Patrick Shafto
Program Manager
Information Innovation Office
Dr. Patrick Shafto joined DARPA in September 2023 to develop, execute, and transition programs in artificial intelligence (AI), mathematics, machine learning, and human-machine symbiosis.
Shafto is a professor of mathematics and computer science at Rutgers University, and for the two years before joining DARPA, he was a member of the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Shafto’s research focuses on the mathematical foundations of learning agents, bridging mathematics, machine learning, AI, and cognitive science. He co-founded and served as chief scientist for Redpoll, a startup focused on human-centered AI, from 2019-2023.
Shafto received his doctorate, master’s, and bachelor’s degrees from Northeastern University and was a postdoc at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award and held the Henry Rutgers term chair in data science. He is a member of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Cognitive Science Society. His work has been published in more than 100 papers related to mathematical, computational, and empirical perspectives on learning.