 From 1981 to 1988 he was the head of MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences.At MIT he established a school of quantitative geological rock formation; this school is associated with results such as Byerlee's Law and Brace-Goetze Strength Profiles.In his retirement, among other activities, Brace undertook the study of grasses and sedges, particularly in Concord, Massachusetts.