[3] Born in Berlin, Bathe had his high school education in Oldenburg i. O. in the Federal Republic of Germany.

[4] His thesis was on numerical solution of large eigenvalue problems, where he developed the subspace iteration method.

During his time as a post-doctoral fellow (1972–1974) at UC Berkeley, Bathe et al. developed the finite element programs SAP IV and NONSAP,[5] which have been used by thousands of individuals and organizations in research and practice and had a major impact in advancing the finite element method.

In 1986, he founded ADINA R&D, Inc.[6] On April 7, 2022, Bentley Systems acquired ADINA R&D, Inc.[7] Bathe has made fundamental contributions in the finite element analysis of structures, heat transfer, field problems, CFD, and fluid-structure interactions.

[17] The goal of this Program is to produce graduates coming from any faculty of the University of Cape Town, South Africa with outstanding leadership qualities and a strong sense of social justice, who will go on to play leading and significant roles in business, government, industry and civil society in South Africa and on the African continent.