Sacramento, July 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) introduced the launch of its AI Science Residency Program, a brand new initiative that locations extremely certified AI consultants immediately inside California state authorities companies. The two inaugural AI Science Advisors have been positioned on the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and the California Department of Technology (CDT) to advise on frontier AI security.
The placements come as California and different states work to control essentially the most superior AI programs responsibly to cut back dangers to public well being or security. By embedding unbiased AI consultants inside Cal OES and CDT, CCST helps state leaders apply rigorous scientific experience to judge rising AI dangers, analyze security incidents, help implementation of recent AI security legal guidelines and enhance frontier AI threat administration. The advisors started their residencies in June 2026.
“We are proud to launch CCST’s AI Science Residency Program with these two world-class placements,” stated Julianne McCall, PhD, CEO of CCST. “California is leading the nation on AI governance, in large part thanks to exceptional talent committed to AI safety and public service – and we’re grateful to the many outstanding candidates who applied. As frontier AI development and governance rapidly evolve, good policy relies on a deep partnership between governance officials and cutting-edge technical expertise. This program connects California agencies with the top-tier AI talent they need to evaluate and advise on emerging risks, helping ensure technology serves the public good.”
The AI Science Residency program focuses on putting frontier AI experience within the government department and is a part of CCST’s Science Residency Program, which brings senior-level scientific and technical consultants into California state authorities. The Science Residency Program attracts on 17 years of expertise working CCST’s flagship Science & Technology Policy Fellowship, which has positioned greater than 200 PhD-level scientists within the legislative and government department. CCST modeled the Science Residency program after the position of Science Advisor to the President through the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
AI Science Advisor to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
Michael Chen
As the AI Science Advisor to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), Michael Chen will advise senior management on frontier AI security and threat evaluation, with a selected emphasis on crucial security incidents, AI and cyber protection, and threat from builders’ inner deployment of AI, similar to sabotage by AI brokers and automatic AI R&D. As Science Advisor, he can even coordinate with AI governance leads throughout California’s state authorities and facilitate cross-sector collaboration with the tutorial analysis neighborhood, the personal sector, and neighborhood and nonprofit organizations.
Michael beforehand labored on evaluations-based AI governance at METR, an unbiased California-based nonprofit evaluator of autonomous AI agent capabilities and dangers. He suggested main AI builders on frameworks for assessing, mitigating, and transparently disclosing catastrophic AI dangers. He additionally assisted with third-party evaluations, together with a evaluate of a developer’s report assessing sabotage threat from AI brokers, and contributed to a catalog of incidents wherein AI brokers acted past their operators’ intent. Michael has engaged with U.S. authorities our bodies on frontier AI analysis, together with the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and carried out analysis at UC Berkeley’s Center for Human-Compatible AI on studying human preferences for language fashions. His analysis and commentary on AI have been lined in retailers similar to Time, The Guardian, and MIT Technology Review. Michael is a part-time PhD pupil on the University of Oxford and an affiliate of the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative.
As AI Science Advisor to Cal OES, Michael reviews to Commander of the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC) Matthew Sage and works intently with the Homeland Security Cyber Policy Team.
“Having a dedicated AI Science Advisor embedded within Cal OES will meaningfully strengthen our capacity to respond to the rapidly evolving frontier AI risk landscape,” stated Commander Matthew Sage. “AI presents both tremendous opportunities and serious risks for emergency management and public safety. Michael’s expertise in evaluating AI systems and managing risks will help us collect, analyze, and respond to evolving AI risks and safety incidents. CCST has been an invaluable partner in facilitating a rigorous recruitment process to meet our needs.”
“AI agents are learning to autonomously execute exponentially more complex projects over time,” stated Michael Chen. “That now includes cyberattacks and will pose risks for critical infrastructure. At Cal OES, I look forward to working with frontier developers in reviewing assessments of risk from their internal use of frontier models. I’m also excited to help California prepare thoughtful, proactive response plans and playbooks for frontier AI risks.”
