FCC Names New CTO

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has appointed Eric Burger to serve as the agency’s CTO.

Burger will advise Chairman Pai and the agency on technology and engineering issues, together with the Office of Engineering and Technology.

“The FCC’s work lies at the crossroads of technology and policy.  That makes it vital that we have at our disposal the technological expertise to make the right policy calls for the American people,” said Pai. “I am pleased that Eric has agreed to join our team and lend us his vast expertise. From stopping robocalls to facilitating the transition to next-generation networks, the FCC has important work to do for American consumers, and I’m grateful that we are adding such skill and experience to our team.”

The FCC’s CTO serves as an advisor to the Chairman and as the senior technology expert in the agency.  The position is housed within the FCC’s Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis. Burger will replace Henning Schulzrinne, who returned to Columbia University.

Prior to joining the Commission, Burger served as director of the Security and Software Engineering Research Center in Washington, DC.  The center helps propose solutions to network problems like robocalling, rural call completion, accessibility of communications for Americans with hearing and speech impairments, reducing the cost of deploying and operating communications networks, and ensuring communication network security and stability. He holds patents in telecommunications and is an expert in standards for telecommunications, network and internet technologies.

Burger has also held senior engineering and technology positions in various telecommunications companies and served as a technology consultant to others. He has also taught computer science at Georgetown University, George Mason University and The George Washington University; and holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Illinois Institute of Technology, an MBA from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, and bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.