Hugo Rossi served as deputy director of MSRI for the academic years 1997-99. He also served on the Board of Trustees in the 80's and as its chair for five years in that period.

He received his PhD in 1960 at MIT under the direction of I. M. Singer. His first position was as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of California, Berkeley in 1960, and then spent four years at Princeton University. After 11 years at Brandeis University and two years as the department chair (during which he hired David Eisenbud as Assistant Professor) he moved to the University of Utah in 1974, and has remained since. He served there as chair of the department and as Dean of the College of Science.

His research interests have been in several complex variables, complex geometry and Lie group representations. At present he is running an online Calculus course at the University of Utah, and serves as Vice-President of the American Mathematical Society.