Dr. David Eisenbud became Director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley in the summer of 1997, and at the same time joined the faculty of UC Berkeley as Professor of Mathematics. He received his PhD 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.