Charles Allen Brau

Dr. Charles Allen Brau, a distinguished physicist, educator, and researcher, passed away on June 7th, 2026 surrounded by family. He devoted his life to family, education, and expanding the frontiers of physics and its application.

Charlie was born November 4th, 1938 in Brooklyn, NY to Ellen Naekel Brau and Charlie Frederick Brau. He wanted to become a physicist at age six, and was the first in his family to graduate college.

Dr. 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, MA; Kamerlingh-Onnes Laboratory, Leiden, The Netherlands; Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM; Quantum Institute, UC Santa Barbara, CA; 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, Nashville, TN, where he was a theorist, experimentalist, educator, mentor, and the first director of the Free Electron Laser Center (1988-1995).

Dr. 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 and 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 (1999-2008) Vanderbilt’s Kids and Computers program.

Outside of work, Charlie 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, TN, and his exquisite bird photography from there won him many fans.

Virginia and Charlie ran the Wilde Bunch Salon, a gathering of Nashville community members dedicated to learning more about local and global issues.

He 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.

Charlie 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 life is being planned for later this year. Donations in his honor may be made to Friends of Radnor Lake (https://radnorlake.org/).