Microsoft Joins President Bush’s Science and Technology Council

REDMOND, Wash., Dec.13, 2001 — Microsoft has joined a diverse set of leaders from industry, academia, the non-profit sector and government selected to assist the administration of President George W. Bush with some of the difficult challenges the United States faces in the realm of science and technology.

The Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), which convened its first meeting on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., includes 22 leaders from such companies as Intel, Lockheed Martin, and Dell Computer; universities including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Georgia Institute of Technology, and North Carolina State University, and such non-profit groups as the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Semiconductor Industry Association.

The council will assist the administration by developing recommendations on a wide range of issues — from utilizing technology in the war on terrorism and investigating new ways to reduce energy consumption to reducing barriers to broadband availability.

“The administration has brought together a group of people who have dedicated their careers to applying technology to solve problems,” said Microsoft Executive Vice President Bob Herbold, who serves on the council.

“That is exactly the kind of expertise this nation needs right now, and I am encouraged that the administration is embracing technological solutions to some of our toughest challenges,

Herbold said

In addition to Herbold, members of the council include Charles M. Vest, president of MIT; Gordon Moore, chairman emeritus of Intel; Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell, and Norman Augustine, former chairman of Lockheed Martin.

The council met for four hours on Wednesday to select areas of investigation and set priorities.

This was followed by a one-hour meeting with President Bush at which the President emphasized his wish for input from the group on a regular basis. The President also asked the council to focus on such high-impact as exploiting information technology in fighting terrorism and streamlining government.

The complete membership of the Council, whose roster was announced by the White House on Wednesday, can be found in the White House announcement of PCAST appointments .

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