About Us

Chris Mentzel is a program officer in the Science Program at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, focused currently on launching the Data-Driven Discovery Initiative, one of the Foundation's newest, which aims to enable scientists to turn the scientific data deluge into opportunities to address some of today's most important research questions. Chris identifies the people, advanced instrumentation and information technologies that help solve important data-rich science questions.   

Prior to his current role at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Chris led the grants administration department and  also worked as senior network engineer for the organization. Before that, he held positions as a systems engineer and integrator at the University of California, Berkeley, and at various internet consulting firms in the San Francisco Bay Area.   

Chris received his bachelor of arts in mathematics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and is currently pursuing a master's in management science and engineering at Stanford University. He is an active member of the broader eScience, Big Data and open science communities, serving on a number of advisory boards and program committees, and occasionally finds time to engage in more direct technology development, teaching/coaching, new venture strategy and non-profit management.