FCC taps Scott Jordan for CTO role

Scott Jordan, a professor of computer science at the University of California, Irvine, is joining the Federal Communications Commission as chief technology officer, replacing Henning Schulzrinne.

Jordan's previous government experience includes serving on the FCC's Open Internet Technical Advisory Committee and a stint on Capitol Hill as an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers congressional fellow. He's a specialist in Internet services, communications pricing and platforms, according to an FCC release.

"Scott's engineering and technical expertise, particularly with respect to the Internet, will provide great assistance to the Commission as we consider decisions that will affect America's communications platforms," FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement.

The appointment comes as the FCC is in the midst of a controversial and divisive Open Internet proceeding that has attracted more than one million public comments -- a record outpouring for a policy issue. Jordan will work out of the FCC's Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis.