Obama looking to appoint first chief technology officer for US

Faced by terrorist threats against American interests, the low perception about the country around the world and an economic crisis not seen since the Great Depression, US President-elect Barack Obama is looking at innovative means to deal with problems. The first non-white occupant of the White House, Obama will also appoint the nation's first chief technology officer (CTO) to oversee his plans for improving transparency and access to government data by moving it into universally accessible formats.

The future president's revolutionary plans began modestly this week with its new Change.gov website, which includes the means to apply for a job in the new administration. One of the people this administration plans to hire: a CTO to manage federal information technology (IT).

The idea of introducing this role is quite logical given the fact that Obama expressed his concerns about the technological leadership of the country during the presidential race. In business, a CTO is usually an engineer and a visionary, the executive charged with overseeing the organisation's technical staff, including the CIO, or chief information officer, who handles day-to-day tech system issues.

Although the job description on the website blandly describes the job of the CTO will be to lead federal IT and "ensure that they use best-in-class technologies and share best practices," his role may go much deeper. The role for the CTO will include ensuring that all the governmental institutions and agencies have the infrastructure fitting the environment and requirements of the 21st century. He will also need to work with each and every agency to ensure that they use the most advanced technologies and apply the best practices to their operations.

As for possible contenders for the post, the media has cited just about every single big name in technology, including Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who met with Obama on Friday as a member of the new administration's economic advisory team; Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy. However, Schmidt has publicly declined a possible invitation from the new President.

In an interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer on his television programme Mad Money, Schmidt said, "I love working at Google and I'm very happy to stay at Google, so the answer is no." Asked by Cramer in a follow-up question if he was prepared to "turn down the president-elect in this time of crisis," Schmidt was more emphatic, saying, "Google is its own exciting opportunity."

Whether someone on the level of Ballmer or Schmidt would give up their day jobs for the frustrations of dealing with federal agencies is doubtful. In such a scenario, recently retired Microsoft chairman Bill Gates seems to be an attractive candidate. Not only is he retired from the daily humdrum of a regular job, he has also showed his commitment towards public service by pouring billions of dollars into several charity initiatives.

Whoever be the USA's first CTO, come January, he will be a driving force behind the new technology initiatives promised by the Obama campaign, some of which are presented below:

Ensure the full and free exchange of ideas through an open internet and diverse media outlets

• Protect the Openness of the Internet
  
• Encourage Diversity in Media Ownership
  
• Protect Our Children While Preserving the First Amendment
  
• Safeguard our Right to Privacy

Create a Transparent and Connected Democracy

• Open Up Government to its Citizens
  
• Bring Government into the 21st Century

Deploy a Modern Communications Infrastructure

• Deploy Next-Generation Broadband

Improve America's Competitiveness

• Promote American Businesses Abroad
  
• Invest in the Sciences
  
• Invest in University-Based Research
  
• Make the R&D Tax Credit Permanent
  
• Ensure Competitive Markets
  
• Protect American Intellectual Property Abroad
  
• Protect American Intellectual Property at Home
  
• Reform the Patent System
  
• Restore Scientific Integrity to the White House

Prepare All American Children for the 21st century economy

• Make Math and Science Education a National Priority
  
• Improve and Prioritise Science Assessments
  
• Address the Dropout Crisis
  
• Pinpoint College Aid for Math and Science Students
  
• Increase Science and Math Graduates

Prepare Adults for a Changing Economy

• Lifelong Retraining
  
• Build a Reliable Safety Net

Employ Science, Technology, and Innovation to Solve Our Nation's Most Pressing Problems

• Lower Health Care Costs by Investing in Electronic Information Technology Systems
  
• Invest in Climate-Friendly Energy Development and Deployment
  
• Modernize Public Safety Networks