In the ISU community, Robert Brown, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies, fills three roles – teacher, researcher and administrator.

Because of these multiple roles, Brown can only teach one class a semester. To teach more classes, he’d have to give up his administration position, which he really enjoys.

Brown enjoys the diversity being an administrator offers, because it gives him a chance to interact with people outside of the mechanical engineering department. “It’s an enriching experience,” Brown said.

When he started at Iowa State, Brown was doing computation studies in combustion, primarily of coal. He quickly realized that the program needed to be expanded to include other resources. After auditing a course offered by the physics department on global climate change, he and a group of researchers from the forestry department began to look at biomass as a combustion source. Biomass is biorenewable resources such as wood, plants and crop residue.

Since then, his research has focused on the use of biomass materials for energy production. Almost 80 percent of his research focuses on biorenewable resources. “Now, that’s what I do for a living,” Brown said.

“Brown is a technical leader in biorenewable energy and resources,” professor and chair of the mechanical engineering program Warren DeVries said.

The future of what the researchers are doing includes using the same renewable resources to produce plastic, and possibly even vitamin B12.

Brown also has a background in chemical engineering.

Gasification, the conversion of solid fuel sources into flammable gases, is his main area of expertise. “Traditionally, mechanical engineering has been involved in power production, and traditionally, chemical engineering has been involved in chemical production,” Brown said.

Gasification is a combination of both. “It helps to have my foot in both those fields,” he said.

As well as his research, Brown is working on a book on biorenewable energy and resources.

The book is scheduled to be finished in August, he said.

This spring, Brown was the recipient of an elite professional honor. He was named a fellow by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, International.

The professional society has about 125,000 members worldwide, DeVries said. Becoming a fellow is the society’s highest rank and only about two percent of all members have this distinction, he said.

ASME looks at “overall contributions to the profession,” DeVries said.

The society “promotes you based on your contributions,” Brown said. They look at research, teaching and general service to the profession.”

ASME is “not a professional register,” like the legal system where all practicing lawyers must be registered with the bar, Brown said. Instead, it is “forum for mechanical engineers” to meet and discuss issues and research important to the profession. Brown has been a member of ASME for 24 years.

He was nominated for the honor last year by Theodore Okiishi, associate dean of engineering administration. The nomination then goes to an ASME committee for evaluation and recommendation.

Though it is considered a high honor, his name is not on a plaque. “It’s on a Web site somewhere,” Brown said.

Brown is a “leader in the profession” as well as “an excellent teacher,” DeVries said.

The award shows not only the quality of Brown’s work, but also the quality of the department, DeVries said.

The mechanical engineering department has about 30 people and of those, four or five others have been named fellows by the ASME, DeVries said. Brown is just “the most recent” honoree.