Ted Brown Guided Founding of Beckman, Now Focuses on Role of Science in Society
Ted Brown
All Ted Brown wanted to do back in
1986 was return to the
life of a professor and
researcher after serving
in an administrative
post at the
University of Illinois.
But he found himself
being pulled toward a
deeper calling: overseeing the founding and
operation of a new center dedicated to an
interdisciplinary approach to research called
the Beckman Institute.
Semi-retired but still active today as an
author and editor, Brown is an advocate for
the important roles he thinks science and
scientists should play in our society. He is
putting the finishing touches on a book on
science's role in and relationship to government,
the law, the public, and many other
aspects of society.
"Scientists as a group, and particularly I'm thinking
about academic scientists and those who work in
research, have got to do more to explain themselves
to society at large and to actually become advocates
for things in the society that they believe in."
- Ted Brown
"Basically what I'm trying to get at is
how does science operate in the larger society?"
Brown said. "How does it influence
what society does? When science pronounces
on something, what causes people to believe
or not believe what science has to say and
what are the other forces that are competing
with it?"
When the book, titled Imperfect Oracle:
The Authority and Moral Authority of
Science in Society, comes out, it's a safe bet
people will want to read what Brown has to
say. He is a Fellow of both the American
Association for the Advancement of Science
and of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences, author of a college chemistry textbook
that is now in its 11th edition and - in
what he says is his greatest accomplishment
- the Founding Director of the Beckman
Institute.
It was Brown who, as Vice Chancellor for
Research at the U of I, circulated a memo in
1983 that floated the idea of a facility that
would break down the traditional barriers
separating scientific disciplines. The notes
from a subsequent meeting about the project
quote Brown as saying: "The proposal
should be interdisciplinary, not confined to a
single department or even a single college."
It was Brown who nurtured the concept
of an interdisciplinary center along, who
helped in the appeal for funds to Arnold and
Mabel Beckman and it was Brown who,
upon returning from summer vacation in
1985, was stunned to hear the Beckmans
had donated the then-record amount of
$40M to build a facility. He served as the
Beckman Institute's interim director during
the planning stages, but intended to return
to teaching and research once a permanent
director could be found.
"I kept getting more and more deeply
involved and finally I got to the point where
I said, you know I've got so much invested in
this and I love this idea so much that I
would like to be a candidate to be the director,"
Brown said. "So I put my name in and
after a while - it took longer than I hoped
- they finally offered the job to me."
Brown remained director until 1993
when Jiri Jonas took over, but he still has
an indirect connection to the Institute as a
member of the Board of Directors of the
Beckman Foundation. Brown said he made
the right decision by switching from fulltime
teacher and researcher to a directorship
because of what he was able to
accomplish as head of the Beckman
Institute.
These days Brown spends most of the
year in Florida and the summer months in
the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In addition
to reviewing edits to the latest edition of
his chemistry textbook, Brown is thinking
and writing about science and society, and
he is passionate about one aspect of that
subject. When he decided to forgo research
on a full-time basis by becoming head of the
Beckman Institute, Brown was making a
commitment to something larger than his
own research interests. And while he doesn't
expect or want other scientists to give up
their research work, he does wish more of
them would broaden their horizons when it
comes to public life.
"Scientists are dedicated people, they
love their work, but there is always a conflict,"
Brown said. "If a scientist could have
his way, the basic scientists, the ones who
are in academe or in these research laboratories,
they often wish the rest of the world
would go away and let them play.
"But that tendency to isolate themselves
from society is actually harmful to science's
relationship with society," Brown added.
"You can't have that privilege anymore, if
you ever did. Science is part of society,
and if science can't explain itself to society
in a way that makes the general public
understand what it is and how it works
and what it does, then scientists can't
expect to get support for what they do or
to get understanding of their
outlook."
Brown said his new book
uses historical and other examples
to show how science has,
over the centuries, had to
establish itself as a voice of
authority in society while competing
with other forces such
as government and religion.
That effort continues today, he
said.
"Look at the struggle that
scientists have had in getting
the government to recognize
that there is such a thing as
climate change occurring,"
Brown said. "So scientific
authority rests upon its expertise,
but if people refuse to recognize
its expertise then that
authority dwindles.