Jack Brouwer

Jacob A. Brouwer (born December 26, 1965) is an American engineer and hydrogen fuel cell researcher.^[1][2][3] He is Chancellor's Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and former director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center from 2018 to 2022.^[4][5] Since 2022, he is director of the UCI Clean Energy Institute.

Brouwer studied mechanical engineering at the University of California, Irvine, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1987 and a master's degree in 1989.^[6] He graduated with a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1993, where he was also a postdoctoral research fellow.

In 1993, he left MIT to join the University of Utah as an assistant professor. He served as a member of the technical staff at Reaction Engineering International, a consulting firm, and as a staff scientist at Sandia National Laboratories.^[7] Brouwer joined UC Irvine in 1997 as the associate director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center.^[8] He became assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in 2011^[9] before being appointed a chancellor's fellow in 2022 with joint appointments in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering as well as Civil and Environmental Engineering.^[10]

His research focuses on high-temperature electrochemistry, hydrogen fuel cells, and electrolyzers.^[11] He also studies renewable energy system dynamics and infrastructure for hydrogen production and storage.^[12][13] His research applications focus primarily on the net-zero emissions systems and energy grid of California,^[14] where his work has informed policy on electric vehicles.^[15][16][17] He is a member of the Center for Hydrogen Safety at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.^[18]