Jan S. Hesthaven

Jan S. Hesthaven is a Professor and Provost at EPFL, leading academic affairs. He holds a Master's from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and a PhD in Numerical Analysis, followed by an honorary dr.techn degree from DTU. His research focuses on high-order computational methods for wave problems, reduced order models, and machine learning integration. He has co-authored over 175 papers and 4 monographs. Previously, he served as Dean of the School of Basic Sciences at EPFL and held roles at Brown University, including Director of the Center for Computation and Visualization. Awards include the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship and the Philip J. Bray Award.

Education:

• Master of Science in Computational Physics, DTU (1991)
• PhD in Numerical Analysis, DTU (1995)
• dr.techn in Computational Mathematics, DTU (2009)

Research Interests: Development of high-order numerical methods, computational wave propagation, geophysical flows, and machine learning applications in scientific computing. His work bridges traditional methods with AI-driven approaches for real-time modeling and structural health monitoring.

Recent Work: His 2023–2025 publications emphasize machine learning-enhanced models, reduced order methods, and seismic data analysis for environmental applications. Key techniques include physics-informed neural networks and graph-based operator learning.

Awards:

• Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (2000)
• NSF Career Award (2002)
• Philip J. Bray Award (2004)
• Dr.techn from DTU (2009)

Grants & Leadership: Led the Center for Computation and Visualization (CCV) at Brown (2006–2013) and co-directed the NSF Institute ICERM (2010–2013). Current roles include Provost at EPFL and leadership in MATHICSE. Collaborates with industry and applied scientists on computational challenges.

Labs & Teams: Active in the MATHICSE lab, focusing on numerical methods and high-performance computing. Involved in interdisciplinary projects combining AI with traditional computational science.