Image
Portrait of Alex Brown
Award Year
2022
Graduation Year
2013
Department
Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics
Nominating Department
Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics
Biography

Radiochemist, Argonne National Laboratory

Alex Brown received a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Ohio State University, then went on to achieve both a master of science and a Ph.D. in radiochemistry from Oregon State University.

Brown currently works as a radiochemist at Argonne National Laboratory and an adjunct professor of physics at the Illinois Institute of Technology. His research encompasses the science and technologies of nuclear chemistry, including nuclear power, nuclear waste, nuclear medicine, and nuclear forensics.

Brown believes that civilian nuclear technologies — both controversial and essential — advance our qualities of life and life expectancies. The challenges concerning nuclear waste derived from commercial nuclear power production are major hurdles for the industry. He adds that without a long-term, sustainable solution to our spent nuclear fuel, nuclear power is fixed under a “glass ceiling” in the domestic power grid and will maintain its contribution of less than 20% for the near future.

His studies helped develop new chemical processes that can address the waste challenges that the nuclear industry faces today, and enabled him to bridge gaps into high-caliber national laboratories, where he was able to solidify his role as a nuclear chemist. After his graduate studies, Brown used the skills he acquired at Oregon State to pivot into the fight against heart disease and cancer – both commonly diagnosed and treated using some of the same radioactive elements found in nuclear waste. Since 2013, he has been working with domestic industrial partners to boost the supply of instrumental medical isotopes.

Brown feels that the future of nuclear medicine is open-ended and untapped. Nuclear medicine needs more research and development, more scientists and engineers, more resources, and more industrial partners. The project Brown is proudest of involves nuclear medicine and medical isotopes, specifically the molybdenum-99 program. Brown’s team has been supporting domestic industrial partners with R&D to integrate more medical isotopes into industry and the economy. He finds it rewarding to see their work applied in the real world.

“Oregon State University provides the right expertise and resources to make any student capable of bettering the world and tackling today’s – and tomorrow’s – global challenges.”

Degrees

  • M.S. Radiation Health Physics, 2010
  • Ph.D. Radiochemistry, 2013