Daniel Goroff

Daniel L. Goroff
Goroff at ASSA 2026
Alma mater	Harvard University, University of Cambridge, Princeton University
Known for	Dynamical systems, Science and technology policy
Scientific career
Fields	Mathematics, Economics, Science policy
Institutions	Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Harvard University, Harvey Mudd College
Doctoral advisor	William Thurston

Daniel L. Goroff is an American mathematician and academic administrator. He is currently the Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, where he manages programs centered on economics and the quality of graduate education.¹ He was a technology policy official in the Biden White House.²

Goroff received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Harvard University. He then attended the University of Cambridge as a Churchill Scholar, earning an M.Phil. He completed his Ph.D. in mathematics at Princeton University under the supervision of Fields Medalist William Thurston.³

Goroff spent over twenty years at Harvard University as a Professor of the Practice of Mathematics and Associate Dean of Harvard College. He later served as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Harvey Mudd College.⁴

In the public sector, Goroff has twice worked at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), most recently as Deputy Director for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences.⁵

His research focuses on celestial mechanics and dynamical systems. He is particularly noted for his work on the history of mathematics, including his extensive editing and translation of Henri Poincaré's Les Méthodes Nouvelles de la Mécanique Céleste.