Roger K. Brooks '83, PhD '87 earned a Bachelor's (1983) and a PhD (1987), both in Physics (Course VIII), and joined the MIT Department of Physics faculty in 1991.

Brooks co-founded and led start-ups in the information analytics and mobile data services spaces including the pioneering development of systems for multimedia networking and the delivery of video to cell phones. He holds numerous patents and is also a published author on analytics topics including text mining, behavioral analytics and multi-channel marketing optimization. Brooks spent the first half of his career in academia as a theoretical particle physicist at Stanford University and M.I.T., where his last position was as Associate Professor of Physics. As an international expert in string theory, topological field theories and quantum gravity he applied research mathematics to answering deep questions about the nature of the universe. 

In 2016, Brooks was appointed Chief Scientist at Guavus, a Thales company in California and leading provider of big data analytics applications for operational intelligence. He leads a team of scientists, business analysts, and engineers charged with creating the company's analytics IP and providing analytics services to customers.