Keeping the President in Tune With Tech
22:34 minutes
In 2009, a new official entered the ranks at the White House: U.S. Chief Technology Officer. Officially an assistant to the president, the role has seen its responsibilities evolve over time, from fixing HealthCare.gov to offering policy advice. Megan Smith, a Google alum who once built and raced a solar car across Australia, came on board last year as the country’s CTO. One of her leading priorities, according to a spokesperson, is connectivity, and increasing schoolkids’ access to high-speed Internet.
Jo Handelsman, associate director for science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, joins to talk about the upcoming White House Science Fair, where the theme is diversity in STEM.
Segment Guests
Megan Smith
Megan Smith is U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Assistant to the President in Washington, D.C.
Jo Handelsman
Jo Handelsman is a soil scientist, director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, and author of A World Without Soil: The Past, Present and Precarious Future of the Earth Beneath Our Feet. She’s based in Madison, Wisconsin.
Meet the Producer
About Christopher Intagliata
@cintagliataChristopher Intagliata was Science Friday’s senior producer. He once served as a prop in an optical illusion and speaks passable Ira Flatowese.