Rate My Professor Carl Brown

Carl Brown is Professor of Physics and Head of the Department of Physics and Mathematics in the School of Science and Technology at Nottingham Trent University. He leads experimental research in liquid crystal flow phenomena, wetting and de-wetting dynamics, dielectrophoresis, microfluidics, liquid-solid interactions, evaporation processes, and complex fluids. As a member of the Soft Matter Physics Research Group, his contributions advance understanding in soft matter physics and interfacial science, with applications in optical devices and fluid manipulation.

Brown joined Nottingham Trent University in 2003 as Senior Lecturer, progressing to Reader in Physics (2006-2009) and Professor of Physics (2009-present). He has held key leadership positions, including Acting Associate Dean for Research in the School of Science and Technology (2020), Head of the University-wide Doctoral School (2017-2019), Chair of the Materials Strategic Research Theme Steering Group (2014-2017), and Engineering Research Unit Coordinator for REF2014 (2012-2017). Previously, he served as Departmental Lecturer in Optoelectronics at the University of Oxford (1999-2002) and as Senior Scientific Officer (1996-1998) and Higher Scientific Officer (1993-1996) at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. Brown has supervised eleven PhD researchers, achieving ten completions, and secured £3.1 million in grants as Principal or Co-Investigator from EPSRC, EU, UK Ministry of Defence, and industry. He has authored over 75 peer-reviewed papers, including 'Not spreading in reverse: the dewetting of a liquid film into a single drop' (Science Advances, 2016), 'Voltage-programmable liquid optical interface' (Nature Photonics, 2009), 'Dielectrowetting Driven Spreading of Droplets' (Physical Review Letters, 2011), 'Frequency-controlled dielectrophoresis-driven wetting of nematic liquid crystals' (Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2022), and 'Flow manipulation of a nematic liquid crystal in a Hele-Shaw cell with an electrically controlled viscous obstruction' (Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2024). In 2007, he won the Ben Sturgeon Award.