May 19, 2025
Each investigator, recognized for curiosity-driven research in chemistry or physics, will receive up to $2 million over five years.
The Brown Institute for Basic Sciences at Caltech today announced the 2025 class of Brown Investigators. The cohort, the second to be selected through the Brown Institute for Basic Sciences, comprises eight distinguished mid-career faculty working on fundamental challenges in the physical sciences, particularly those with potential long-term practical applications in chemistry and physics. Each investigator will receive up to $2 million over five years.
The Brown Institute for Basic Sciences at Caltech, established in 2023 through a $400-million gift to the Institute from entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Caltech alumnus Ross M. Brown, seeks to advance fundamental science discoveries with the potential to seed breakthroughs that benefit society.
“Mid-career faculty are at a time in their careers when they are poised and prepared to make profound contributions to their fields,” Brown said. “My continuing hope is that the resources provided by the Brown Investigator Awards will allow them to pursue riskier innovative ideas that extend beyond their existing research efforts and align with new or developing passions, especially during this time of funding uncertainty.”
Associate Professor of Chemistry Mark Levin, who researches the discovery, development, and mechanistic study of innovative chemical reactions, will use the award to translate lessons learned from skeletal editing of aromatic compounds (stable chemicals with a flat ring structure) to reactions with aliphatic compounds (three-dimensional, more reactive chemicals). The goal of this research is to provide access to unusual compounds that are inaccessible using traditional chemical synthesis.
“The Brown Investigator Award is one-of-a-kind, offering unparalleled freedom and flexibility to go after my next big ideas,” said Levin. “Such latitude is typical—and was indeed my experience—of starting a new lab. It’s an honor and a privilege to have a chance to take on that kind of ‘big swing’ attitude again, thanks to the vote of confidence from the Brown Institute for Basic Sciences.”
Brown established the Investigator Awards in 2020 through the Brown Science Foundation in support of the belief that “scientific discovery is a driving force in the improvement of the human condition,” according to its news release from the Science Philanthropy Alliance, which helped guide Brown in realizing his philanthropic vision.
A total of 21 investigators were recognized in the first four years of the program, including Professor of Physics William Irvine, one of the inaugural recipients of the Brown Investigator Award. Eight scholars were named in the 2024 class, the first cohort to be installed under the auspices of the Brown Institute for Basic Sciences at Caltech.
To determine the new cohort, a select number of research universities from across the country were invited to nominate faculty members who had earned tenure within the last 10 years and who are doing innovative fundamental research in the physical sciences. Nominees were then evaluated by an independent scientific review board that recommended grant winners.
Brown Investigators from all cohorts are invited to an annual meeting that offers opportunities to share ideas. The second annual meeting was held at Caltech in February 2025.
Adapted from an article originally published by Caltech.