Greengard ’79 Appointed Director of Simons Center for Data Analysis

Leslie Greengard ’79 has been named director of the Simons Center for Data Analysis, after serving as director of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University since 2006. As director, Greengard will build and lead a team of scientists in analyzing large-scale data sets and developing innovative mathematical methods.

Greengard, who graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wesleyan with a BA in mathematics, also holds an MD and PhD in computer science from Yale University. He is a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, and he received acclaim for developing the Fast Multipole Method, a mathematical technique applicable in such fields as chip simulation and systems biology. For this work, Greengard received the Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition from the American Mathematical Society.