Marsha J. Berger (born 1953) is an American computer scientist. Her areas of research include

numerical analysis Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation (as opposed to symbolic computation, symbolic manipulations) for the problems of mathematical analysis (as distinguished from discrete mathematics). It is the study of ...

computational fluid dynamics Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and data structures to analyze and solve problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate th ...

, and high-performance

parallel computing Parallel computing is a type of computation in which many calculations or processes are carried out simultaneously. Large problems can often be divided into smaller ones, which can then be solved at the same time. There are several different fo ...

. She is a Silver Professor (emeritus) of Computer Science and Mathematics in the

Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (commonly known as Courant or CIMS) is the mathematics research school of New York University (NYU), and is among the most prestigious mathematics schools and mathematical sciences research cente ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. She is Group Leader of Modeling and Simulation in the Center for Computational Mathematics at the Flatiron Institute. Berger was elected to the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

in 2005 for developing adaptive mesh refinement algorithms and software that have advanced engineering applications, especially the analysis of aircraft and spacecraft.

Education

Berger received her B.S. in mathematics from State University of New York at Binghamton-Harpur College in 1974. She went on to receive an M.S. and a Ph.D. in computer science from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1978 and 1982, respectively.

Career and research

Berger's research includes high-performance parallel computing,

, and

. Specifically she develops software and engineering applications for the spacecraft and aircraft industries. Berger worked at

Argonne National Laboratory Argonne National Laboratory is a science and engineering research United States Department of Energy National Labs, national laboratory operated by University of Chicago, UChicago Argonne LLC for the United States Department of Energy. The facil ...

as a scientific programmer after graduating from SUNY. Her specific duties included developing models for the Energy and Environmental Systems Division. During her time at Stanford, she became associated with the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. After graduating with her Ph.D., she began working at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at

, first as a postdoc, then as a faculty member. Berger has served as the deputy director of the Courant Institute and still serves as an educator at NYU. She has been a visiting scientist at RIACS/NASA Ames Research Center from 1991 to present. Berger has pioneered the technique of

adaptive mesh refinement In numerical analysis, adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) is a method of adapting the accuracy of a solution within certain sensitive or turbulent regions of simulation, dynamically and during the time the solution is being calculated. When solutions ...

which is used in the numerical solution of systems of partial differential equations (PDEs). Her work includes high-performance software and algorithmic innovations and has inspired significant work worldwide. Berger is also known for contributions to Cartesian mesh finite difference methods for numerical PDE's.

Awards and recognition

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

Presidential Young Investigator Award The Presidential Young Investigator Award (PYI) was awarded by the National Science Foundation of the United States Federal Government. The program operated from 1984 to 1991, and was replaced by the NSF Young Investigator (NYI) Awards and Presiden ...

, 1988 *

Faculty Award for Women, 1991 * Elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

, 2000. * NASA Software of the Year Award for Cart3D, 2002 * IEEE Sidney Fernbach Award, 2004 * Elected to the

, 2005. * Fellow of Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 2009 * Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2011 *

Norbert Wiener Prize in Applied Mathematics The Norbert Wiener Prize in Applied Mathematics is a $5000 prize awarded, every three years, for an outstanding contribution to "applied mathematics in the highest and broadest sense." It was endowed in 1967 in honor of Norbert Wiener by MIT's m ...

, 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Marsha J. 1953 births Living people American women computer scientists American women mathematicians American computer scientists Harpur College alumni New York University faculty Stanford University alumni Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences faculty Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians 21st-century American women scientists 20th-century American women scientists Silver professors

Education

Career and research

Awards and recognition

See also

References