Erkki Somersalo is the John Reynolds Harkness Professor of Applied Mathematics.
His research interests include computational inverse problems as well as mathematical modeling and analysis related to life sciences. Medical imaging applications usually depend on a successful solution of inverse problems, and a significant part of Somersalo's research
is related to medical applications, including X-ray and optical tomography, electrical impedance tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Mathematical modeling of various aspects of the human brain is a recurrent theme in his research.
While having a background in mathematical analysis and physics with significant contributions in theoretical inverse problems and computational electromagnetics, the most impactful part of Somersalo's research is the promotion of Bayesian methods in the field of applied inverse problems. The textbooks Computational and Statistical Inverse Problems (Springer 2004) coauthored with J. Kaipio, Introduction to Bayesian Scientific
Computing (Springer 2007) and Bayesian Scientific Computing (Springer 2023), both coauthored with D. Calvetti from CWRU, continue to be the standard references
in the field.
Erkki Somersalo is a Fellow of Institute of Physics (UK), member of the Academy of Sciences and Letters of Finland, Guggenheim Fellow and a Fellow
of the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics.