Professors Emery Brown and Daniel Hastings named Institute Professors

Professors Emery N. Brown and Daniel E. Hastings SM ’78, PhD ’80, have been awarded MIT's highest faculty honor, Institute Professor.

Professor Emery N. Brown is one of the leading physician-scientists working at the intersection of neuroscience, medicine, engineering, and statistics. He is widely recognized for explaining how general anesthetics alter brain activity to produce unconsciousness and for developing mathematical methods to analyze neural signals.

Some highlights of his career and research include:

• Academic appointments: Professor Brown is an MIT faculty member in Brain and Cognitive Sciences and the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES). He is also the Warren M. Zapol Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and has been a practicing anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
• Research on anesthesia: Rather than viewing anesthesia as simply "turning off" the brain, Professor Brown's research has shown that different anesthetic drugs create distinct, structured patterns of brain activity. His laboratory combines EEG, fMRI, neurophysiology, mathematical modeling, and computational neuroscience to understand how consciousness is lost and regained during anesthesia. These findings have influenced both neuroscience and clinical anesthesiology.
• Statistics and computational neuroscience: Professor Brown developed advanced statistical techniques—including state-space models, Bayesian methods, point-process models, and signal-processing algorithms—for analyzing neural recordings. These methods are widely used in neuroscience research beyond anesthesia.
• Education and training: He earned a B.A. in Applied Mathematics, a Ph.D. in Statistics, and an M.D., all from Harvard University. His unusual combination of medicine, mathematics, and statistics has shaped his interdisciplinary approach to research.
• Honors: Professor Brown is among a small number of scientists elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Medicine. As recently as a decade ago only 30 or so people had the honor of belonging to all three. He has also received the NIH Director's Pioneer Award, the 2022 Gruber Neuroscience Prize, and the 2024 National Medal of Science. In 2026, MIT named him an Institute Professor, the university's highest faculty distinction.
• Teaching and mentorship: Professor Brown teaches courses in neuroscience, neural signal processing, and statistics at MIT, and he has mentored students and researchers from medicine, engineering, mathematics, and neuroscience.

Professor Daniel E. Hastings SM ’78, PhD ’80 is an aerospace engineer, educator, and science policy leader who has had a major impact on MIT's research, education, and institutional leadership. He is known both for his technical contributions to space systems and for his decades of leadership within MIT and the U.S. aerospace community. In 2026, he was named an MIT Institute Professor, the Institute's highest faculty honor.

Some highlights of his career include:

• Research in aerospace engineering: Professor Hastings' research focuses on spacecraft and their interaction with the space environment, space propulsion, space systems architecture, and space policy. His work has helped improve the design and operation of spacecraft, particularly in understanding how charged particles and plasma environments affect satellites.
• Education and background: He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Oxford, followed by an S.M. and Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT. After research positions at Physical Sciences Inc. and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, he joined the MIT faculty in 1985.
• Leadership at MIT: Professor Hastings has held numerous senior leadership roles, including:
• Head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (2019–2023)
• Dean for Undergraduate Education (2006–2013)
• Associate Dean of Engineering for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (2021-2023)
• Director of the Engineering Systems Division
• Director of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART)
• Interim Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate and Graduate Education (2024-2025)
• Interim Institute Community and Equity Officer (2023-2024)
• Throughout these positions, he has been closely involved in undergraduate education, international collaborations, curriculum development, and efforts to strengthen inclusion across MIT.
• National service: From 1997 to 1999, Professor Hastings served as Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force, advising senior Air Force leadership on science and technology strategy, particularly regarding space systems and future investments. He has also served on the National Science Board, NASA Advisory Council, Defense Science Board, and numerous other national advisory committees.
• Professional recognition: Professor Hastings was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his contributions to spacecraft-environment interactions, space systems architecture, and leadership in aerospace research and education. He has also served as president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and has received numerous awards for both technical achievement and educational leadership.

One aspect that distinguishes Professor Hastings is the breadth of his career. While many aerospace researchers focus primarily on technical innovation, he has combined engineering research with science policy, higher education leadership, and national service. His work has influenced not only spacecraft engineering but also how engineers are educated and how governments make decisions about space research and technology investments.

Professor Hastings also has a long association with and is a strong institutional supporter of MITES.

Their appointments were announced on July 20 in an email to the faculty from Sally Kornbluth, MIT’s president; Anantha Chandrakasan, MIT provost; and Roger Levy, chair of the faculty and a professor of brain and cognitive sciences. See the article in MIT News.