Matthew Donald Burns

Matthew Donald Burns, 42, passed away on September 25, 2025, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Born on February 25, 1983, in Carmel, New York, Matt spent most of his childhood in Abington, Pennsylvania, where his curiosity, adventurous spirit, and drive for excellence began to take root.

At the age of 18, Matt enlisted in the United States Navy with the singular goal to become a Navy SEAL. He completed Navy Electrician’s Mate “A” School and went on to graduate from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) Class 243 in Coronado, California. Assigned to SEAL Team Five, he served with distinction as a Special Warfare Operator First Class (SO1). Matt deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from November 2004 to April 2005 and Operation Enduring Freedom–Philippines from October 2006 to May 2007, making vital contributions to the Global War on Terrorism. He later served with Naval Special Warfare Unit 3 in Bahrain, advancing mission success through technical expertise and steadfast leadership.

After his military service, Matt pursued higher education with the same intensity that defined his time in uniform. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where he also joined the PhD program in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Schwartz Center for Computational Neuroscience, where he contributed to groundbreaking research and numerous scientific publications. His research focused on statistical signal modeling, intelligent systems, and brain computer interfaces work that earned him the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and a Google Research Scholarship. Matt was fluent in Arabic through his studies at the Middlebury Language School and went on to serve as a Data Scientist at Google and Apple.

Matt was a true world traveler and adventurer, a boxer, climber, mountain biker, skydiver, surfer, and oceaneer. His curiosity took him from the mountains of Yosemite and Zion to the islands of Catalina and Tawi-Tawi, from the deserts of Baghdad and Jubail to the streets of Punta del Este and the peaks of Garmisch. He lived fully and without hesitation.

Among his favorite places were Pannikin Coffee & Tea in La Jolla, where he spent countless mornings and the many cities and wild places that fueled his passion for exploration. He found joy in The Colbert Report, Flight of the Conchords, and music by Miike Snow, Ellen Allien & Apparat, Telefon Tel Aviv, The Naked and Famous, The XX, Blackmill, and Phonat.

Matt is survived by his mother, Anne Burns; his sister, Susan Mott, and brother-in-law, Andy Mott; his niece, Annika, and nephew, William Mott; his aunts and uncles Maureen and Michael Bondor, and Joan and Gary Fankhouser; and a wide circle of devoted friends, teammates, and colleagues around the world. He is preceded in death by his father, Donald Burns; grandparents, Philip and Loretta Burns, and Marcell Pearson.

Matt will be remembered as a warrior, scholar, explorer, and loyal friend, a man whose brilliance, humor, and kindness touched all who knew him. His life embodied courage, intention, humility, curiosity, and compassion, leaving behind a legacy that will continue to inspire.

A memorial service will be held at Ciavarelli Funeral Home in Ambler, PA on November 2nd, 2025 at 10 am.

A second service with military honors will be held at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego,CA on November 21st, 2025 at 2:30 pm. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Veterans Village of San Diego in memory of Matthew Burns. 

“The only easy day was yesterday.”