Chris Brink, CBE, FRSSAf (born 31 January 1951) is a South African

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and academic. He was the

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick unive ...

between 2007 and December 2016.

Career

After graduating with a degree in maths and computer science from

Rand Afrikaans University The Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) was a prominent South African institution of higher education and research that served the greater Johannesburg area and surroundings from 1967 to 2004. It has since merged with the Technikon Witwatersrand ...

, Brink undertook post-graduate study at

Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...

and the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He became professor and head of mathematics and applied mathematics at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

in 1995, pro-vice-chancellor (research) at the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment ...

in 1999 and rector and vice-chancellor of

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

in 2002 before being appointed vice-chancellor of

in 2007. In the 1980s Chris Brink was a senior research fellow at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. In 1994 he joined with

Gunther Schmidt Gunther Schmidt (born 1939, Rüdersdorf) is a German mathematician who works also in informatics. Life Schmidt began studying Mathematics in 1957 at Göttingen University. His academic teachers were in particular Kurt Reidemeister, Wilhelm K ...

to organize at

Dagstuhl Dagstuhl is a computer science research center in Germany, located in and named after a district of the town of Wadern, Merzig-Wadern, Saarland. Location Following the model of the mathematical center at Oberwolfach, the center is installed i ...

the initial RAMiCS conference on relation algebra. In 1996 The Foundation for Research Development in South Africa rated Chris Brink in category A. He is a fellow of the

Royal Society of South Africa The Royal Society of South Africa is a learned society composed of eminent South African scientists and academics. The society was granted its royal charter by King Edward VII in 1908, nearly a century after Capetonians first began to conceive of ...

, a former President of the South African Mathematical Society, a Founder Member of the

Academy of Science of South Africa The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) is the national science academy in South Africa. It was started in 1996, and encompasses all fields of scientific work. Its legal foundation is the ''Academy of Science of South Africa Act'', Act 67 ...

and a former chair of the Advisory Board of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences. He chaired the Student Policy Network (part of

Universities UK Universities UK (UUK) is an advocacy organisation for universities in the United Kingdom. It began life in the early 20th century through informal meetings of vice-chancellors of a number of universities and principals of university colleges and ...

) and the N8 Research Partnership, a group of eight research-intensive universities in the North of England. Nationally he has served on the Board of the Equality Challenge Unit (including two years as a Co-Chair), the Board of the

Quality Assurance Agency The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is the independent body that checks on standards and quality in UK higher education. It conducts quality assessment reviews, develops reference points and guidance for providers, and condu ...

(and its Advisory Committee on Degree-Awarding Powers), and the Advisory Committee on Leadership, Governance and Management of the

Higher Education Funding Council for England The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the distribution of funding for higher education to universities and further education colleges in Engl ...

. In November 2015, it was announced that Brink would be retiring in December 2016. He was succeeded by Professor Chris Day, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle, in January 2017. Since 2017 Brink has served on the

University Grants Committee (Hong Kong) University Grants Committee of Hong Kong is a non-statutory advisory committee responsible for counselling the Government of Hong Kong on the financing and expansion needs of its subsidised higher education institutions. Appointed by the C ...

, where he convened the 2020 Research Assessment Exercise Group and currently convenes the Research Group. His book The Soul of a University – Why excellence is not enough was published by Bristol University Press in July 2018. It deals with the role of universities in society, and elaborates on the two key questions he became known for while at Newcastle University: ‘What are we good at?’, and ‘What are we good for?’ He was appointed a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2018. In 2021 Brink published an edited volume The Responsive University and the Crisis in South Africa, with Brill/Sense Publishers. The book argues that beyond the now-standard practice of universities’ engagement with society, the more pressing question is how they actually respond to societal challenges. Half the contributing authors are from South Africa and the other half from around the world.

Work in mathematics

Chris Brink developed the study of Boolean modules over relation algebras. He focused on formal aspects of computer science with emphasis on program semantics and Popper's concept of verisimilitude and on the universal-algebraic concept of power structures.

References

External links

Official website of the Rector, Stellenbosch University

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brink, Chris South African mathematicians Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent Academic staff of the University of Cape Town Living people 1951 births Place of birth missing (living people) University of Wollongong faculty Vice-Chancellors of Newcastle University Rhodes University alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge South African emigrants to the United Kingdom Academic staff of Stellenbosch University Australian National University faculty Fellows of the Royal Society of South Africa South African Commanders of the Order of the British Empire