Phillip A. Griffiths

Former Director of the Institute for Advanced Study (1991–2003), Griffiths is an American mathematician known for his work in the field of geometry, and in particular for the complex manifold approach to algebraic geometry. He has been a major developer of the theory of variation of Hodge structure in Hodge theory and moduli theory.

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, he received his B.S. from Wake Forest College in 1959 and his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1962, working under Donald Spencer. Griffiths held positions at Berkeley (1962–1967), Princeton (1967–1972), Harvard University (1972–1983), Duke University (1983–1991), and the Institute for Advanced Study (1991–2003), where he served as Director until 2003.

He has published on algebraic geometry, differential geometry, geometric function theory, and the geometry of partial differential equations. In 2008, Griffiths was awarded the Wolf Prize (jointly with Deligne and Mumford). He is co-author, with Joe Harris, of "Principles of Algebraic Geometry," a well-regarded textbook on complex algebraic geometry.

Griffiths has served as the Chair of the Science Initiative Group, where he provided scientific guidance, oversight, and coordination for the Millennium Science Initiative (MSI), a program whose objective is to build capacity in modern science and engineering in developing countries as a vehicle for economic and social progress. He has served as a special advisor to the Mellon Foundation, and has been a Distinguished Presidential Fellow for International Affairs at The National Academies.

In Turing's Cathedral by George Dyson, it is noted that Griffiths allowed the author, as Director's Visitor at the Institute for Advanced Study, to access historical files of the Electronic Computer Project.