It ’ s an honor of rare quality for the president to create a position with you specifically in mind .
Yet the first time Patil realized the power of data was as a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland , where he sacrificed hours of sleep to spend late nights poring over printouts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ). The goal was to use weather data to improve forecast models , which was a success . “ We know [ weather ] exceptionally well ,” says Patil . “ The error rate in the three- to five-day forecast has dropped dramatically . Now we have a 14-day forecast with reliability .” Even now , tasked with prognosticating the very future of data itself , Patil still references his work in weather forecasting as scratching the surface of the benefits to be made upon the world . “[ Data ] is there ,” he says , “ to help us make smarter decisions .”
Patil ’ s work with NOAA evidenced the shared interest between universities and government to make greater use of data science . Following the world of weather , Patil applied his skills to the world of war , leading the Threat Anticipation Project for the Department of Defense ( DOD ), an endeavor that sought to utilize data to predict and curb terror threats and attacks . In the wake of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq , the project was a landmark in that the DOD saw an opportunity to utilize emerging sciences and disciplines to better respond to an ever-changing global landscape .
For Patil , it was the beginning of a realization that a new world of data science could shape and revitalize governmental works . But given that the real scene in data was 3,000 miles west , he returned to the private sector and to California , where he has spent most of his life . Yet much as he struggled to find his way through a rebellious youth , Patil struggled to find his place in Silicon Valley . Tech companies weren ’ t yet sure how to utilize him , as his work was well beyond the curve . As Patil told Yahoo ! News earlier this year , the response he received time and again was , “ We don ’ t know what to do with you .”
They ’ d catch on soon enough . From 2006 to 2015 , Patil worked with a who ’ s who of companies and applications that have changed the way our modern lives function — including eBay , Skype , PayPal , and LinkedIn — plying his particular expertise in fashioning features that have , by design , remained inconspicuous while making our online experiences simpler and more user friendly . In the process he was selected by CNN as “ One of Tech ’ s Most Powerful Disruptors ,” named to Forbes ’ list of “ The World ’ s 7 Most Powerful Data Scientists ,” and chosen as a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum in January 2014 .
Not much later , D . C . would come calling again , this time with the job of a lifetime .
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