AI Science Advisor to the California Department of Technology
Justin Norman, PhD
As AI Science Advisor to the California Department of Technology (CDT), Justin Norman, PhD, will advise senior management on how developments in frontier AI growth and governance affect key definitions and thresholds in California frontier AI security laws. He will contribute to suggestions on frontier AI security to the California Legislature and coordinate with a variety of stakeholders, together with authorities companies, the tutorial analysis neighborhood, federal labs, the personal sector, and neighborhood and nonprofit organizations, amongst others.
Justin is an AI/ML engineer who brings 20+ years of utilized technical and government management expertise throughout each the federal government and the personal sector. He beforehand served as performing Portfolio Director and Technical Director for Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning on the Defense Innovation Unit. He was additionally the CTO/Deputy Director of the United States Indo-Pacific Command Joint Mission Accelerator Directorate, appointed as a member of the Department of the Navy’s Science and Technology Board federal advisory committee, and continues to function a Lieutenant Colonel within the United States Marine Corps reserve. In his senior management roles in trade, he led greater than 100 scientists, machine studying engineers, and product managers as CTO and Head of AI at Vera AI, Vice President of Data Science, Analytics and Data Products at Yelp, Director of Research and ML/AI Cloudera Fast Forward Labs, and Global Head of Cisco’s Enterprise Data Science Office, amongst others.
Justin accomplished his PhD at UC Berkeley’s School of Information, the place he served on the Digital Security, Safety, and Trust Search Committee and as Technical Director of the Public Interest Technology Clinic. His analysis focuses on the analysis and robustness of generative AI programs—together with LLMs, VLMs, and generative laptop imaginative and prescient—in addition to deepfake detection and content material authenticity. He additionally holds an MBA from USC Marshall, a BS in Computer Science from the United States Naval Academy, and is a recipient of the Marcus Foster Fellowship and the FASPE Design & Technology Fellowship.
“We’re thrilled to partner with CCST on this new program,” stated Government Operations Secretary Nick Maduros. “We’re looking forward to working with these incredible advisors to help the state navigate emerging issues around artificial intelligence.”
“I am honored to join CDT at this pivotal moment for AI governance,” stated Justin Norman, PhD. “California has the opportunity — and the responsibility — to demonstrate that governments can produce effective technically and socially grounded AI policy that still supports rapid innovation. I look forward to supporting CDT’s leadership in translating the latest science and technical evidence into practical, effective policy that protects Californians and builds public trust in AI.”
The AI Science Residency Program is a part of the CCST AI Policy Initiative. It follows the January 2026 launch of CCST’s Science Residency Program, which positioned an inaugural Science Advisor to the California Natural Resources Secretary. AI Science Advisors are formally employed by CCST and positioned of their respective companies by way of a memorandum of understanding, guaranteeing an unbiased scientific perspective whereas enabling full integration inside company management groups.
For extra details about the AI Science Residency Program, contact Program Manager Henriette Canino, PhD, at [email protected].
About CCST
The California Council on Science and Technology is a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that serves as a trusted supply of professional science and expertise recommendation for California policymakers—powered by a world-class associate community. CCST was established through a unanimous vote of the California Legislature in 1988 to make California’s insurance policies stronger with science and expertise.
About Cal OES
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) serves because the state’s management hub throughout all main emergencies and disasters. This consists of responding, directing, and coordinating state and federal assets and mutual support property throughout all areas to help the various communities throughout the state.
Cal OES additionally helps native jurisdictions and communities by way of planning and preparedness actions and coaching, and facilitating the instant response to an emergency by way of the longer‐time period restoration part. During this course of, Cal OES serves because the state’s general coordinator and agent to safe federal authorities assets by way of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
About CDT
The California Department of Technology serves because the custodian of public information, an innovator in IT providers and options, overseeing coverage growth, facilitating collaboration throughout companies, guaranteeing efficient IT challenge administration, safeguarding data integrity, delivering technological providers, and championing advocacy efforts.
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