Dr. David Eisenbud is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of California at Berkeley, a position he has held since 1997. He is also the Vice President for Mathematics and the Physical Sciences at the Simons Foundation. Previously, he served as Director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley from 1997-2007. He received his Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970 at the University of Chicago, and was on the faculty at Brandeis University before coming to Berkeley. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard, Bonn and Paris.

In addition to his work in Berkeley, Eisenbud was President of the American Mathematical Society in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, he was elected a fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has been a member of the Board of Mathematical Sciences and their Applications of the National Research Council, and a member of the US National Committee of the International Mathematical Union.