DURHAM, N.C. (Diya TV) — Duke University lowered its flag on April 4 to pay tribute to Sayan Mukherjee, a long-standing faculty member in Statistical Science, Mathematics, and Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, who passed away suddenly on March 31. He was 54 years old.
Mukherjee, born in India and trained in the United States, spent nearly two decades at Duke before moving to Germany in 2022 to serve as the Alexander von Humboldt Professor for Artificial Intelligence. He held the prestigious role jointly between Leipzig University and the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences.
Even after shifting, Mukherjee remained closely connected with Duke. Colleagues used to call him a talented scientist and a fond mentor. “Sayan was an outstanding scientist who loved science, our human condition, and individual people,” stated Jonathan Mattingly, professor of Mathematics. “He had numerous collaborators and, most importantly, friends at Duke. He will be sorely missed.”
Mukherjee came to Duke in 2004 after finishing his Ph.D. at MIT and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Broad Institute. He is recognized for his research in computational genomics and statistical modeling and was instrumental in creating Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), a technique used extensively in cancer research. Recently, he used topological data analysis for medical imaging.
“He was a comet — brilliant with ideas, full of energy,” recalled Laszlo Szekelyhidi of the Max Planck Institute. Others recalled his generosity, humor, and anecdote-laden discussions.
Leipzig University and ScaDS.AI Dresden/Leipzig characterized Mukherjee as a pioneering mind in AI. “He leaves a gigantic emptiness,” reflected Rector Eva Ines Obergfell. A memorial service will be conducted on April 19 at 10:30 a.m. at Duke University.
