After an 11-month vacancy, Census names a CIO

After nearly a year without a tech chief, the Census Bureau named Kevin Smith associate director for information technology and CIO.

"Kevin Smith has the exact skill set and experience the Census Bureau needs," Director John H. Thompson said, announcing the hire on June 6. "He's been an IT leader in both government and the private sector, making him uniquely qualified to lead our technological transformation."

Thompson said Smith would also help with planning for the 2020 Census, a production that is banking heavily on mobile devices and internet responses to cut costs and better enumerate the American population.

Smith previously worked in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and consulted in the private sector. He has an undergraduate degree in computer engineering from the University of Florida.

The announcement came after many months of prodding from lawmakers, at least one of whom asked Commerce Department CIO Steve Cooper to take the job himself. The Census CIO position has been open since July 2015, with a deputy filling in day-to-day and Cooper often representing the bureau on Capitol Hill.