James A. Sethian is Professor of Mathematics and the James H. Simons Chair in Mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley. He serves as Head and Senior Scientist of the Mathematics Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Director of the Center for Advanced Mathematics for Energy Research Applications. Sethian received his B.A. from Princeton University in 1976, M.A. from UC Berkeley in 1978, and Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from UC Berkeley in 1982. Following his doctorate, he held NSF Postdoctoral Fellowships at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 1982 to 1984 and at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences from 1984 to 1985. He joined the UC Berkeley faculty as Assistant Professor in 1985, was promoted to Associate Professor in 1988, and to Professor thereafter.

Sethian's research focuses on level set methods and fast marching methods, numerical algorithms for tracking dynamic interfaces and fronts that develop corners, merge, or break apart. These methods apply to fluid mechanics, combustion, semiconductor manufacturing, computer animation, image processing, materials science, geophysics, medical imaging, and energy research. He authored key books, including Level Set Methods: Evolving Interfaces in Geometry, Fluid Mechanics, Computer Vision and Material Sciences (Cambridge University Press, 1996) and Level Set Methods and Fast Marching Methods: Evolving Interfaces in Geometry, Fluid Mechanics, Computer Vision, and Material Science (Cambridge University Press, 1999). Selected publications feature "Curvature and the Evolution of Fronts" (Communications in Mathematical Physics, 1985), "A Fast Marching Level Set Method for Monotonically Advancing Fronts" (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1996), "Fast Marching Methods" (SIAM Review, 1999), and "Evolution, Implementation, and Application of Level Set and Fast Marching Methods for Advancing Fronts" (Journal of Computational Physics, 2001). Sethian is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (elected 2013) and National Academy of Engineering (2008), with awards including the Norbert Wiener Prize (2004), ICIAM Pioneer Prize (2011), Cozzarelli Prize (2012), Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (2012), and SIAM Fellow (2009). He has given plenary lectures at the International Congress of Mathematicians (2002) and other major conferences and edits several journals.

Professional Email: sethian@math.berkeley.edu