Obama names members of technology council

President Barack Obama has named the scientists and engineers who will serve on his President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). The group, which includes prominent information technology professionals, will advise the administration on policy related to science, technology and innovation, according to a statement administration officials released today.

The group’s co-chairmen will be John Holdren, director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy; Eric Lander, director of the Broad Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University; and Harold Varmus, former director of the National Institutes of Health.

“This council represents leaders from many scientific disciplines who will bring a diversity of experience and views,” Obama said. “I will charge PCAST with advising me about national strategies to nurture and sustain a culture of scientific innovation.”

The council is composed of scientists and engineers from several disciplines. Prominent IT professionals who will be members of the council include:

• Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft.
• William Press, a computer sciences professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
• Maxine Savitz, retired general manager of technology partnerships at Honeywell.
• Eric Schmidt, chairman and chief executive officer of Google.