PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Jeffrey Michael Heer

Also known as Jeffrey Heer, Jeff Heer

As of October 2026, Jeffrey Heer is a professor of computer science at the University of Washington, where he co-directs the Interactive Data Lab. The ACM named him a Fellow in 2024 for contributions to information visualization, human-centered data science, and interactive machine learning. He joined Stanford's computer science faculty in 2009 after earning degrees at UC Berkeley. Alteryx acquired Trifacta in 2022, the company he co-founded. He co-founded Ridge AI, which emerged from stealth in April 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2009

    Named to the TR35 list

    MIT Technology Review names him to its TR35 list in 2009, for Protovis, the open-source visualization software his project created.

  2. 2009–2013

    Joining the Stanford faculty

    At Stanford, he joins the computer science faculty in 2009, after degrees from UC Berkeley.

  3. 2012

    A Sloan Fellowship

    He receives a Sloan Fellowship in 2012.

  4. 2016

    The Grace Murray Hopper Award

    In 2016, he receives the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award.

  5. 2022

    Trifacta acquired by Alteryx

    Alteryx acquires Trifacta in 2022, the company he co-founded.

  6. 2024

    Named an ACM Fellow

    In 2024, the ACM names him a Fellow for contributions to information visualization, human-centered data science, and interactive machine learning.

  7. April 2026

    Co-founding Ridge AI

    Ridge AI emerges from stealth in April 2026, and Jeff Heer is its co-founder and chief scientist.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor at the University of Washington

    He is the Jerre D. Noe Endowed Professor of Computer Science at the University of Washington, where he co-directs the Interactive Data Lab.

Sources and credits

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  1. Jeffrey Heer | Bio homes.cs.washington.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Jeffrey Heer | MIT Technology Review technologyreview.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Jeffrey Heer, Professor - Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering cs.washington.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Allen School professors Brian Curless and Jeffrey Heer named ACM Fellows for helping transform how we use computing technologies news.cs.washington.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Jeffrey Heer - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Ridge AI - AI Startup Profile | AI Market Watch ai-market-watch.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. Ridge AI Raises $2.6M on Open Source Browser Analytics - Open Source For You opensourceforu.com. Checked 14 October 2026.