joined the faculty at Lowell Technological Institute—now the University of Massachusetts–Lowell—in 1973 and remained there for the rest of his career. He eventually became director of the UMass Lowell nuclear engineering program. After his retirement, he remained an emeritus professor at the university.

Sukesh Aghara, chair of the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization, noted in an email to NEDHO members and others that “Gil was a relentless advocate for nuclear energy and a deeply respected member of our professional community. He was also a kind and generous friend—and one of the reasons I ended up at UMass Lowell. He served the university with great dedication. . . . Within NEDHO, Gil was a steady presence and served for many years as our treasurer. His contributions to nuclear engineering education and to this community will be dearly missed.”

Among Brown’s other activities for ANS, he served as a nuclear engineering program evaluator; was a chair of the Education, Training & Workforce Division; and served on the Board of Directors.

Brown was raised in New Hyde Park, N.Y. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from Cornell University in 1969 and master’s and doctorate degrees in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1972 and 1974, respectively.

His research interests spanned areas including the safety and economics of nuclear reactors and the nuclear fuel cycle, advanced reactors, cogeneration energy systems, and the interdisciplinary area of technology and values. He has more than 50 technical publications to his name, and he made numerous presentations on nuclear energy and related topics at seminars, conferences, and other professional gatherings around the world.

Brown was also a Foster Fellow in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. He helped to develop the Summer Institute for the World Nuclear University. He performed safeguards training and technical consulting for the International Atomic Energy Agency. He also served on the National Nuclear Accreditation Board, the Engineering Accreditation Commission, and the Board of Directors of ABET (formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology).

Brown was passionate about the benefits of nuclear energy and the need to protect the environment and mitigate the effects of climate change. He often wrote op-eds on these subjects for newspapers, and his technical achievements include a patent for a carbon dioxide capture system for fossil fuel plants.

Among the numerous awards and honors bestowed upon Brown in recognition of his work are the ANS Training Excellence Award; being added to the Who’s Who in Science and Engineering; and receiving the Professional Engineers Achievement Award, the Outstanding Young Man of America Award, and the Glasstone Award (from the UMass Lowell Student Section of ANS).

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