Chris Wiggins

Chris Wiggins is an associate professor of applied mathematics at Columbia University in New York City. In 2010 he co-founded hackNY, a nonprofit organization focused on connecting students with startups in New York City. From 2013 to 2026, he was the Chief Data Scientist at The New York Times. Since 2026 he has been the head of machine learning and AI science at CNN.

Career In 2017, Chris Wiggins, along with Matthew L. Jones, introduced a new course to Columbia called "Data: Past, Present, Future". The course syllabus, lectures, labs, and resources are available online. As of May 2026, he is the Adviser to the Dean for AI Strategy at Columbia College.

Notable works "ARACNE: an algorithm for the reconstruction of gene regulatory networks in a mammalian cellular context"

Awards In 2007, he received the Janette and Armen Avanessians Diversity Award at Columbia University.