Dr. Richard K. Brow, a Curators’ Distinguished Professor of materials science and engineering at Missouri S&T, has been elected to the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) 2024 class of Fellows.  
 
“This announcement really was a surprise, and I am very grateful to those colleagues who supported my nomination to the NAI,” says Brow, who is also executive director of operations for S&T’s Kummer Institute for Student Success, Research and Economic Development. 
 
“My students and I have had the opportunity to work on some complex challenges involving glasses and related materials, and we have been fortunate to apply those lessons learned to solve a variety of engineering problems. I think this is a common theme among NAI Fellows, and it means a lot to me to be elected to join their ranks.” 
 
NAI Fellows are elected annually by a selections committee. The committee noted that Brow’s achievements as an inventor “have made a significant impact on innovation, economic development, and society’s welfare.” 
 
For his work related to specialty glass products, Brow has been awarded 21 U.S. and international patents, and he has published over 250 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals. 
 
Some of his glass-related research and inventions have focused on biomedical applications, optoelectronic devices, 3D processing and waste encapsulation. 
 
Brow has been a member of the Missouri S&T faculty since 1998. Throughout his tenure at S&T, he has served as a department chair and has been director of the Center for Biomedical Research, interim vice provost and dean of the College of Engineering and Computing, and interim deputy provost for academic excellence. 
 
Before joining S&T, Brow was a senior member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 
 
Brow is a Fellow and past president of the American Ceramic Society and a Fellow of the Society of Glass Technology. He is a member of the World Academy of Ceramics and was the presiding officer of the 25^th International Congress on Glass in 2019. 
 
He earned a Ph.D. in ceramic science from The Pennsylvania State University, a master’s degree in glass science and a bachelor’s degree in ceramic engineering, both from Alfred University in New York. 
 
For more information about S&T’s materials science and engineering programs, visit mse.mst.edu. 

About Missouri S&T

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.