White House appoints DJ Patil as the first US Chief Data Scientist

New Delhi: The White House has formally appointed Dr DJ Patil as the first US Chief Data Scientist, Megan Smith- the US Chief Technology Officer- announced through the White House blog.

He will hold the position of Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Data Policy and Chief Data Scientist in the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House.

Patil holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of California and a PhD in applied mathematics from the University of Maryland. He has also authored a number of influential articles and books explaining the current and potential applications of data science.

As the first US chief data scientist, Patil will help shape policies and practices to help the US remain a leader in technology and innovation. He will also work on the Administration's Precision Medicine Initiative, which focuses on utilizing advances in data and health care to provide clinicians with new tools, knowledge, and therapies to select which treatments will work best for which patients, while protecting patient privacy.

Smith further explained Patil's role that will allow him to work closely with colleagues across government,including the Chief Information Officer and US Digital Service. His work will include data science leadership on the Administration's momentum on open data and data science.

Patil has had an incredible career as a data scientist in the public and private sectors, and in academia. Prior to joining the White House, he served as the Vice President of Product at RelateIQ, and has previously held positions at companies including LinkedIn, Greylock Partners, Skype, PayPal, and eBay.

He has also worked at the Department of Defense, where he directed new efforts to bridge computational and social sciences in fields like social network analysis to help anticipate emerging threats to the United States.

As a doctoral student and faculty member at the University of Maryland, Patil used open datasets published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)to make major improvements in numerical weather forecasting.

Patil's engagement with the White House is said to help the US government better serve its public in the increasingly digital world.