NASA has appointed Kevin Murphy as its Acting Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO) and Acting Chief Data Officer (CDO), according to a post he shared on LinkedIn. He succeeds David Salvagnini, who previously held both roles and was the agency’s first-ever CAIO.

A veteran of more than 17 years at NASA, Murphy most recently served as the agency’s Chief Science Data Officer. In that role, he led the development of data, computing, and analytics capabilities supporting scientific and engineering innovation across the agency, working closely with the Science Mission Directorate’s five science divisions to advance cloud computing, machine learning, and data platforms.

Murphy also oversees NASA’s High-End Computing Capability (HECC) portfolio, which provides supercomputing and data services to support large-scale modeling, simulation, and analysis across science, engineering, and exploration missions. Earlier in his career, he managed data systems for NASA’s Earth-observing satellite programs and led initiatives including the Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition Program.

He holds a master’s degree in Geography and has completed doctoral coursework at the University of Maryland. Murphy’s leadership has been recognized with several honors, including the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal and the Charles S. Falkenberg Award.