Chris Mattmann

Chris Mattmann (born October 29, 1980) is an American data scientist and artificial intelligence researcher. He serves as the Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the first such position in the University of California system. He co-invented Apache Tika, a widely used open-source content analysis framework that was instrumental in the Panama Papers investigation, which won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. Previously, Mattmann spent 24 years at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where his final roles included Chief Technology and Innovation Officer and Division Manager of the Artificial Intelligence, Analytics and Innovative Development Organization. While at USC, he co-invented Apache Tika with Jérôme Charron, a software framework for content detection and analysis. He later co-authored Tika in Action with Jukka Zitting, published by Manning Publications in 2011.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2001-2024) Mattmann spent 24 years at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, joining in 2001. The software was used by NASA for data management across missions including Orbiting Carbon Observatory and Soil Moisture Active Passive, as well as by the National Cancer Institute for cancer research databases. The project extended tools such as Apache Nutch and Apache Tika to handle dynamic web content and multimedia analysis, with applications including tracking illicit activities such as human trafficking. As of 2026, Mattmann's publications have accumulated over 4,000 citations on Google Scholar. His work on data science was featured in Quanta Magazine in two 2013 articles on interdisciplinary big data collaboration and the future of data analysis.

Apache Software Foundation

Mattmann was an early contributor to Apache Nutch, the open-source web crawler that served as a predecessor to the big data platform Apache Hadoop. In March 2010, he became the first NASA employee to be elected a member of the Apache Software Foundation. The investigation won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. In September 2024, Mattmann contributed to UCLA's agreement with OpenAI to introduce ChatGPT Enterprise on campus, making UCLA the first California university to integrate the technology at institutional scale.

Other roles Since 2008, Mattmann has served as Chief Research Officer at 211 LA County, a nonprofit social services organization, where he applies data science techniques to improve community services and has helped develop the agency's data capabilities.

In 2021, Mattmann was named to the Los Angeles Business Journal "Leaders of Influence: Thriving in Their 40s" list.

Publications and media

Mattmann is the author or co-author of several books and numerous academic papers. His books include Tika in Action (Manning Publications, 2011), co-authored with Jukka Zitting,

In January 2024, he co-authored a guest opinion piece for The New York Times with Jacob N. Shapiro titled "A.I. Is Coming for the Past, Too," addressing the risks of AI-generated deepfakes to historical records.

Mattmann has been interviewed as an expert on AI and cybersecurity by media outlets including CNN, KTLA, and the Daily Bruin.