Dr. Jill Crisman was the Principal Director for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (Modernization) within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)). Dr. Crisman is responsible for developing the Department-wide AI roadmap and unifying and coordinating the Department's plans and investments to achieve a competitive advantage in AI. She will be emphasizing the engineering required to transform AI research into operational AI in collaboration with the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) and the Services.

Dr. Crisman joined OUSD(R&E) after serving as the chief scientist at the JAIC where, as part of the leadership team, she helped to stand up the organization. Previously, she was the chief scientist at Next Century Corporation and a Program Manager at the U.S. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA). Dr. Crisman’s primary interest is in the field of machine perception, planning, and interfaces that significantly enhance human/machine collaboration.

Dr. Crisman holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, where her thesis created some of the first perception algorithms for self-driving cars. Dr. Crisman was an Associate Professor and director of the Robotics and Computer Vision Systems at Northeastern University and a founding faculty member of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering.