The Harry and Carol Mosher Award is presented by the Santa Clara Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) to recognize and encourage outstanding work in chemistry, advance chemistry as a profession, and recognize service to ACS. The award was established in 1980 and is named for Harry Mosher of Stanford and his wife who were charter members of the Santa Clara section.

Brown was the Beckman Institute's Founding Director, serving as its first director until his retirement in 1993. He has also won many awards honors over the years, including being honored as a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. A chemistry professor and researcher at the University of Illinois for more than three decades, Brown is the author of several books, including a best-selling chemistry textbook that recently saw its 11th edition printed.

The American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, is a non-profit scientific and educational organization dedicated to the advancement of chemistry in the public interest.