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Computer science pioneer Vinton Cerf, commonly referred to as the "father of the Internet" and currently Google's chief Internet evangelist, isn't sure exactly what Barack Obama's proposed chief technology officer position would entail. But he recently told NationalJournal.com that a national CTO could do a lot to stoke the country's economic engine.
Cerf, an Obama donor who is reported to be on the short list for the first-of-its-kind position, said that the transition team has not approached him about joining the administration. But regardless of who is offered the CTO position, he said, "if the job is of the sort that I imagine and hope it might be, I'd certainly want to be supportive of the party in that role."
He says there is great potential for the CTO to create jobs through investments in American infrastructure -- including infrastructure that supports information technology and energy, particularly electrical power grids and tools that manage energy consumption. He said that fulfilling such a task would be hard, "but I also think this is an amazing opportunity, given our current economic situation."
Read more about Cerf's hopes for the CTO position on Monday in an Insider Interview with NationalJournal.com's Theresa Poulson.
