Eugenia Brin, a Russian immigrant and retired NASA scientist who, with her family of accomplished Terps, became a significant benefactor of the University of Maryland, died on December 3, 2024. She was 76 years old.
Eugenia and her husband, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Michael Brin, supported projects that reflected their personal journeys and professional passions, donating nearly $57 million to UMD’s programs in mathematics, computer science and science climate, Russian studies and performing arts and the Campus Pantry. .
“The generosity of Eugenia Brin and her husband, Michael, has extended to every corner of our campus, from scholarships to program funding to research support,” said Dr. UMD President Darryll J. Pines. “She was a beloved member of a famous family of Terps, and we mourn her passing.”
The couple, parents of Google co-founder Sergey Brin ’93 and Samuel Brin ’09,’s considerable impact on campus has extended to the creation of 11 new chairs and endowed professorships, from the Mathematics Research Center Brin and the Maya Brin Institute for New Performance, university residency and fellowship programs, and even a summer math camp for high school students.
“Eugenia and Michael Brin’s philanthropy has created unprecedented opportunities for Maryland mathematics and computer science faculty and students,” said Amitabh Varshneydean of College of Computer Science, Mathematics and Natural Sciences (CMNS). “The establishment of the Brin Mathematics Research Center and numerous named chairs and professorships have undoubtedly enhanced the reputation of the University of Maryland, where Eugenia will forever be remembered and cherished.”
Stephanie Shonekandean of College of Arts and Humanitiessaid the Brins’ donations have had a tremendous impact on the arts and humanities at Maryland and particularly the School of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies through their support of the Maya Brin Institute for New Performance .
“We are grateful for their vision and philanthropy that has enabled us to advance creative performance arts technologies and attract exceptional faculty and students. Our sincere condolences to the whole family,” she said.
Eugenia was born on August 19, 1948 in Moscow. Although she faced discrimination as a Jewish woman in the Soviet Union, she enrolled in the School of Mechanics and Mathematics at Moscow State University. After graduating, she began working in a research laboratory at the prestigious industrial school, the Soviet Institute of Oil and Gas.
In 1978, Michael applied for an exit visa for his family. At the time, this was often legally – and sometimes physically – dangerous for Jews in the Soviet Union. Eugenia was forced to resign from her position.
“I lied to all my co-workers that I was just leaving my job because I found another one,” Brin said. Moment review. “I made up – totally made up – the name of a place where I intended to work. »
The following year, the Brins’ exit visa was granted and Eugenia, Michael, her mother Maya, and a young Sergey immigrated to Maryland. Eugenia embarked on a career as a research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, working on issues related to climate and weather prediction, while Michael became a professor of mathematics at UMD. (Maya, a former English professor, also taught Russian at UMD for nearly a decade.)
In 1998, Eugenia was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 50. She and Sergey share a mutation in their LRRK2 gene, the largest genetic contributor to Parkinson’s disease discovered to date. Eugenia joined the Patient Council of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and became a leading advocate for research into the disease. In 2008, the Brin family established the Eugenia Brin Chair in Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Eugenia also served on the board of directors of the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society, where she was national chair of myStory, a project dedicated to documenting Jewish immigration to America.
The Brin family has made donations to UMD since 2005, beginning with an endowed chair in the Department of Mathematics, where Michael worked for 31 years. They then endowed seven additional chairs and professorships at CMNS, including the Professor Eugenia Brin which supports data assimilation research aimed at improving weather forecasts and climate studies.
They also created the Michael Brin Prize in Dynamic Systems, the Brin Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and the Michael Brin Scholarship Program for Graduate Studentsall in mathematics, and the Brin Family Aerial Robotics Laboratory located in the Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering which provides a flight test area for drones.
At the College of Arts and Humanities, the couple created the Maya Brin is endowed with a dance chair and the Maya Brin, distinguished speaker in Russian and created the Maya Brin Residency Program at the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures to welcome leading cultural figures to campus for short stays.
In 2021, they gave $9 million to the university’s School of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies to create the Maya Brin Institute for New Performancein honor of his love of the performing arts. He added courses, expanded research, and funded new teaching positions, undergraduate scholarships, classroom and studio renovations, and instructional technology.
A separate gift of $4.75 million that year established the Brin Mathematics Research Centerexpanding and highlighting UMD’s research excellence in mathematics and statistics nationally and internationally. The center attracts hundreds of mathematicians to the university each year for workshops, summer schools and distinguished conferences.
The couple endowed the mathematics center in March with a $27.2 million gift that also created two new mathematics chairs and launched the Brin Maryland Math Camp. This is the fourth largest individual gift to the university and the largest ever made to the Department of Mathematics.
“The Department of Mathematics is eternally indebted to Eugenia and Michael Brin for their generosity and continued support,” said the UMD chair and professor of mathematics. Doron Lévy. “We will always cherish Eugenia’s friendship, her inspiring personality and the incredible life she led.”
Brin, who lived in Los Altos Hills, Calif., is survived by her husband of 53 years, Michael, sons Sergey ’93 and Samuel ’09, and four grandchildren.