Michael Brenner

Dr. Michael P. Brenner serves as the Michael F. Cronin Professor of Applied Mathematics and Applied Physics at Harvard University, where he has made groundbreaking contributions across multiple scientific disciplines since 2001. After earning his BS in physics and mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania and PhD under Leo Kadanoff at the University of Chicago, he began his career at MIT before joining Harvard. His research spans an extraordinary range of scientific challenges, from fluid mechanics and materials science to biological systems and atmospheric chemistry. He is particularly known for his work on droplet dynamics, sonoluminescence, and self-assembly of materials. As an educator, he co-created Harvard's popular "Science and Cooking" course, which innovatively teaches scientific principles through culinary applications. His scientific excellence has earned him numerous prestigious honors, including election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Harvard Ledlie Prize, and selection as a Simons Investigator in Physics. Currently, he leads research initiatives combining traditional applied mathematics with machine learning to accelerate scientific discovery, while maintaining his commitment to understanding fundamental questions in physics and engineering, from the aerodynamics of whale flippers to the behavior of fungal spores.