Justin Jacobs

About Justin Jacobs

I am a Ph.D. statistician specializing in spatio-temporal statistics, Bayesian hierarchical modeling, streaming analytics, ranking theory, manifold learning, and machine learning—particularly in applications involving geolocation, data science, and sports analytics (especially basketball). I currently serve as the Group Leader of the Spatial Statistics Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In this role, I lead research and development efforts in high-stakes environments involving mobility analytics, energy resilience, urban infrastructure, remote sensing, and national security. My work leverages cutting-edge statistical methodology, probabilistic modeling, and scalable computation to support decision-making under uncertainty for a variety of mission partners.Prior to joining ORNL, I spent over eight years at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, CA, where I served as a Principal Member of Technical Staff. At Sandia, I led and contributed to research in Counter-Adversarial Machine Learning, Trajectory Analytics, Large Language Models for Cybersecurity, Computer Vision, Reliability, Uncertainty Quantification in ML, SQL system development, and real-time streaming data analysis.During my time at Sandia, I also worked in the front offices of multiple NBA teams. In 2018, I took a leave to serve in the front office of the Orlando Magic, where I was solely responsible for the 2018 Draft and Free Agency models, led spatio-analytic opponent scouting for Head Coach Frank Vogel, and directed all research in dynamic modeling of player performance. I later supported the Houston Rockets as a remote researcher under Monte McNair, contributing to fatigue analysis and NCAA player modeling.Before Sandia, I served as an Applied Research Mathematician for the Department of Defense, focusing on geolocation, navigation systems, streaming analytics, and large-scale ML applications in domains including biology and image analysis. During this time, I was fortunate to receive several national honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from President Obama in 2012, the ODNI Scientific Achievement Award from Director James Clapper in 2013, and a CAREER Award from White House Science Advisor John Holdren in 2014.My career began in academia as a faculty member at Coppin State University in Baltimore, where I taught undergraduate and graduate statistics.I’m always happy to connect with students and professionals interested in careers in data science, statistics, defense, national labs, or sports analytics.

Experience

1. Group Lead

   Oak Ridge National Laboratory

   Oct 2024 — Present · Oak Ridge, TN, US

   Group Lead for the spatial statistics team, with core specialities on Bayesian modeling, spatio-temporal modeling, and AI/ML-integrated data science for Human Dynamics and Geospatial Sciences. Our team supports the largest spatio-temporal portfolio across the National Labs.

Skills

• Cloud Computing
• Statistical Data Analysis
• Data Mining
• Geolocation
• Navigation Systems
• Research
• Spatio-Temporal Statistics
• Geostatistics
• Statistics
• Algorithms
• Statistical Modeling
• Scalability
• Mathematical Modeling
• Applied Mathematics
• Bayesian Statistics
• Latex
• Scientific Computing
• Econometrics
• Data Analysis
• Matlab
• Analysis
• Python
• Analytics
• Nba