Dr. Charles Allen Brau, a distinguished physicist, educator, and researcher, passed away on June 7, 2026, surrounded by family. He devoted his life to family, education, and expanding the frontiers of physics and its application.
Brau was born November 4, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York, to Ellen Naekel Brau and Charles Frederick Brau. He wanted to become a physicist at age six and was the first in his family to graduate from college.
Brau earned his bachelor of science in engineering physics from Cornell University (1961), followed by a master of science in engineering (1962) and a Ph.D. in applied physics (1965) from Harvard University.
His storied career, marked by intellectual curiosity, rigor, and leadership, included appointments at the Avco Everett Research Laboratory, Everett, Massachusetts; Kamerlingh-Onnes Laboratory, Leiden, the Netherlands; Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico; Quantum Institute, UC Santa Barbara, California; and the Department of Nuclear Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, England.
In 1988 he became a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Vanderbilt University, where he was a theorist, experimentalist, educator, mentor, and the first director of the Free Electron Laser Center (1988-1995).
Brau was renowned for his groundbreaking research in molecular physics, spectroscopy, and—especially—laser physics, some of which led to breakthroughs in medical surgery. He coauthored six patents, 118 scientific publications, and five books, including a popular-science book coauthored with his wife, Dr. Virginia Shepherd. He received the William Streifer Award for Scientific Achievement from the IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society in 1995, and the Free Electron Laser Prize at the 18th International Conference on Free Electron Lasers in Rome in 1996. He was a member of three professional scientific societies. Following his retirement in 2016, he was named emeritus professor of physics at Vanderbilt.
“Charlie was, first of all, a skilled institutional diplomat, deftly negotiating relationships with the university and with government funding agencies, the free-electron laser research community, and private foundations to make good things happen for on-campus research,” said Richard Haglund, professor of physics at Vanderbilt University and longtime colleague of Brau’s. “Second, he was a model teacher-scholar. Like Chaucer’s Clerk, ‘gladly did he learn and gladly teach’—graduate students and undergraduates, physics and things related to physics. He was also a scholar, publishing not only in the specialized journals of his craft but also reviews for non-specialists and textbooks both for scientists and those more broadly curious about science as an intellectual community.”
Brau and his wife Virginia were actively engaged in supporting STEM education. They endowed the Shepherd-Brau Director position at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College Center for Science Education and Outreach and launched and managed Vanderbilt’s Kids and Computers program from 1999-2008.
Outside of work, Brau relished spending time with family, travel, and community activism. He also enjoyed his time in nature sailing, skiing, fishing, stargazing, cycling, and camping. He loved morning hikes at Radnor Lake State Park, Tennessee, and his exquisite bird photography from there won him many fans. He contributed to the book Walk with Us by Radnor Lake, which features his photographs alongside poems by Mimi Pantelides.
Virginia and Brau ran the Wilde Bunch Salon, a gathering of Nashville community members dedicated to learning more about local and global issues.
“If there is a place in the world of physics that combines scientific rigor with wonder, excellence with kindness, and respect for traditions with progressive values, Charlie epitomized it,” said Keivan Stassun, Stevenson Chair in Physics and professor of astronomy. “He was one of the very first colleagues to welcome me to the Department of Physics & Astronomy—even before I had accepted Vanderbilt’s offer—and he remained a valued mentor and exemplar to me and others long after his retirement. If imitation is the ultimate form of flattery, perhaps emulation is the ultimate form of tribute; we can all be better scientists, and better people, by emulating Charlie’s life of example.”
Brau is survived by his wife of 31 years, Dr. Virginia Shepherd, and her children: Virginia (Scot) Elizabeth Duncan, Jennifer (Dave) Anne Ufnar, Rebecca (Kris) Lynn Petersen, and Kurt Garrett (Sarah) LeForest Shepherd, plus nine grandchildren. He is also survived by three children from his first wife: Peter (Kristy) Stewart Brau, Rebecca (J.D.) Brau Miles, and Jennifer (Bill) Brau Bennett, and their seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Brau meant many things to many people, but above all, he brought a unique combination of joy, love, determination, and exuberance to everything he touched. He will be deeply missed. A celebration of his life is being planned for later this year. Donations in his honor may be made to Friends of Radnor Lake.