PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Matthew Turk

Also known as Matthew A Turk

Matthew Turk is a computer vision researcher whose work with Alex Pentland helped create a near-real-time face-recognition system based on eigenfaces. He earned degrees at Virginia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, and MIT, then worked in aerospace, Grenoble, Teleos Research, and Microsoft Research before joining UCSB, where he chaired Media Arts and Technology and co-directed the Four Eyes Lab. He co-founded a startup spun out of NSF-funded research in his lab in 2014, and the company was acquired in 2016. The IAPR elected him a Fellow in 2014, and the ACM named him a Fellow in 2020. He served as TTIC president from 2019 to 2025 and, as of October 2026, is principal of Santa Barbara Technology Consulting and professor emeritus at UCSB.

Now at
University of California, Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara Technology Consulting
Works
137

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026. Citations and h-index are hidden because this OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mix in other authors.

Photo of Matthew Turk

Timeline

  1. 1982–1991

    Making a face-recognition system

    He earns a B.S. in electrical engineering at Virginia Tech in 1982, an M.S. in electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon in 1984, and a Ph.D. in Media Arts and Sciences at MIT in 1991. With Alex Pentland, he describes a near-real-time face-recognition system using eigenfaces.

  2. 1984–2014

    From aerospace to a shared lab

    His early roles include Martin Marietta Denver Aerospace (1984–1987), LIFIA in Grenoble (1992), and Teleos Research (1993–1994), followed by Microsoft Research. He joined the UCSB faculty in 2000, chaired the Media Arts and Technology graduate program from 2005 to 2010, and co-directed the Four Eyes Lab.

  3. 2014

    A pattern-recognition fellowship

    The IAPR elected him a Fellow for contributions to computer vision and vision-based interaction.

  4. 2014–2016

    A startup from lab research

    In 2014, he co-founded a startup spun out of NSF-funded research in his lab; it was acquired in 2016.

  5. 2019–2025

    Six years at TTIC

    He served as president of the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago from 2019 until the end of August 2025, completing six years in the role.

  6. 2020

    An ACM Fellowship

    He became an ACM Fellow in 2020.

  7. As of October 2026

    Consulting and emeritus work

    He is principal of Santa Barbara Technology Consulting and a professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Sources and credits

Photo: sites.cs.ucsb.edu; Matthew Turk; creator not stated. License: Not stated by source. Source: sites.cs.ucsb.edu. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. Matthew Turk | UCSB Computer Science cs.ucsb.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Face Recognition Using Eigenfaces | ML Anthology mlanthology.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Matthew Turk vismod.media.mit.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Artificial Intelligence, Real Vision news.ucsb.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Overview ‹ Matthew Turk — MIT Media Lab media.mit.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Matthew Turk sites.cs.ucsb.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. Chronological List of IAPR Fellows – International Association for Pattern Recognition iapr.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. TTIC News ttic.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  9. TTIC Faculty Highlight: Matthew Turk ttic.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  10. Professor Emeriti Matthew Turk Named ACM Fellow cs.ucsb.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.