The White House’s first chief data scientist is no stranger to Washington

DJ Patil, who was named the nation’s first chief data scientist l, shares credit for coining the term “data science.” He is the latest Silicon Valley transplant to join the Obama administration, working under former Google executive Megan Smith, the White House’s chief technology officer.

At the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Patil shares a work space with former Twitter executive Alex Macgillivray, a skateboard, and a giant Pokemon stuffed toy. He occasionally rides the skateboard to work, and he calls the executive mansion a place filled with “awesomeness.” He says he misses California weather and his favorite Indian restaurants. But Patil is no stranger to Washington. After graduating from high school in Cupertino, he went on to obtain a doctorate in applied mathematics from the University of Maryland at College Park. He also had a brief stint at the Pentagon in 2004, analyzing social networks to study emerging threats. Since then, Patil has worked at LinkedIn, Skype, PayPal and eBay.