Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, was recently appointed by US President Joe Biden, to the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). As per the sitting US president’s words, members of PCAST will serve to advise the Biden administration “on policy matters where the understanding of science, technology, and innovation is key”.
In addition to the AMD CEO, the good Dr. Su is also joined by Dr. William Dally, chief scientist at NVIDIA, Eric Horvitz, chief scientific officer for Microsoft, and Phil Venables, chief information officer at Google Cloud. Leading the council will be Dr. Frances Arnold from the California Institute of Technology, Dr. Maria Zuber from MIT, and the White House’s own Office of Science and Technology Policy Director, Dr. Eric Lander.
In total, PCAST will be comprised of 20 elected members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, five MacArthur “Genius” Fellows, two former Cabinet Secretaries, and two Nobel Laureates. The White House also makes it clear on its official page that none of these members will be paid but will be reimbursed for their travel, meals, and accommodations, as per US government regulations. Not that Dr. Su would need the money, especially since she is considered to be one of the highest paid CEOs in the world.
Today, @POTUS announced his President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (#PCAST). It’s an amazing group, consisting of 30 of the nation’s top scientists & technologists, charged with advising the President and @WhiteHouse on S&T. (1/7) pic.twitter.com/MJaqA6LzSq
— Eric Lander (@EricLander46) September 22, 2021
As for what the function of PCAST is, the council will be tasked with answering five questions, chief among them being focused on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, US national security and its technological war against China. The last one is exceedingly important, given the ongoing chip shortage that many experts believe will last into 2022.
(Source: White House, Techspot)
