Chris Mattmann

Chris Mattmann is the Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAIO) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), a first-in-UC-system role. Previously, he served at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for 24 years as a Principal Scientist and Division Manager, leading AI and data initiatives. He holds adjunct roles at the Viterbi School of Engineering, USC, directing the Information Retrieval & Data Science (IRDS) group. His academic rank is Adjunct Professor in the Department of Computer Science.

Education: PhD, MS, and BS in Computer Science from USC. He also completed a Public Policy Executive Certificate at Harvard Kennedy School (2023).

Research Interests include Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Quantum Computing, and Open Source Software. He pioneered Apache Tika and contributed to TensorFlow. His work on the Panama Papers via Tika earned a Pulitzer Prize (2017). He led the DARPA MEMEX project to combat human trafficking via Deep Web analysis.

Key Achievements: Over $60M in grants from NASA, DARPA, NSF, and others. Authored 43 peer-reviewed papers, 2 books (including Machine Learning with TensorFlow), and 160+ conference publications. Recognized with LA Business Journal's '40 Thriving in their 40s' (2022) and multiple NASA awards.

Awards include the 2014 Ticke’s Notable Scientists List, JPL Team Awards (2016, 2014), and NASA Group Achievement Awards (2011–2008).

Advising & Grants: Advised hundreds of students and postdocs, including leadership in USC/JPL collaborations. His $60M program advanced AI, informatics, and cybersecurity at JPL. Current UCLA role focuses on strategic AI integration and ethical innovation across campus.

Labs/Teams: Directs the IRDS group, known for contributions to data science, search engines, and open-source tools like Apache Tika.