Metrics & More Article Recommendations Energy & Fuels established the annual recognition of Pioneers in Energy Research (PIERs) in 2021 to honor highly influential scientists who have made significant contributions in their respective fields of energy research. 1−3 Professor Robert Brown at Iowa State University (U.S.A.) has been selected as the 2024 PIER in the field of biomass, bioenergy, and biorefinery for his outstanding contribution to the area of developing biomass thermochemical technologies. 4 We are honored to have the opportunity to celebrate his outstanding contributions in this special issue. Professor Brown received his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University in 1980. He is an Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering and Gary and Donna Hoover Chair in Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State University (ISU). He holds the rank of professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering with courtesy appointments in the Departments of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, and Food Science and Human Nutrition. Professor Brown is the founding director and currently co-director of the Bioeconomy Institute (BEI), which coordinates ISU's research, educational, and outreach activities related to biobased products and bioenergy. He also helped launch ISU's Biorenewable Resources and Technology (BRT) graduate program, the first such degree-granting program in the United States. He has received over $150 million in research contracts and grants during his academic career, including $16.5 million for a ConocoPhillips Biofuels program and $22 million for a National Science Foundation (NSF) EPSCoR Track 1 RII Project in Renewable Energy. Professor Brown is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Professor Robert Brown received the Don Klass Award for Excellence in Thermochemical Conversion Science in 2015 and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Andrew Chase Division Award in 2020. He has developed 26 patented inventions, one of which received a R&D 100 Award from Research and Development Magazine in 1997. Dr. Brown was recognized by Biofuels Digest as one of the "Top 100 People" in bioenergy for 6 consecutive years. He has published over 300 refereed papers and book chapters. He wrote Biorenewable Resources: Engineering New Products f rom Agriculture, now in its second edition, which is the most widely used textbook in biorenewables over the past decade. His book "Why Are We Producing Biof uels" received the Book of the Year Award from Biofuels Digest in 2012. He edited Thermochemical Processing of Biomass, the second edition released in April 2019, and co-edited Fast Pyrolysis of Biomass: Advances in Science and Technology, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2017.Professor Robert Brown is widely recognized as a thought leader in processing of biomass and plastic wastes into energy, fuels, and chemicals. Prof. Brown brought a cuttingedge contributio...
