Donald Geman
Also known as Donald Jay Geman
Donald Geman is an applied mathematician who helped organize a 2013 graduate school on computer vision. Born in Chicago in 1943, he completed a Ph.D. in mathematics at Northwestern University in 1970. With his brother Stuart, he helped propose the Gibbs sampler and gave the first proof of convergence for simulated annealing. He spent 1970 to 2001 at UMass Amherst, then joined Johns Hopkins, and the National Academy of Sciences elected him in 2015. As of October 2026, he is a professor at Johns Hopkins University and a visiting professor at École Normale Supérieure de Cachan.
- Works
- 205
- Citations
- 31,662
- h-index
- 43
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.
Timeline
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1943–1970
A Northwestern mathematics doctorate
He is born in Chicago in 1943 and earns a bachelor's degree in English literature in 1965. He completes a Ph.D. in mathematics at Northwestern University in 1970 under Michael Barry Marcus.
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1970–2001
A post at UMass Amherst
He joins the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1970 and stays there until 2001.
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1984
The Gibbs sampler
He and his brother Stuart propose the Gibbs sampler, which they describe in 1984. They also give the first proof of convergence for simulated annealing.
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2001
A move to Johns Hopkins
He retires from UMass Amherst as a distinguished professor in 2001 and then joins the Department of Applied Mathematics at Johns Hopkins University.
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2013
A computer vision summer school
He organizes and speaks at the 2013 Graduate Summer School on Computer Vision.
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2015
National Academy of Sciences membership
The National Academy of Sciences elects him as a member in 2015, among 84 new members.
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As of October 2026
A professorship at Johns Hopkins
He is a professor at Johns Hopkins University and a visiting professor at École Normale Supérieure de Cachan.
Sources and credits
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