Brouwer received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1993. He is currently a professor and Chancellor's Fellow and the director of the UC Irvine Clean Energy Institute.
He is a leading global expert on hydrogen energy.

From 1993 to 1997, he served as a research assistant professor at the University of Utah and was a member of the technical staff at Reaction Engineering International. He came to UC Irvine in 1997 as associate director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center (NFCRC).

Brouwer is the Director of the Clean Energy Institute and has joint faculty appointments in the Departments of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering, 1993

His primary research focus since joining UC Irvine has been high-temperature electrochemical dynamics and integrated energy systems research that includes fuel cells, gas turbines, electrolyzers, and solar and wind power. Brouwer is a highly recognized researcher in the area of alternative energy and is making strong contributions to UCI's stature in the field of energy and the environment as well as conducting leading research and teaching contributions to MAE and to the Environment Institute.